Although family violence is a common cause of patients' problems, it h
as 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 n
o ''quick fix'' interventions, the approaches are often complex and mu
ltidisciplinary, and there may he limited resources for response in ma
ny communities. The author offers a variety of suggestions for incorpo
rating family violence topics in the medical school curriculum, such a
s: (1) expose students to information about family violence in their p
reclinical training, and integrate family violence issues into clinica
l instruction (several examples are given); (2) use problem-based teac
hing formats when possible, since these lend themselves well to the in
tegration of family violence issues into case presentations; (3) enric
h the curriculum by the participation of a variety of non-MD experts w
ho deal with family violence issues, and take students out of the clas
sroom to shelters and other relevant locations; (4) teach a prevention
oriented approach, just as is taught for the areas of smoking, seat b
elt use, weight control, etc.; (5) use standardized patients, interact
ive computer-based learning, and other innovative methodologies to hel
p preclinical students perfect their interviewing and examination skil
ls; (6) during the clinical years, include violence as part of the dif
ferential diagnosis of common medical complaints; (7) give attention t
o the education of residents for consistent teaching and reinforcement
of principles learned in medical school, and integrate family violenc
e education into the entire continuum of physicians' education; (8) bu
ild appropriate expectations into accreditation requirements and into
medical licensing and specialty certifying examinations. The author co
ncludes that medical schools have a medical and moral mandate to do a
better job of teaching about family violence to ensure that their grad
uates can help contain this growing national problem.