The specialty of Family Medicine enjoys a special position in the medical practice of the West, serving as one of the key primary care specialties. Family physicians act as providers of first contact catering to the medical needs of the entire family in all aspects of preventive, curative and rehabilitative stages of illness and to health maintenance. The growth of this specialty, however, has ...

BACKGROUND Family physicians (FPs) specialize in the management of common problems, but we know little about their role in the care of patients with rare conditions. OBJECTIVE To describe the roles FPs play in the identification and management of patients with rare conditions in a typical practice. METHODS Office record review of 100 patients with rare conditions in the everyday, community-...

A SPATE of textbooks on general practice have recently appeared and have outlined the content and the role of the general practitioner. The terms 'general practitioner' and 'family doctor' are used synonymously, yet this book undoubtedly suggests that the study of family structure and dynamics, and the impact of illness upon the family, adds a new dimension to general practice and justifies the...

BACKGROUND Cancer and non-communicable diseases are a major issue not only for the developed but also developing countries. Public health and primary care nursing offer great potential for primary and secondary prevention of these diseases through community and family-based approaches. Within Thailand there are related established educational curricula but less is known about how graduate pract...

The care of the pediatric patient with a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an all-encompassing nursing challenge. Nursing vigilance is required to maintain a physiological balance that protects the injured brain. From the time a child and family first enter the hospital, they are met with the risk of potential death and an uncertain future. The family is subjected to an influx of complex m...

The End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) is a train-the-trainer educational program that helps nursing faculty integrate care of the dying patient and the patient's family into the nursing curriculum. This article presents pedagogical techniques derived from the ELNEC teaching module on communication and key content areas for developing communication skills in end-of-life care. Comp...