Resolution: S-21-12: INCORPORATING EDUCATION REGARDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE AWARENESS AND PREPAREDNESS WITHIN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOL CURRICULA DURING DIDACTIC YEARS

[Valerie Lile]

WHEREAS, sexual violence is defined as any act of a sexual nature that a person did not consent to, including sexual harassment and sexual assault^1,2; and

WHEREAS, one in every three women and one in every four men have experienced sexual violence during their life¹; and

WHEREAS, the history and physical exam of a suspected victim of sexual violence are time sensitive and a matter of legal consequence; therefore, this must be carried out at an expert level in order to serve as reliable legal documentation, as well as appropriately treat any acute problems³; and

WHEREAS, every emergency department may not be equipped with trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, making it every provider’s responsibility to know how to adequately screen and care for victims of sexual violence⁴; and

WHEREAS, victims of sexual assault experience gaps in healthcare which can start to be addressed by formally educating healthcare providers on the needs of this specific patient population⁵; and

WHEREAS, medical students who had formal practice in the form of a standardized patient had increased comfortability and competency in interviewing victims of sexual violence⁶; and

WHEREAS, medical students who participated in modules about caring for adult female sexual assault victims increased their post test scores in this area by 20%, as well as improved their perceived level of ability to care for this patient group⁷; and

WHEREAS, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists previously called for increased awareness of domestic violence starting with the incorporation of this subject into the curricula of undergraduate and graduate medical education, which was previously supported by several medical organizations⁸; and

WHEREAS, The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners currently includes prevention, protection, and reporting of child, sexual, or elder abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault, as elements in the Master COMLEX-USA blueprint, which lists possible topics tested by the COMLEX-USA exams⁹; and

WHEREAS, The American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s 2017-2018 Osteopathic Medical College Curriculum Topics report that at least 16 osteopathic medical colleges do not include domestic violence (the most closely related category measured) as a curriculum topic¹⁰; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) supports implementation of education that addresses sexual violence in order to prepare osteopathic physicians in training to properly treat, support, and advocate for better health outcomes for their patients and their colleagues at all osteopathic medical schools; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that SOMA encourage Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) to assess curricula of osteopathic medical schools for sexual violence awareness and preparedness training during the didactic years of medical school; and, be it further

RESOLVED, that SOMA recommends upon completion of the assessment, if appropriate, COCA establish guidelines for osteopathic medical schools to integrate curricula regarding sexual violence awareness and preparedness training during the didactic years of medical school.

 

References:

1. Preventing Sexual Violence|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC. (2020, January 17). Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/fastfact.html
2. Sexual Harassment. (2021, January). Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-harassment
3. Ludes, B., Geraut, A., Väli, M., Cusack, D., Ferrara, D., Keller, E., . . . Vieira, D. N. (2018). Guidelines examination of victims of sexual assault harmonization of forensic and medico-legal examination of persons. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 132(6), 1671-1674. Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1791-y
4. Martin, S. L., Young, S. K., Billings, D. L., & Bross, C. C. (2007). Health care-based interventions for women who have experienced sexual violence: a review of the literature. Trauma, violence & abuse, 8(1), 3–18. Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://doi-org.proxy.pnwu.org/10.1177/1524838006296746
5. Scannell, M., Lewis-O’Connor, A., & Barash, A. (2015). Sexual Assault Simulation Course for Healthcare Providers: Enhancing Sexual Assault Education Using Simulation. Journal of forensic nursing, 11(4), 188–197. Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://doi-org.proxy.pnwu.org/10.1097/JFN.0000000000000089)
6. Lee, W. J., Clark, L., Wortmann, K., Taylor, L. A., & Pock, A. R. (2019). Interprofessional Healthcare Student Training in the Care of Sexual Assault Patients Utilizing Standardized Patient Methodology. Simulation in healthcare : journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, 14(1), 10–17. Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://doi-org.proxy.pnwu.org/10.1097/SIH.0000000000000331

7. Siegel, M., Gonzalez, E. C., Wijesekera, O., Finkelstein, K., Petricone, R., Glass, L., . . . Bell, S. (2017). On-the-Go Training: Downloadable Modules to Train Medical Students to Care for Adult Female Sexual Assault Survivors. MedEdPORTAL, 13(1). Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://www.mededportal.org/doi/full/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10656
8. Randall T. (1992). ACOG renews domestic violence campaign, calls for changes in medical school curricula. JAMA, 267(23), 3131. Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1593723/

9. Competency Domain 2: Community Health and Patient Presentations Related to Wellness. Retrieved January 26^th, 2020 from https://www.nbome.org/assessments/comlex-usa/master-blueprint/clinical-presentations/community-health-and-wellness/
10. 2017-18 Osteopathic Medical College Curriculum Topics. (2018). American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Retrieved January 26^th, 2021 from https://www.aacom.org/reports-programs-initiatives/aacom-reports/curriculum

Submitted by:

Mckenzie Keeling-Garcia, MA, OMS III – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM
Monica Ketchum, MA, OMS II – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM
Krista Luntsford, MA, OMS III – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM
Tsaina Mahlen, OMS III – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM
Jenna Seeley, MA, OMS III – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM
Victoria Sefcsik, MS, OMS II – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM
Delaney Tognolini, MA, OMS III – Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences COM

Action Taken:
Date:
Effective Time Period: Ongoing

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