Trauma-Informed Care in the Classroom: Our Experience with a Content Warning in a Medical School Course

Abstract

Trauma is now recognized as a common human experience that has consequences, including adverse effects on learning outcomes. Principles of trauma-informed care include awareness of the impact of trauma and use of strategies to prevent retraumatization. While well-described in medical and mental health care, these principles have been inconsistently applied in the medical education classroom. Content warnings can be part of a trauma-informed classroom approach that notifies learners about potentially distressing topics, allows individuals to employ self-care, and seeks to resist retraumatization. This article describes our experience integrating a content warning about reproductive topics in a second-year medical school course.