Medical Students experience with Domestic Violence Screening and Intervention at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas, Puerto Rico

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an important public health problem with one out of four women reporting an experience of intimate partner violence at some point in their lives. Despite recognition of the health care setting as a critical site for the identification and intervention of IPV, curriculum development and training for medical students on issues related to IPV remains an understudied public health issue particularly with regard to traditionally underserved populations. This study investigates the ability of medical students to screen, assess and intervene in cases of IPV and identifies barriers to access to adequate knowledge and skills. Students from a medical school in Puerto Rico were randomly selected from third year class list of those who have completed clinical clerkships in surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry and internal medicine. Based upon analysis of 50 completed surveys, this study finds that 80% of students believed that identifying IPV was important, but when asked if they felt comfortable intervening, only 40% of the females and 20% of the males felt adequately prepared to do so. Up to 94% of students expressed interest in participating in a training if it were offered. Inadequate preparation, both educational and clinical in IPV instruction in medical school were reported as barriers to proper inquiry and intervention when addressing victims of violence. Future objectives of this study are to create an IPV training curriculum for medical students aiming for implementation throughout Puerto Rico.