CHCS - Perspectives Summer/Fall 2017

College of Health Care Sciences 33 The All-Embracing Philosophy of International Education: Service, Teaching, and Learning THE ALL-EMBRACING philosophy of international education recognizes that a vigorous trend toward cultural diversity is in place globally and within educational institutions. This trend calls for faculty members to carefully consider how they are designing experiences that enhance cultural competency and “cultural intelligence” (Earley). Hence, as educators, we are continually seeking opportunities for students to dive into another culture while offering service, teaching, and learning, providing significant value to their education. Providing carefully and intentionally designed experiences allow students to be exposed and reflect upon how cultural knowledge shapes them. An expeditiously changing health care system and domestic demographics compel educators to embed concepts of cultural competency in their teaching. Issues such as gender roles and identity, religious beliefs, physical contact, standpoints on disabilities, and the impact of different types of social and health care systems need to be considered. In October 2016, faculty members Gustavo Reinoso, Ph.D., OTR/L, director of technology and assistant professor; Mariana D’Amico, Ed.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, director of professional development and associate professor; and three occupational therapy (OT) students—Nicole Bellare, Rachel Imwalle, and Kelsea Rose Grampp—traveled to Argentina. It took six months of planning to facilitate and arrange visits and exchanges with several organizations and institutions, including the Argentinian Association of Occupational Therapists (AAOT), hospitals, work shelters, organizations providing mental health services, private practices, and an OT university program. Students and faculty members also had the opportunity to present at a continuing education event organized by a national company—Ideas Argentinas—which partially funded the students’ trip. It also provided a forum for discussion with several professional and government stakeholders. The NSU Tampa team presented topics, such as occupational therapy and cancer rehabilitation, and discussed the anatomy of a scientific publication and a questionnaire to capture sensory processing difficulties in children with autism that NSU students in Argentina are researching. The event broke records in the OT community, with more than 170 participants attending the students’ educational night event and collecting funds that were donated to the AAOT. The experience had a deep impact on the NSU students. It articulated how curriculum-related information about cultural competency and cultural intelligence became part of their daily conversations with local students, faculty members, employers, government officials, and friends. Issues related to health disparity, poverty, disability, differences in service provision, entrepreneurship, innovation, and international cooperation were not only part of the students’ language, but also a powerful tool they utilized to make sense of their experience. ● Reference Earley, P. Christopher, and Soon Ang. Cultural intelligence—Individual Interactions Across Cultures. Stanford University Press, 2003.