Australian Family Physician, the flagship journal of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), features a range of clinical, viewpoint and research articles focusing on key issues in general practice today.
The theme for the January/February edition of AFP is teaching in general practice and includes the following feature articles:
GPs in teaching practices
Janice Charles, Lisa Valenti, Graeme Miller
From April 2010 to March 2011, 956 general practitioners took part in BEACH (Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health). Five hundred and ninety-four (62%) worked in a teaching practice for undergraduates, junior doctors or general practice registrars.
Trainees in the practice - Practical issues
Caroline Laurence, Deb Docking, Danny Haydon, Carolyn Cheah
The demand for clinical placements in Australian general practice is on the rise. There are more medical students, more places available for junior doctors to undertake rotations in general practice (975 places by 2014) and more general practice registrar positions (1200 entry places by 2014). This article describes the key aspects of patient and financial management when trainees are present in the practice and suggests solutions to potential issues.
Clinical reasoning - A guide to improving teaching and practice
Andrew Linn, Carole Khaw, Hugh Kildea, Anne Tonkin
Clinical reasoning is seemingly as difficult to define as it is to teach. Clinicians generally 'know it when they see it', but rarely stop to consider what is meant by it, and more importantly, how to teach it to the next generation of clinicians. This article reviews the process of clinical reasoning and provides the teacher with a framework to teach clinical reasoning to students and junior doctors.
Teaching medical students - Tips from the frontline
James Best
Medical student teaching in the general practice setting in Australia is increasing at an exponential rate. Many experienced general practitioners who are motivated to teach have little or no training in teaching, and can feel intimidated by the process. The result is often the default position of passive teaching whereby the medical student merely observes consultations. This article provides tips and suggestions for teachers in general practice new to training medical students.
Also in this issue…
Rheumatic fever – Identification, management and secondary prevention
Michael T Smith, Yvonne Zurynski, David Lester-Smith, Elizabeth Elliott, Jonathan Carapetis
Acute rheumatic fever is a rare multisystem disease caused by an immunological response to Group A streptococcus infection. Acute rheumatic fever usually has onset in childhood and is most prevalent in Aboriginal and Maori populations and other disadvantaged groups. This article outlines the clinical features of acute rheumatic fever and describes the important role of primary healthcare providers in its identification, management and secondary prevention.
Management of type 2 diabetes – a community partnership approach
Susan Harch, David Reeve, Carole Reeve
The impact of type 2 diabetes is severe in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Fitzroy Valley, a remote region of the Kimberley in Western Australia, has a high population of Indigenous Australians. An effective community partnership has been formed between the local hospital, the population health service and local health services. This article describes the evaluation of a new model of partnership care using an audit cycle.
All articles are now available to read online at www.racgp.org.au/afp.
Australian Family Physician is a peer reviewed journal, publishing original articles and reviews dedicated to meeting the ongoing educational requirements of general practitioners. For more information, including subscription to the print version, please visit www.racgp.org.au/afp.