The psychosocial review: evaluating development and implementation in a family practice residency

This paper presents a comprehensive system for family physicians to use in integrating psychological and social dimensions into everyday practice. Called the Psychosocial Review, this set of techniques includes a structured format for gathering information, making goal-focused assessments, and developing treatment plans. A framework for training family practice residents in the system is detailed. A research project evaluating the application of this program in two resident office practices is described. Results indicated that residents acquired information-gathering skills, but remained deficient in incorporating data into assessment and treatment. Implications for training are discussed, with the conclusion that a collaborative effort between behavioral science faculty and family physician faculty, including an emphasis on direct observation and supervision, appears to be the most promising approach to training family practice residents in behavioral science.