Purpose: Evidence and personal experience informed us that students often fail classes, drop out of medical school, or act unprofessionally because of various childhood adversities. When dealing with these struggling students, schools provide them with counseling, ask them to withdraw from the curriculum, or, in an emergency, contact emergency medical services. I proposed to develop a framework of trauma-informed teaching in the basic medical sciences to help them excel in medical education without re-traumatization.
Methods: We used the PICOS tool for a comprehensive search since resources were limited to finding evidence. The databases used were EBSCO for corporate psychology, ERIC for education/developmental psychology, Medline/CINAHL for health topics, and ProQuest for transdisciplinary literature. I evaluated titles and abstracts against the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Results: Various diversities (historical, racial, and disease) can prevent students from accomplishing their academic and professional goals. The curriculum should provide
1. adequate scope for collaboration and student-peer-teacher partnerships,
2. inform teachers about psychological trauma and how it can affect students,
3. Move past cultural stereotypes and biases in the lecture materials and use newer evidence,
4. avoid cultural stereotypes and biases in the stem of the MCQs, and
5. develop self-regulation skills in students.
Conclusion: Trauma-informed instruction must be introduced in the early phases of medical education to contribute to greater equality in medical education and prevent re-traumatization.

Authors:
Amitabha Basu, St. Matthews University School of Medicine, Cayman Islands
Aurianna Acloque, St. Matthews University School of Medicine, Cayman Islands

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Amitabha Basu is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at St. Matthews University School of Medicine in Cayman Islands

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

Bookmark