Citation

Dickstein LJ. Acad. Med. 1997; 72(1 Suppl): S105-9.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty and Student Advocacy, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Kentucky 40202-3866, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Association of American Medical Colleges, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9008592

Abstract

Family violence is an integral component of medical education and material on this topic should be spread among many courses throughout the 4 years of medical school. Medical faculty in the US are just beginning to recognize the complexities of teaching about family violence and the need for medical students to deal effectively with their own attitudes, feelings, and reactions toward abuse victims. Without adequate preparation and supervision, the stress of caring for abused patients can lead to countertransference, compassion fatigue, burnout, denial, and projection. Students with a personal background of exposure to family violence are especially in need of support. This paper presents 10 recommendations for family violence curriculum developers: 1) provide orientation to difficult issues in medicine, including physician impairment; 2) expose students to community and clinical experiences; 3) observe students interviewing abuse survivors; 4) legitimize all personal reactions to work in this area; 5) make available personal support, consultation, and treatment; 6) develop faculty discussion and support groups; 7) communicate a sense of urgency about the importance of family violence education; 8) provide a multimedia resource library for faculty and student use; 9) promote student and faculty scholars through attendance at local and national conferences; and 10) include family violence questions on board examinations.

Language: en