Entering a new culture: the challenges of working in medical education : a personal perspective from an outsider

Abstract

My transition from a community development worker in an inner-city area working with local communities (address issues of deprivation and disadvantage) to the role of a lecturer in a prestigious medical school, (leading a community-based module) was challenging. It had all the characteristics of entering a new culture. I had to learn a new language, foster new relationships, negotiate new 'rules of engagement', interpret acceptable forms of behaviour and communication. But perhaps the hardest challenge was to gain acceptance for what I had to offer and counter perceptions that I represented a threat to the status quo.