Italian healthcare professionals and faculty from the University of Siena take part in a tailor-made course on intercultural health competencies at UVic-UCC

A delegation from the University of Siena took part in a tailor-made training course organised by UVic-UCC on intercultural competences in healthcare this week. The students on the course - six professionals from different healthcare fields linked to the Italian university - attended a series of sessions focusing on dealing with the phenomenon of migration in their profession. The issues covered included cultural and religious competencies, mediation and legislation, and access to the public health system.

As an example, the course also highlighted the case of the Catalan Health System and its management of multiculturalism and immigration. During the event, Xavier Gómez-Batiste, director of the chair in Palliative Care, presented the Vic Ciutat Cuidadora [Vic Caring City] project, which aims to make Vic a benchmark for caring for the most vulnerable people.

The first two day sessions, Monday and Tuesday, covered theoretical aspects, and were held in the hall of the Board of Trustees of the Faculty of Medicine. Those giving classes included Joan Masnou, an expert in interculturality and the analysis of cultural models, and a lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Communication Studies, Carles Blay, a doctor and lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, and the dean of the centre, Ramon Pujol.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the training moved to two different health centres for a look at the situation on the ground and their operation in situ: the Vic Sud Primary Healthcare Centre on Wednesday, and Vic University Hospital on Thursday. Various professionals from these centres were present, and taught classes to the students on the course. Also on Thursday, the students visited the Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS) and its coordinator, Marina Geli, and the laboratories at the Faculty of Health Sciences and Welfare (FCSB).

The training was organised jointly by the UVic-UCC International Programmes Unit and the Faculty of Medicine, and coordinated by Joan Masnou and Carles Blay. This course was also the step prior to the signing of a framework agreement between UVic-UCC and the University of Siena, which the rector, Josep-Eladi Baños, has signed this week and will lead to future collaborations. Two lecturers from the Italian university also accompanied the students on the course at UVic-UCC: Carlo Orefice, a lecturer in General and Social Pedagogy, and Alessandra Romano, a researcher in General Didactic and Special Pedagogy.