This article is intended to inform STFM and NAPCRG members of current developments regarding this organizational process and the future of each organization. These preliminary discussions have provided a basis for determining how family medicine can be more effective as an academic discipline. The board of directors and the officers ...

This analysis of the relationship of infant and childhood illness and death to ghost beliefs is based on holistic fieldwork in the late 1950s and the late 1970s in Shanti Nagar (a pseudonym), a village in North India. Illness and the supernatural world are linked by the concepts of ghosts ...

In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychiatry seminar designed to teach the principles of psychiatric history taking, diagnosis, and management to first-year family medicine residents, an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and accompanying marking system were designed and used in 1988. The OSCE scores of the family ...

A study was designed to investigate the status of obstetric practice by Pennsylvania family physicians and its relationship to family practice residency training. A 50% probability sample of all family and general physicians and of all graduates of Pennsylvania family practice residency programs was surveyed by mail. Ten percent of ...

It is well documented that residency-trained family physicians can effectively manage the majority of nonsurgical acute orthopedic injuries with a relatively small rate of consultation. The frequency of both fracture location and orthopedic review in our series are remarkably similar to the study from NRMC Charleston reported in 1981. Our ...

Five family physicians in a group practice in rural Quebec have introduced a computer system to improve the delivery of preventive medicine. In addition to billing, the computer is used mainly to recall specific groups of patients for preventive measures, to prompt the physicians to carry out certain procedures at ...

Developing the knowledge and skills of critical appraisal is key to family practice. An innovative course in health promotion/illness prevention which employs a debate format is described. The long-range goal is for family practice residents to be able to weigh evidence where authorities are in conflict in order to incorporate ...

A case analysis of a family's experience with juvenile diabetes is used to illustrate the three interactive components of the family management style (FMS) model proposed by Knafl and Deatrick. Family members' definition of the situation, management behaviors, and their sociocultural context are described and related. A shared family management ...

Interviews with 15 elderly practicing psychiatrists found them cheerful, optimistic and enjoying doing psychotherapy. Most practiced as they had been trained originally, saw outpatients primarily--though fewer and less frequently--than they had earlier in their careers. They experienced fewer transference and countertransference difficulties; and were neither more advice-giving nor self-disclosing than ...

This paper presents results from two studies of primary care residency programs. Study I was a survey of preventive cardiology attitudes and practice-related intentions of internal medicine and family medicine residents from throughout the United States. Study II consisted of an examination of family medicine residents' perceptions regarding preventive practices ...

In response to the threat of litigation, physicians practice defensive medicine. A more effective means of reducing malpractice liability and improving the quality of patient care is to practice defensible medicine, i.e., those practice patterns that reduce the potential for claims and increase the likelihood that when claims do arise, ...

Why do some family physician (FP) authors submit manuscripts to non-family medicine journals instead of to family medicine journals? This study identified all 32 FP-authored articles that were published in several widely read non-family medicine journals over a 4-year period. Twenty-nine (90.6%) of the FP authors thus identified responded to ...

The authors assessed the influence of residency training in family medicine on physicians' attitudes toward comprehensive care by surveying a representative sample of Quebec family physicians. The sample consisted of 290 physicians trained in family medicine and 267 physicians trained in internship programs. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to measure ...

Family physicians and obstetricians are rapidly discontinuing obstetric practice. Infringement on lifestyle and threat of litigation are the two most important reasons for both family physicians' and obstetricians' withdrawing from obstetric practice. Only 4% of each medical school graduating class will enter practice as fully trained obstetricians. The most likely ...

The academic basis of family medicine is currently undergoing reexamination. Some would have the specialty leave the academic arena and pursue a biopsychosocial mode of practice in the community. Others would have family medicine aggressively pursue academic research, apparently by abandoning the biopsychosocial approach to medical care. Chemistry as an ...

This report describes the compilation and initial steps in the field testing of a new questionnaire intended for Israeli family physicians wishing to rapidly assess the general level of family functioning of their patients as part of everyday routine history taking in practice. The questionnaire was shown to have reasonable ...

