A Residency Training Program in Family Practice / 医学教育

ABSTRACT

1) “To live as a family physician” is the central value of the residency training program at the Hokkaido Centre for Family Medicine where the trainees practice specialty approaches of family practice everyday supervised by their family physician trainers in the communities in which they reside.<BR>2) Training at multiple facilities enables the trainees to experience family practice in different communities where their culture, social context, health resources, health issues and the age composition vary. The trainees can also enjoy their relationship with their trainers-role models for them who show the various practice and training styles.<BR>3) The definition-based curriculum in family practice is indispensable, enabling medical students and resident physicians in Japan wishing to become family physicians to understand that “family practice is a specialty in medicine that can be learned concretely.”<BR>4) Trainers can evaluate their trainees by using a “Core Component” curriculum, which is based on the new working definition of family practice, and a “Common Problems Component” curriculum, which covers all the specialties in clinical medicine.<BR>5) In addition to residency training programs in family practice, a residency review committee, an evaluation and certifying examination program, and programs for continuing professional development to allow certified family physicians to keep themselves up-to-date are needed.