Incorporating the Experiences of Youth with Traumatic Injury into the Training of Health Professionals

Youth violence and related injury continue to be a serious public health problem and are identified as a major priority on the national health care agenda. Despite recommendations by numerous professional organizations to enhance healthcare professionals’ roles in youth violence prevention efforts, there has been little documentation of effective training. To address this gap, the University of California, San Diego Department of Pediatrics (UCSD) partnered with San Diego–based Sharp HealthCare’s Institute for Injury & Violence Prevention Think First San Diego in a novel program. As part of a panel that highlighted violence as a public health problem and a physician’s responsibility in youth violence prevention, youth disabled by violence told fourth year medical students about opportunities for direct intervention in the lives of victims and perpetrators. The personal stories these young people tell of the effect of violence on individuals is a valuable training tool and a powerful way of humanizing the situation. Their participation also highlights physicians’ opportunities for intervention and responsibility in directly addressing adolescents at risk.