Previous research has identified five characteristics of medical schools that are related to the choice of family medicine as a specialty: (1) the amount of time devoted to required training in family medicine, (2) the timing of the required family medicine training, (3) the type of ownership of the school ...

A course on the doctor and his feelings was presented as part of a programme for family medicine residents. The course was led by family physicians and behavioural science professionals who taught as an integrated team. Various teaching techniques were utilized to highlight emotional aspects of the doctor-patient relationship to ...

The directors of family practice residencies were surveyed to measure the effect on family practice of the multitude of recent changes in medical organization and practice. The survey achieved a response rate of 80% (N = 306) and revealed that 90% of program directors were generally optimistic about the current ...

The Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona has operated a travelers' clinic since 1983, staffed primarily by faculty and residents from the sections of preventive medicine, occupational medicine, and family medicine. We describe the clinic experience in providing preventive medical services to international travelers. Summer ...

The discipline of family medicine covers a broad area of interests which often leads to duplication of information and lack of awareness of useful information resources. In an era of limited financial and time resources, it is in the best interest of large departments to consolidate departmental and scholarly information ...

The location of a physician's residency training is known to be a factor in selection of a practice location. In this paper, the authors analyze the practice locations of 689 family physicians who graduated from residency programs in Texas between 1979 and 1987 and who were practicing in Texas in ...

As the proportion of physicians who enter residency training in family practice steadily increases, so does the need to evaluate the impact of their training and postgraduate education on the quality of care in their practices. We audited the practices of 120 randomly selected family physicians in Ontario, who were ...

In an effort to determine the factors underlying changes in obstetric practice by family physicians, a random sample of 505 residency-trained family physicians was surveyed by mailed questionnaire. Of the 329 who responded, 65% had at some time practiced obstetrics, but only 45% were practicing obstetrics at the time of ...

This article reviews the paradigm shift that has characterized the growth of behavioral medicine and the impact of this field in family medicine education. Research studies summarizing the integration of these two disciplines are presented. It is concluded that of all medical specialties, family medicine is best suited to facilitate ...

The advantages of family practice in an HMO are fixed hours, excellent call coverage, and immediate, steady outcome. Its disadvantages are less control over administrative decisions, less continuity of coverage than in solo practice, and great sensitivity to economic pressures. The author discusses how he came to his decision to ...

Prevalent birth practices reflecting a family-centered, minimally invasive style of obstetrical practice were surveyed among 235 family physicians practicing obstetrics in Michigan. Respondents older than 35 years and those without an academic affiliation reported fewer "family-centered" and more "intrusive" practices than did younger or academically affiliated respondents. Compared to published ...

Medical care is a form of production of values, but not of commodities. This article argues that advertising as it is normally understood is not appropriate to general practitioner care. Acceptance of advertising by the medical profession would assist in the commercialization of a currently non-commercial relationship between doctors and ...

One thousand eighty-six studies were reviewed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and quality of measures of religion or religiosity in The Journal of Family Practice for the decade ending in 1986. Religious variables occurred at a relatively low rate, even among articles with some psychosocial content. The clear preponderance of ...

Differential diagnosis of common complaints is a curricular area appropriate for family medicine. Not usually taught in medical school, it is an area in which family medicine faculty are competent and effective teachers. A new component of our sophomore family medicine seminars has been the use of cases that demonstrate ...

Clinical trials are a relatively underused form of investigation in family medicine. This paper presents an overview of those considering conducting or assessing a clinical trial. A bibliography for further reading is also provided. Topics covered include aspects of: the development of a protocol; design such as randomization and binding; ...

Our study examines the rheumatology knowledge and skills of trainees in internal medicine and family practice residency programs. Site visits were made to 15 programs in the eastern half of the United States. Eighty-one trainees participated in the study, 53 in internal medicine and 28 in family practice. Each completed ...

A comprehensive family practice clerkship program at Howard University College of Medicine has been conducted since 1970. This institution is one of three predominantly black institutions offering a family practice program. The senior clerkship is mandatory and at least 20 to 25 percent of each class elect to participate in ...

