The impact of linguistic adaptation of clinical cases on the academic performance of international medical students

Aim . To study the impact of linguistic adaptation of clinical cases on the academic performance of international medical students studying at Kuban State Medical University using English as a medium of instruction. Material and methods . The study involved 73 students from India, Egypt, Turkey, and other countries. To assess the impact of linguistic adaptation, the following crossover design was applied: students were presented with the same clinical cases in two versions — original (complex) and simplified (adapted). Results . The linguistic adaptation of clinical descriptions significantly increases the accuracy of diagnostic decisions (p < 0,001). Conclusion . The findings confirm the necessity of targeted linguistic adaptation of educational materials for multi-ethnic groups of international students. The results can be used in developing guidelines for faculty members at medical universities.