Physicians and other hospital staff have a unique opportunity to assist victims of abuse. It is imperative that they develop the skills necessary to identify and diagnose cases and provide the support and referral services needed to help victims end the cycle of violence. This paper describes a comprehensive evaluation of the instructional design, implementation, and learning outcomes of the Domestic Violence Module at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine to determine the effectiveness of this curriculum in helping medical students develop such skills. Expert reviewers found it to be an innovative, well-planned curriculum, and students and faculty tutors expressed a great deal of interest in and satisfaction with the course as a whole. However, the different evaluation components identified the same areas for improvement: (1) students need more opportunity to practice skills and receive feedback during the module, (2) there is inconsistency across classes in what is learned, and (3) tutors need better preparation sessions. The student outcomes reflected these needs and therefore suggest that the study may be useful in determining the components of an effective curriculum. After the training, the students reported significant increases in their feelings of self-efficacy and in their intentions, especially in comparison with a group of control students. Therefore, the module seems to be successful in inspiring medical students to work with victims of abuse.
PIP: In order to provide treatment and support to victims of domestic violence, physicians and other hospital staff must develop skills in identifying abuse cases and an understanding of family violence dynamics. A comprehensive evaluation of the instructional design, implementation, and learning outcomes of the Domestic Violence Module at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine documented the value of such a curriculum. The 4-week module, offered to groups of 8 second-year medical students by faculty tutors, includes practice interviews with simulated family violence victims. Curriculum development specialists who reviewed the module lauded its problem-based learning approach and use of a range of teaching methods. At the same time, evaluators identified a need for more student opportunities to practice and receive feedback on their interviewing skills and to identify personal attitudes that could adversely affect their management of domestic violence cases and for greater consistency across groups in what is taught. Comparison of results of questionnaires completed by 124 UCLA medical students before and after exposure to the module revealed dramatic gains in the ability to diagnose domestic violence and in self-efficacy to intervene in this area, while the scores of 88 nonexposed students from another medical school showed no change from baseline to follow-up. The only component that did not change as a result of the training was students' predisposition to act on suspicions of domestic violence even when the woman was not herself prepared for such action.