Teaching "family": evaluating a multidimensional clerkship curriculum.
BACKGROUND
A multidimensional program that includes workshops on family systems, family interviewing, a home visit, and faculty precepting at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is described and evaluated.


METHODS
Over a 3-year period, ETSU junior clerks received systematic instruction on family issues in medical practice. Evaluations were obtained at the conclusion of the experience.


RESULTS
The number of students who rated the importance of family in family practice as "very strong" increased from 14 (28%) to 33 (66%) between the beginning and the end of the rotation. The majority of students reported that each of the curricular elements on family had a "strong positive impact" and rated home visits as most important in promoting their understanding of families.


CONCLUSIONS
The curriculum on family had a significant role in enhancing students' appreciation of the importance of the family in medicine.
Lang
F
F
Department of Family Medicine, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, USA.
Floyd
M
M
Beine
K L
KL
Parker
M
M
Abell
C
C
D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D003479:Curriculum; D005190:Family; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011231:Preceptorship; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013714:Tennessee