Travel, when done correctly, is transformative. It was Samuel Johnson who said that “the use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.”
As 10 occupational therapy (OT) students navigated the hilly streets of Oslo, lost and jet-lagged, in an attempt to find the student residence that would be our home for the next three weeks, we could not have imagined how our perceptions of global public health care, other cultures and the importance of global partnerships would be so deeply altered.
The experience of being a Canadian OT student in Norway was one none of us will soon forget. To better understand public health in a globalized world and from an interdisciplinary, multicultural and OT perspective, we enrolled in an International Public Health summer course offered at Oslo University College in Oslo, Norway.
For three weeks, we lived, learned and interacted with other students from a range of professional backgrounds and postsecondary education levels. Together, we represented 21 different countries. Through discussions, presentations and group projects, we shared in mutual knowledge exchange about our different health-care systems, frameworks and models, experiences, professional perspectives and roles as global citizens.
On the first day, each student in a class of 50 people had to introduce who they were and what they studied. As the 10 students from Western obliged happily to the request, the handful of graduate students from several developing nations beamed as each communicated, with a huge amount of pride, they were in graduate school.
You could feel their enthusiasm as they described each of their research projects ranging from increasing awareness about public health issues in their native home country to developing tools to increase availability of resources for their region.
Beyond the manifestation of professional pride these students exemplified, what impressed many of us was the great amount of clarity in which these graduate students were able to articulate the unique role of their chosen health profession within both a national and international context. They recognized the transformative power of health care to the well-being of clients they serve in a way many of us will attempt to emulate as we begin to practice.
Among other things, these opportunities allow international relationship-building, collaborations and partnerships. The amalgamation of cultures, socioeconomic statuses and health-care professions presented us with the unique opportunity not only to share the perspective of OT within both an interprofessional and international context, but have that sharing reciprocated.
In a setting where Canadians made up approximately 20 per cent of the total course population, we often found ourselves educating our classmates about the profession of OT, and our Canadian health-care system by extension. OT is based on the premise health, wellness and quality of life are potential outcomes when participation and engagement in meaningful occupations and activities are supported. Further, the unhealthy effects of inactivity and occupational injustices can result in larger health and social problems.
Now, more than ever, it has become crucial for professionals and students alike to begin advocating the value and international portability of OT as global partnerships, collaborations and global health policies are being developed. Beyond the expected limitations of language, and consideration of culture, we were faced with the glaring reality there was great disparity in what constituted national health care across the globe. We learned to be professional ambassadors within a framework of cultural sensitivity.
The excitement and thrill associated with learning in a new, foreign environment is often the initial lure for students who participate in international education programs. Research has noted OT students who participated in international practice placements identified not only personal, but also professional development as a result. Students reported enhanced ability to think ‘outside the box,’ greater cultural awareness, improved flexibility, self-confidence and recognition of the value of interpersonal relationships.
We had the opportunity to participate in inter-professional classes examining diverse viewpoints of individuals regarding culture and political aspects of global health-care systems. Through collaborative coursework, we learned to challenge our preconceived North American biases, enhanced our cultural awareness and developed global networks. As graduate students entering the workforce, the experience of learning in a different country with a multi-cultural class has enabled us to become more culturally sensitive and competent practitioners who can help contribute to overall better global health care. Through continued cultivation and support of international university partnerships, future students can experience this tremendously enlightening worldview.
This international experience allowed us all to develop both personally and professionally; we learned more about ourselves while becoming more aware and sensitive to other cultures. This awareness will prepare all of us to be the culturally competent practitioner required of our health-care system and the clients we have the privilege to serve.
Our preconceived notions of what health care looked like globally moved from the realm of removed imagination to that of concrete reality. This reality was regulated through the diverse cultural and professional experiences conveyed by the international classmates we had the honour to collaborate and learn from. The lasting partnerships fostered in Oslo far surpassed what we could have ever learned from textbooks alone.