# Empathy and cultural humility: Caribbean medical students' experience in Taiwan's Silent Teacher family interviews

## TL;DR

Caribbean medical students in Taiwan learn empathy and cultural humility through interviews with families of body donors.

## Contribution

The study highlights how family interviews with body donors foster cultural humility and empathy in international medical students.

## Key findings

- Students gained a deeper understanding of body donation's cultural significance in Taiwan.
- The program enhanced students' empathy, ethical awareness, and cultural humility.
- Family interviews helped students connect technical training with emotional and ethical aspects of medicine.

## Abstract

International medical students at I‐Shou University's School of Medicine for International Students (SMIS) receive Taiwan government‐funded scholarships to cultivate skilled and compassionate medical professionals from the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific Islands. This study examines the meaningful impact of Caribbean medical students' participation in interviews with the families of silent teachers, a central element of Taiwan's distinctive approach to anatomical education. Through these interviews, students were exposed to the deeply personal narratives of body donors, such as their life stories, motivations for donation, and their values, such as altruism, family devotion, and reverence for life. These interactions offered the students a rare opportunity to bridge the gap between technical medical training and healthcare's emotional, ethical, and cultural dimensions. This study examines reflective practices' impact on Caribbean medical students' development during interactions with Silent Teacher donors. Reflective narratives from 28 culturally diverse students were analyzed using thematic analysis. The experience enhanced the students' understanding of the significance of body donation in Taiwanese society, which contrasts with more anonymous approaches in Western medical education. As a result, international students commented on key professional attributes, including cultural humility, empathy, and a stronger ethical awareness. The family interviews allowed students to engage in the human aspect of medicine, reinforcing the importance of compassionate care and emotional intelligence in their future medical practice. This program is a meaningful model for integrating humanistic and ethical learning into the curriculum, especially for international students, fostering their growth into well‐rounded, culturally aware, and empathetic physicians.