Collegial cross-cultural relations for health academics : concepts and considerations

With the globalization of health care and growing social inequality within and between countries, increasingly mobile health professionals and academics may find themselves needing to relate to foreign cultures with unclear behavioral protocols and unfamiliar communication styles. For example, many academics work in multicultural organizations with staff and students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and participate in cross-national research teams and publication groups. These and similar situations may present challenges and opportunities for those in the majority and minority. The purpose of this column is to raise some of the issues faced by academics in faculties within an established cultural settingwhere small numbers of members of minority groups have been added on in recent years.