A Preclinical Medical School Curriculum on Firearm Violence to Develop Patient Counseling and Foundational Health Policy Skills

BACKGROUND: Firearm violence is a unique public health crisis in the USA (US). A majority of U.S. physicians believe they should discuss firearm safety with patients. However, little education on firearm injury prevention and counseling exists in medical school. We sought to address this gap by creating a curriculum on firearm violence as a part of a required preclinical medical school course focused on health policy issues. METHODS: The Kerns 6-step model for curriculum development was used to define the problem and assess learner needs. The two-hour small group session was co-authored by a student and faculty member to address the course theme of health policy as applied to firearm violence. The Issue-Attention Cycle, history of firearm policy, and US politics were incorporated from published literature, with a patient counseling role-play added in 2019. RESULTS: The ‘Current Case in Health Policy – Firearm Violence’ small group was implemented in 2018 and 2019 for all first-year medical students. Of the 2018 student evaluations, 57% selected this small group as the most valuable in the course. In a follow-up survey in 2020, 78% of the respondents agreed that they felt more confident counseling patients on firearm safety following the role-play. CONCLUSION: Students broadly endorsed the incorporation of firearm policy and counseling skills into medical education. This curriculum can be adapted for learners at all stages of training, especially given the limited exposure to this topic in medical education.