Shaping Medical Education Through A Trauma-Informed Curriculum

Abstract

Experiences of violence and trauma are widespread with significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. Despite the prevalence of such experiences and the impact on population and individual health, it is often misunderstood in our health care system. Without a trauma-informed lens through which to address patient concerns, we may overlook somatic manifestations and coping mechanisms and miss the underlying histories of trauma. The undergraduate medical curriculum is an ideal setting to introduce a coherent foundation for trauma-informed practice. This commentary aims to address current principles and approaches to trauma, and to discuss new directions in the trauma-informed medical curriculum.