A Family Systems Curriculum: Back to the Future?

Area of Science:

• Family Medicine Education
• Systems Theory in Healthcare
• Medical Curriculum Development

Background:

• Family medicine residency programs show minimal formal training in family systems theory, despite its recognized value.
• Competing priorities in practice and residency curricula often limit the integration of family systems training.
• Historical context reveals a gap in structured family systems education within family medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a longitudinal family systems curriculum for family medicine residents.
• To assess the impact of the curriculum on residents' self-reported confidence, knowledge, and skills.
• To foster greater appreciation for family systems thinking in clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal family systems curriculum was implemented in the third year of a 4-year residency program.
• Program evaluation utilized scales to measure self-reported confidence, knowledge, and skills over two years.
• Data analysis focused on changes in resident self-assessments following curriculum participation.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed across all self-rating scales for all resident participants.
• Residents reported enhanced confidence in applying family systems concepts.
• Knowledge and skills related to intervening with and supporting families showed marked improvement.

Conclusions:

• The developed curriculum successfully increased residents' appreciation for family systems thinking.
• The program led to enhanced self-reported knowledge and skills for clinical family interventions.
• Further research is necessary to assess the sustainability and impact on actual clinical practice.