The first medical doctors were generalists who treated everyone in town - adults, children and seniors. They diagnosed and treated chicken pox in the kids, performed surgery on Dad, delivered Mom's babies and eased the pain of the elderly who were dying. In fact, for thousands of years, these generalists provided all of the medical care available. Today, these all-purpose physicians hold family practice jobs.
As medical knowledge and technology expanded to the point where it became impractical for every physician to have the latest training in every medical discipline, many physicians began choosing to limit their practices to specific, defined specialties. In the two decades following the World War II, the number of specialists and sub-specialists increased at an astounding rate, while the number of generalists declined dramatically. Gradually, however, the public became increasingly vocal about the fragmentation of their care and the shortage of physicians who could provide initial, continuing and comprehensive care for every member of the family.
This outcry brought about the reintroduction of medicine back to "primary care". The establishment of family medicine was thus named medicine's twentieth specialty.
Like many specialties, family medicine incorporates (1) knowledge, (2) skill and (3) process. Although knowledge and skill may be shared with other specialties, it is the third item above - the family medicine process - which is unique. At the center of this process is the patient-physician relationship, with the patient viewed in the context of the family. It is the extent to which this inter-relationship is developed and maintained that distinguishes a family practice job from all other physician jobs in medicine.
Serving as the gatekeeper for the patient's entry into the health care system, the family physician's function is the healthcare systems' first point of contact. This puts the family medicine physician in a unique position to form a bond with their patient. The family physician's job is both personal and comprehensive never limited by the patient's sex, age or problem.
This relationsip allows the family physician to base the patient's care on knowledge of the family and the community while focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. Should the patient need to be referred the family physician refers their patient to a specialist or caregiver, but will remain the overall coordinator of the patient's health care. This system prevents confusion and mistakes in both the outpatient and inpatient settings.
The family physician serves as the patient's advocate in dealing with other medical professionals, third party payers, employers and the world at large. As such, the family medicine physician serves as a governor over rising healthcare costs.
Although all family physicians share a core of knowledge, specific knowledge and skill vary by geographic areas and other socioeconomic factors. For example, the knowledge and skill useful to a family physician practicing in an inner city may vary from those needed by a family physician with a rural practice.
In closing, the speciality of family practice remains patient-focused and unbounded by age, sex or malady, keeping it rooted in historical generalist tradition. The patient-physician relationship , is central to this position and distinguishes family medicine from other specialties.
As medical knowledge and technology expanded to the point where it became impractical for every physician to have the latest training in every medical discipline, many physicians began choosing to limit their practices to specific, defined specialties. In the two decades following the World War II, the number of specialists and sub-specialists increased at an astounding rate, while the number of generalists declined dramatically. Gradually, however, the public became increasingly vocal about the fragmentation of their care and the shortage of physicians who could provide initial, continuing and comprehensive care for every member of the family.
This outcry brought about the reintroduction of medicine back to "primary care". The establishment of family medicine was thus named medicine's twentieth specialty.
Like many specialties, family medicine incorporates (1) knowledge, (2) skill and (3) process. Although knowledge and skill may be shared with other specialties, it is the third item above - the family medicine process - which is unique. At the center of this process is the patient-physician relationship, with the patient viewed in the context of the family. It is the extent to which this inter-relationship is developed and maintained that distinguishes a family practice job from all other physician jobs in medicine.
Serving as the gatekeeper for the patient's entry into the health care system, the family physician's function is the healthcare systems' first point of contact. This puts the family medicine physician in a unique position to form a bond with their patient. The family physician's job is both personal and comprehensive never limited by the patient's sex, age or problem.
This relationsip allows the family physician to base the patient's care on knowledge of the family and the community while focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. Should the patient need to be referred the family physician refers their patient to a specialist or caregiver, but will remain the overall coordinator of the patient's health care. This system prevents confusion and mistakes in both the outpatient and inpatient settings.
The family physician serves as the patient's advocate in dealing with other medical professionals, third party payers, employers and the world at large. As such, the family medicine physician serves as a governor over rising healthcare costs.
Although all family physicians share a core of knowledge, specific knowledge and skill vary by geographic areas and other socioeconomic factors. For example, the knowledge and skill useful to a family physician practicing in an inner city may vary from those needed by a family physician with a rural practice.
In closing, the speciality of family practice remains patient-focused and unbounded by age, sex or malady, keeping it rooted in historical generalist tradition. The patient-physician relationship , is central to this position and distinguishes family medicine from other specialties.
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