What is a general physician? His role in the teaching hospital.

OVER the last few years the nature of the work of the general physician in the teaching hospital has changed considerably. His exact functions are no longer clear and it is not certain whether the general physician has a future in the large general hospital. The reasons for this include1. The growth of sub-specialities in medicine. These tend to attract direct referrals from general practitioners. This affects the work of the general physician. He finds that many of the patients whose disorders he has been trained to manage, and which he is competent to manage, no longer come to him. The work-load of the general physician thus becomes unbalinced and a large proportion of his patients are those who have chronic illnesses, whose problems are social rather than strictly medical, and who have diseases which are not fashionable for specialists to manage.