Medical student identification of domestic violence as measured on an objective, standardized clinical examination

This study examined the incidence and predictors of domestic violence screening by third-year medical students at an end of clerkship Objective Standardized Clinical Examination.

Two hundred and seventy-five third-year medical students completed an 8-station end of clerkship Objective Standardized Clinical Examination as part of this retrospective observational study, one with nonspecific abdominal pain and possible domestic violence. Checklists on history, physical, communication, and interpersonal skills were collected. Domestic violence screening was analyzed by logistic regression and analysis of variance.

The incidence of domestic violence screening by history alone was 34% before the physical. Interpersonal scores on the overall exam and domestic violence station, but not gender or rotation sequence, predicted domestic violence questioning.

In this standardized patient study there was a low rate of domestic violence screening by history.