Nov-Dec 2004 Table of Contents

LETTERS

Fam Pract Manag. 2004 Nov-Dec;11(10):21-22.

Accentuating the positive in family medicine

To the Editor:

OK, now I’ve had it! Another “ain’t it awful” editorial, “Exploring the Limits of an Insane System.” How are we to recruit young physicians to the specialty if all we do is shame and blame? Yes, the system needs fixing, and understanding managed care and third-party payers is next to impossible. But isn’t practicing family medicine fun? Aren’t the possibilities for the future exciting?

The Future of Family Medicine report didn’t say that family medicine was threatened by “the insane asylum in which family physicians practice today.” It said to get an electronic health record system, practice patient-centered care, do practice-based research and offer comprehensive services. Basically, it said to treat each other and your patients as a professional would and you will insure the survival of the specialty.

So how about we do away with negativism and finger-pointing and proudly offer up our residencies and practices to medical students as delightful places to do scientific work, take quality care of nice people and make a decent living (without having to charge people to return their phone calls)?

Copyright © 2004 by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
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