HSCI 309 Global Health Issues Reflection

HSCI 309 Global Health Issues Reflection

HSCI 309 Global Health Issues Reflection

HSCI 309 Global Health Issues

Reaction and reflection #1 questions

Students will be required to demonstrate evidence of critical analysis as evidenced by the ability to relate their reactions to the assigned readings to Western ethnocentrism and exceptionalism.

Students need to respond with a 2-3 paragraph (total between reaction and reflection) answer to each of the questions. Ideas taken from the readings need to be cited using APA format.

• Martin notes that “Learning, rather than being an exchange, becomes an act of consumption… the problem lies in the assumption that marginalized people are always at the ready to enlighten the privileged.” (1.5 pts)

Reaction	Q. What is your immediate reaction to this statement?
	A.
Reflection	Q. What do you think she means by this statement?  Why might this perspective feel upsetting to me? Do you think that it is the job of marginalized persons to enlighten relatively wealthy, privileged Westerners?  Are there other ways for relatively wealthy Westerners to learn about the social, cultural, economic, political, and historical context of other countries? Where do my beliefs and understandings regarding this issue come from?
	A.

 

• Physicist Robert A. Millikan notes that “Fullness of knowledge always and necessarily means some understanding of the depths of our ignorance, and that is always conducive to both humility and reverence.” Humility, according to Martin, is our capacity to know that there is much we don’t know, and act accordingly. (1.5 pts)

Reaction	Q. Do you think that Westerners, in general, have trouble with intellectual and/or cultural humility?   Intellectual humility means being honest about not knowing everything about everything and being open to the idea that each person we meet knows something that we do not know, including people who do not look like we do, or come from countries that are impoverished through the continual, deliberate denial of resources.   Cultural humility is the opposite of cultural “competence”. It is the understanding that our understanding of other cultures is extremely limited (particularly when we can’t speak the language of that culture) and being open to learning from others about their culture, embracing the differences as neither “good” or “bad”-just different, and continuous self-reflection on how our own culture affects our understanding of the world.
	A.
Reflection	Q. What are some aspects of the Western educational system that may foster a lack of intellectual and cultural humility?
	A.

 

• Martin notes that “often…the best thing you can do as a privileged outsider is step back, shut up, even leave.” (1.5 pts)

Reaction	Q. What is your reaction to this statement?
	A.
Reflection	Q. What do you think that Martin means by this statement? How is this related to the concept of ethnocentrism? Why might this perspective feel upsetting to me? Where do my beliefs and understandings regarding this issue come from?
	A.

 

• In the article, “The White Savior Industrial Complex in Global Health”, Agarwal, Crawford, Nguyen, and Walker (all resident physicians in the US involved in the HEAL global health program through the UCSF Medical School) write about the death of an Ugandan baby. The authors attribute this death to their engagement as physicians in white saviorism (1.5 pts)

Reaction	Q. What is your immediate reaction to this clinical situation?
	A.
Reflection	Q. How is ethnocentrism working in this situation to create a bad clinical outcome? How is Teju Cole’s “White Savior Industrial Complex” operating in this situation that led to a baby’s death?
	A.

 

 

• Teju Cole notes that “The American’s good heart does not always allow him to think constellationally. He does not connect the dots or see the patterns of power behind the isolated “disasters.” All he sees are hungry mouths, and he… is putting food in those mouths as fast as he can. All he sees is need, and he sees no need to reason out the need for the need.” (2 pts)

Reaction	Q. What is your reaction to this statement?
	A.
Reflection	Q. What do you think he means by this?   Dr. Cole is a Nigerian American born in the US but raised in Nigeria. He returned to the US to attend college and is now a professor of creative writing at Harvard.   Why might his perspective on global health feel upsetting to me?   What does it mean to think “constellationally”? (hint: think of constellations like the Big Dipper). What do you think it means to “reason out the need for the need”? What might be some reasons that Americans might not see the need to “reason out the need for the need”?
	A.

 

6. Courtney Martin discusses the “reductive seduction” of other people’s problems. (2 pts)

Reaction	Q. What is your reaction to this idea?
	A.
Reflection	Q. What does it mean to be “reductively seduced” by the problems of people on the other side of the world? Why do you think that well-intentioned young Americans often engage in the reductive seduction of other people’s problems? What might be the unintended consequences of engaging in that reductive seduction?
	A.

 

Grading rubric

Element	Points
Student answers each reaction portion of the question	6
Reflection answers show evidence of critical analysis as evidenced by:   Ability to relate issues discussed by the article authors to the effects of Western ethnocentrism and exceptionalism	4

 

Self-Assessment Journal Rubric – NURS 464 Leadership II

Combined Student/Non-Practicing RN or Practicing RN

Criterion	Points
Assessments
Results of the assessments are fully discussed and interpreted.  Patterns and inconsistencies in the findings between tools are denoted.  A strength is described in terms of application and benefit to practice.	/5
Reflection and growth
Student/Non-Practicing RN: Two assessment topics are considered in terms of reflective journals from previous courses and two areas of growth since the starting the nursing program are described.   OR   Practicing RN: Two assessment topics are applied to a current RN job description and discussed in terms of how the topics are reflected in the job description.	/5
Leadership goal
Student/Non-Practicing RN: A leadership goal from the Leadership I course is discussed in terms for progress towards that goal.   OR   Practicing RN: One of the four assessment topics is described in terms of application to a current RN performance appraisal. (Describe the structure/tool, not your personal evaluation).	/5
Assessment Topic
One assessment topic is described in terms of how it supports a chosen Baccalaureate Essential.	/4
Final semester goal
A topic to work on in final semester is identified and discussed in terms of importance to the student and their professional practice.	/5
Writing clarity
Writing Mechanics (grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity and organization).	/3
APA formatting	/3
Total Possible points	/ 30