All students at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, School of Medicine responded to a 65-item questionnaire about their perceptions of changes facing medicine, the future of family practice, and career choices. Three different orientations toward family practice were identified--"stayers," "defectors," and "potential defectors." Students who had abandoned their original preference ...

For family medicine to maintain the unique creativity and risk taking that were present at its inception, behavioral scientists must be allowed to play, and be willing to assume, an essential role in the ongoing process of defining the field of family medicine, formulating its assumptions and asserting its future ...

This descriptive study which uses data obtained from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan has identified a number of differences in the style of practice chosen by general practice/family medicine (gp/fm) physicians who graduated from McMaster medical school from that of other contemporary Ontario gp/fm graduates who are practicing in Ontario. ...

There is a lack of data assessing needs and evaluating educational objectives in general surgery for family practice residents. Studies suggest that family practice residency graduates feel underprepared in some surgical areas. This study provides results of a survey of 28 surgeons, practicing family physicians and family practice residents in ...

The Donald I. Rice Merit Award was established for presentation to a family physician who is well regarded nationally or internationally. Its purpose is to allow the recipient to visit different parts of Canada, through arrangements made with College chapters and Departments of Family Medicine. The recipient may give talks, ...

This article outlines the development of the National Advisory Council on Family Medicine Training as based on the recommendations of the Canadian Medical Association Task Force on Education for the Provision of Primary Care Services and its report Family Practice Training: Continuing the Evolution. The changes that were recommended in ...

Academic Family Medicine enjoys a wide range of external support for its involvement in, and contribution to, undergraduate medical education. However, a narrow but important range of opposition exists within many medical schools. The author suggests means by which we might ensure a bright future for academic family medicine within ...

Diagnosis and management of the child with an ocular inflammation demands that all of the standard tools of medicine be employed: family and individual history, particularly of allergy, social and diet history, system review, physical examination, and basic laboratory testing with special tests for certain microorganisms and allergies. Close cooperation ...

A survey of 310 graduates of eight university-affiliated family medicine residencies in the northwestern United States conducted in 1985 revealed several significant differences between male and female graduates. The female graduates were significantly (p less than .05) more likely than male graduates to practice in urban settings, taking salaried positions, ...

Almost as trying as Alzheimer's disease is for patients and families are the frustrations physicians experience in considering its treatment. The apparent lack of "anything to do" can discourage physicians from attempting anything more than perfunctory management of these cases. Nevertheless, the expert panelists that Geriatrics convened for this discussion ...

Two hundred and two family doctors in practice responded to a survey that identified orthopaedics as a surgical specialty in which they would have benefited from more training. Forty percent felt unprepared to apply casts or manage fractures. Learning objectives were either not used or used ineffectively, according to the ...

To investigate factors influencing a resident's decision to participate in obstetrical care, a survey was undertaken of program directors and third-year residents from the 16 Michigan family practice residency programs. Responses indicated that the majority of third-year residents (55%) intended to practice obstetrics on graduation. Rural practice plans were significantly ...

Twentieth century developments in the sciences of physics, chemistry, and biology have led to new principles and paradigms with which the social, philosophical, and clinical tenets of family medicine are fully consistent. Familiarity with these new scientific models can give not only validation for the concepts inherent in family medicine ...

Family medicine continues to struggle for a legitimate place in academic medicine, largely because it has not yet built a research base to compare with other medical disciplines. The problem lies in a conflict between the research method and the interests of traditional medicine, which is dominated by the disease ...

The College of Family Physicians of Canada uses a simulated office oral examination to test candidates for certification in family medicine. This examination has been highly successful. An analysis of this instrument provides a description of skills required for a certificant of the college. Its basic outline can be used ...

In order to determine the feasibility of family record cards in general practice a research secretary created cards for 1825 households from a practice of 10 600 patients. The capital cost was pound108 and the time taken by the secretary was 1638 hours, which is equivalent to a wage of ...

This is a study of perception of negative afterimages. Surface color samples were viewed under Spectralight. Subjects fixated on 11 Munsell hues mounted on white cards and matched their afterimages with chips from the Munsell Book of Color. Samples were drawn from 125 participants in two groups, one practiced, the ...