OBJECTIVE To describe the development and validation of a test of knowledge and skills in evidence based medicine. DESIGN Cross sectional study. SETTING Family practice residency programme in California; a list server for those who teach evidence based medicine; and an evidence based medicine seminar series. PARTICIPANTS Family practice residents and faculty members (n=43); volunteers sel...

BACKGROUND General practice based registration networks (GPRNs) provide information on morbidity rates in the population. Morbidity rate estimates from different GPRNs, however, reveal considerable, unexplained differences. We studied the range and variation in morbidity estimates, as well as the extent to which the differences in morbidity rates between general practices and networks change if...

Quality service provision and patient safety and satisfaction in encounters with health-care professionals relies on effective communication between the practitioner and patient. This study aimed to identify effective practices for improving communication between clinical staff in general practice and patients with limited English proficiency, and to promote their implementation in general prac...

Residency faculty in all specialties will be required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to fully implement competencies into residency programs by 2006. Understanding the new requirements is complicated by having several sets of guiding documents from different sources, including the general competencies of the ACGME, the Residency Review Committee for Family P...

PURPOSE A substantial proportion of adult patients with asthma have inadequately controlled symptoms despite the availability of effective treatment. The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) can be used to discriminate between asthma patients with well- and suboptimally controlled asthma symptoms. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a postal mailing of the ACQ can be used to id...

In the European Definition of General Practice, WONCA Europe defined the specialty of General Practice in great detail 1 but the strength of the definition was actually its generality. Included in this was the statement that GPs provide 'care to every individual seeking medical care irrespective of age, sex and illness.' This splendidly defines the scope of general practice as all encompassing....

For new teachers and mentors in family practice, you are embarking on a career (part time or fulltime) that is both challenging and rewarding. You may be at a loss as to how to start to become a good teacher or mentor. Understanding that need, this new series of short notes will hopefully provide some tips on specific areas of concern like how to prepare a tutorial, to give feedback, mentoring ...

BACKGROUND General practice receptionists fulfil an essential role in UK primary care, shaping patient access to health professionals. They are often portrayed as powerful 'gatekeepers'. Existing literature and management initiatives advocate more training to improve their performance and, consequently, the patient experience. AIM To explore the complexity of the role of general practice rece...

The portion of US physicians who practice primary care has been declining, and there is general agreement that the United States has a shortage of primary care physicians. In spite of this shortage, both the number of first-year residency positions in family practice residencies1,2 and the match rate for the existing family practice first-year residency positions have declined.3 In the past, ru...

BACKGROUND Although procedural training in family practice has recently received greater emphasis, the current status of this training in residency programs has not been reported. Considerable variation in procedural training among family practice residencies is allowed by the American Board of Family Practice and accreditation requirements. This study was performed to report the current status...