Reassembling cultural safety education for Korean medical students based on the actor-network theory: Situational analysis of discourses

Abstract

Conducting an education program on cultural safety (CS) based on the actor-network theory’s (ANT) translation strategy, this study aimed to investigate changes relating to situations, significant actors, and discourse positions among Korean medical students. This qualitative pre/post study used situational analysis. Participants included 294 fifth-year medical students who attended CS classes between 2017−2019. For successful translation, the CS classes empowered the students as active agents to have direct dialogues with international guests, designing all human and non-human actors in the classroom to support them. The authors collected and coded data from students’ reflective essays, and then conducted organised situational, relational, and positional mapping. Following the classes, the participants reflected more on CS-related situations and actors. They defined culturally safe care as making patients feel at home, tailoring care individually, and providing treatment indiscriminately. Instead of focusing on others, they recognised their own biases, influences of their cultures on patient care, and contradictions in the Korean healthcare system, realising the healer role of doctors and the importance of patient-centeredness. Further, we explored how the students’ confusion about appropriate levels of accepting patients’ cultures might be associated with notions regarding humility rooted in Korean culture. We found that the ANT and situational analysis are applicable in CS education and research, and could be considered in future studies.