Encounters with patients from Somalia: experience among vocational trainees in Swedish general practice

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to describe how vocational trainees in general medical practice in Sweden experienced encounters with refugee patients from Somalia. METHODS: Sixteen vocational trainees in general medical practice in Sweden were interviewed in focus groups. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to a phenomenographic approach. RESULTS: Three categories with subcategories emerged. In the first category, “meeting the patient”, the family diversity among the patients was noted. Further, the informants noted that few patients presented psychiatric problems. In the second category, “obstacles in the encounter”, the vocational trainees noted difficulties in talking through an interpreter, who often seemed to have an extended dialogue with the patient. Obtaining a medical history was considered a challenge. The third category dealt with how to develop different strategies in the encounter. CONCLUSIONS: To improve the encounter with patients from Somalia and other minority groups, the importance of curiosity, trust and continuity of care should be discussed in medical education. Health care´s own ways of working and thinking in relation to matters of diversity must be observed in medical training.