This article questions the assumption that a collaborative, participatory model of medical interview (as taught in most
contemporary Western universities) is necessarily the most suitable and effective in cross-cultural interactions between doctors and
patients. It highlights some of the challenges for international students in mastering this model, and extends Koehn’s concept of the
medical interview as involving ‘mutual teaching’ to suggest a role for the doctor as a ‘cultural informant’ who helps patients to
acquire the ‘medical literacy’ and skills required to participate effectively.