All the professional relationships examined in the previous two chapters have inherent within them an element of conflict based on the different professional ideologies of practitioners, both within and beyond the health professions. The reasons why communication is particularly poor in some instances are related directly to the way in which those in positions of authority, for example the general practitioner, perceive their role in society, and how they negotiate the power which is afforded that position. If a general practitioner perceives their own role in relation to the other services offered by their less respected (and paid) colleagues, then collaboration with those individuals is likely to be more productive. This is evident in new training approaches, which are attempting to implement changes in undergraduate medical training, from a biomedical/wound-led hospital approach to one which is community based and holistically located. The issue of training, considering the importance of training in relation to the acquisition of professional status, is paramount in offering health practitioners knowledge with which to inform their clinical practice. Training, in content and methodology, is also important for teaching new professionals their responsibilities, particularly in relation to the roles of others. In light of these considerations, this chapter will begin by examining medical training generally, before considering the concept of community-based and holistic training methods. Returning to the specific issue of domestic violence, this chapter will also address the impact of multi-agency training, before examining the concept of specialised training on domestic violence for healthcare professionals.

Community-based training models

It has been suggested that the modern healthcare system is currently in a state of crisis (Davis, 1979; Stark, 1982; Lowenberg and Davis, 1994), where the costs of providing adequate healthcare outweigh the funding available for such services. In documenting this ‘crisis’ in health provision, medical sociologists have examined how the role of the medic and the social control function of the medical profession are having to change to withstand these developments, while simultaneously maintaining the status of the profession. The historical origins of the medical profession suggest that the current ‘health crisis’ is due to the inability of medical discourse to treat adequately many of the medicalised problems which came under its jurisdiction in the process of professionalisation (Turner, 1995).