MEDICAL TUTORS’ ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

This work has identified that the English language has become a global integration, requiring individuals and professionals in search of its domain. In the health area this is not different either, this demand is very present in the beginning of medical schooling and throughout the professional life. For this reason, a cross-sectional study was developed and we aimed to verify the English proficiency level and identify its associated factors of 47 tutors at a Medical School. We developed a specific questionnaire form to register the data based on the selected variables for this study. We used a data consistency analysis along with the Epi Info Data Comparison Module and from then we performed the Univariate Poisson analysis and the variables that presented values <0.20 were joined to the Multivariate Poisson analysis. For statistical purposes, the variables that presented p value <0.05 remained in the final model. The results showed that the variables along with the four skills, (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking) obtained unexpected variations, such as the gap of a decade without learning English during schooling, the inexperience and the lack of knowledge in English as a whole. Thus, we concluded that the English proficiency among the minority of the tutors were based on their personal and professional experiences while the most presented a vast necessity to develop their knowledge and skills in the English language to improve personally but most importantly, professionally, in medicine and teaching.