Making a place for teaching about family violence in medical school

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Abstract
Although family violence is a common cause of patients ' problems , it has not yet received sufficient attention in medical school curricula . There are several possible reasons for this delay , including the fact that teaching about family violence is complicated because there are no “ quick fix ” interventions , the approaches are often complex and multidisciplinary , and there may be limited resources for response in many communities . The author offers a variety of suggestions for incorporating family violence topics in the medical school curriculum , such as : ( 1 ) expose students to information about family violence in their preclinical training , and integrate family violence issues into clinical instruction ( several examples are given ); ( 2 ) use problem-based teaching formats when possible , since these lend themselves well to the integration of family violence issues into case presentations ; ( 3 ) enrich the curriculum by the participation of a variety of non-MD experts who deal with family violence issues , and take students out of the classroom to shelters and other relevant locations ; ( 4 ) teach a prevention-oriented approach , just as is taught for the areas of smoking , seat belt use , weight control , etc .; ( 5 ) use standardized patients , interactive computer-based learning , and other innovative methodologies to help preclinical students perfect their interviewing and examination skills ; ( 6 ) during the clinical years , include violence as part of the differential diagnosis of common medical complaints ; ( 7 ) give attention to the education of residents for consistent teaching and reinforcement of principles learned in medical school , and integrate family violence education into the entire continuum of physicians ' education ; ( 8 ) build appropriate expectations into accreditation requirements and into medical licensing and specialty certifying examinations . ( ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS )

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