European Definition of General Practice
Six Core Competencies
Core means essential to the discipline, irrespective of the health care
system in which they are applied.
Primary care management
-
the
ability to manage primary contact with patients;
-
to co-ordinate care with other professionals in primary
care and with other specialists leading to effective and appropriate care
provision, taking an advocacy position with the patient when needed.
Person-centred care
-
the ability to adopt a person-centred approach in dealing
with patients and problems;
-
to develop and apply the general practice consultation to
bring about an effective doctor-patient relationship;
-
to
provide longitudinal continuity of care as determined by the needs of the
patient.
Specific problem solving skills
-
to
utilise the specific decision making process determined by the prevalence and
incidence of illness in the community;
-
to manage conditions which may present early and in an
undifferentiated way, and to intervene urgently when necessary.
Comprehensive approach
-
to
manage simultaneously both acute and chronic health problems in the
individual;
-
to promote health and well being by applying health
promotion and disease prevention strategies appropriately.
Community orientation
-
to reconcile the health needs of individual patients and
the health needs of the community in which they live, in balance with
available resources .
Holistic approach
-
the ability to use a bio-psycho-social model, taking into
account cultural dimensions.
To
practice the specialty, the competent practitioner implements these
competencies in three important areas:
- clinical tasks
- communication with patients and
- management of the practice
As a person-centred
scientific discipline, three background
features should be considered as fundamental:
- Contextual:
using the context of the person, the family, the community and their culture
- Attitudinal:
based on the doctor’s professional capabilities, values and ethics
- Scientific:
adopting a critical and research based approach to practice and maintaining
this through continuing learning and quality improvement.
The interrelation of core competencies, implementation
areas and fundamental features characterises our discipline and underlines the
complexity of the specialty.
Source:
EURACT
The
definition of the discipline of general practice and of the specialist
family doctor.