Residency Program

Introduction to the Behavioral Medicine Curriculum

Patients seldom visit their Family Medicine physicians with a primary complaint of family stress or psychosocial problems. Rather, they present with symptoms related to these problems e.g., headache, fatigue, peptic ulcer disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, substance abuse, physical or sexual abuse, or simply noncompliance with medical treatment. Numerous studies examining the impact of stress on health implicate psychosocial and emotional issues to some degree in virtually every physical illness. The most conservative estimates suggest that 20 percent of primary care visits involve mental health issues with many arguing that the percentage is more likely 50 percent. Consequently, it is imperative that family physicians are well-trained to detect, assess, refer and provide primary care counseling for patients who have a wide range of psychosocial problems.

The purpose of the Behavioral Medicine curriculum in Family Medicine is to facilitate learning and application of the knowledge, skills and attitudes within the arena of the behavioral sciences that will be required of effective family physicians. The Behavioral Medicine curriculum is comprehensive, longitudinal, and offered in a wide variety of instructional settings and methods. Training is provided through clinical consultations, ambulatory and in-patient conferences, workshops, rotations, and electives.