Leader: Professor L Piterman

Offered

Clayton First semester 2008 (Off-campus)
Clayton Second semester 2008 (Off-campus)

Synopsis

This unit is a compulsory core unit for the Grad.Dip.Family Medicine and MFM(Clin) and covers the following content: medicine as a science, the science and art of medicine, the technology and craft of medicine, health and illness, sickness and disease, aetiology, diagnosis and prognosis, concepts of healing, history and philosophy of general practice, conceptual framework of general practice, roles and tasks of the general practitioner, general practice in the community and community health, future directions of general practice and the academic general practice: general practitioners in the university setting.

Objectives

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Accurately define and describe the nature of the discipline of general practice including its history, philosophy and practice;
2. Compare and contrast general practice with other medical specialities;
3. Appreciate the significance of patient centredness in differentiating general practice from other disciplines;
4. Understand the role of the general practitioner as the gatekeeper of the health care system and the implications of this role in providing cost effective primary medical care to the community;
5. Recognise the potential for growth in the academic aspects of general practice in the future and the contribution that graduates from this course can make to this growth;
6. Appreciate the nature and scope of general practice research including similarities and differences to research in other medical disciplines;
7. Acquire knowledge and skills in a number of chosen areas of special interest as defined in the elective units of this course.

Assessment

Journals (P/F), Assignment 1 (35%), Assignment 2 (25%), Assignment 3 (40%)