The case for and against subspecialization in family medicine

[Excerpt] Family doctors take pride in delivering a broad range of services to varied populations; however there are challenges to this strongly held view. Robert Heinlen argued in favour of generalism, saying that that a competent person should be able to (among other skills) “change a diaper, balance accounts, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, and analyze a new problem”. His punch line is that: “Specialization is for insects.”1 Heinlen’s list could well apply to some of the skills we need daily in family practice [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Culture and health: why we need medical anthropology in family medicine in Portugal

Culture is the framework for our beliefs and practices as a society. This includes our health beliefs and behaviours. Medical anthro - pology, as the study of culture and health, has a great deal to teach us about what we value in health, how we view disease, and how we cope with changes in our health. In this editorial, I would like to reflect on how we may use this discipline to enrich teaching and learning in family medicine in Portugal

Presenteeism: why we work when we are sick

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Work and Health

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Teamwork in family medicine: another myth to expose?

Teamwork in family medicine: another myth to expose?info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessing physician performance and learning needs in primary care in Portugal - Beyond SIADAP

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Refugee and migrant health: can family doctors meet the challenge?

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Teaching and learning about uncertainty in family medicine

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Sex and gender in family medicine in Portugal

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Accessibility in family medicine: re-examining a core concept

[Excerpt] If you want to limit your workload as a family doctor, make sure your clinic is open only from 2 to 3 a.m. on a Wednesday morning.” Dr. Arthur Furst, a pioneer of modern academic family medicine in Israel, made this provocative challenge to highlight the conflict surrounding accessibility in family medicine. Our patients’ needs are endless yet our resources and our abilities to meet them are limited. How do we find a happy balance? In order to answer this question, we need to re-examine access as a core concept in family medicine. Accessibility is one of the 4 A’s of the profession along with ability, affordability, and affability. We need to be good doctors and good people. We also need to provide an affordable service that our patients can use easily. This also fits in with the 5 C’s of family medicine. We work in a community-based specialty, with continuous and comprehensive care, excellent communication with the patient, and attention to the family context. However, we need to critique the value of accessibility so that attention to access, at all costs, does not jeopardize the others. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio