HIV Pretest and Posttest Counseling: Still Missing From Medical School Curriculum

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

HIV Pretest and Posttest Counseling: Still Missing From Medical School Curriculum

Archives of Internal Medicine Online (11/27/00) Vol. 160, No. 21,
Green, Sonya; Del Rio, Carlos

In an editor's correspondence in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Sonya Green and Carlos del Rio report that most recent medical school graduates have received no training regarding HIV pretest and posttest counseling. In a study supported under a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the researchers asked incoming medical interns at Emory University about their experience with and knowledge of HIV testing. The survey, conducted in June 2000, involved 71 graduates from 41 medical schools. Only 13 percent of the participants had received any formal training for HIV pretest and posttest counseling while in medical school, and most of this education was extremely brief. The survey also revealed that only 24 percent had ever delivered an HIV-positive result, in most cases only one time, and that knowledge of HIV testing guidelines was limited.
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