WEB EXTRA!
To the editor:
The national decline of student interest in family medicine over the past several years is well-documented. The trend is discouraging, especially to those of us in predoctoral education who observe students we think would be outstanding family physicians choose to follow other specialty careers. However, I was gratified by a recent experience.
As director of predoctoral education in Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, I sit down with students completing a six-week family medicine clerkship. One of the questions I ask in these sessions is, “What surprised you on this clerkship?” Here are responses I recently heard from these students, none of whom had expressed serious interest in family practice before the clerkship:
"I was surprised by the variety of things we did. We saw plenty of school physicals, but one day, we admitted a guy to the CCU with a heart attack, and later the same day my preceptor was consoling a lady whose son had been killed in another state."
"I was surprised by how my preceptor treated her patients like her friends."
"I've never been around a group of doctors who had so much fun doing what they do."
I do not know what career path these students will ultimately choose, but I do know they have gained insight into the reasons family physicians do what we do. I want to pass along my appreciation to all of you who volunteer your time to host students in your practice. You are teaching them invaluable lessons, regardless of what happens with national trends in specialty choice.
Scott Moser, M.D.
Wichita, Kan.
|
To the reader Write us a letter of 200 words or fewer (subject to editing). FP Report, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Leawood, KS 66211-2672; fax them to (913) 906-6089; call (800) 274-2237, Ext. 5230; or contact fpreport@aafp.org via e-mail. |
To the editor:
It was good to read in the May FP Report ("AAFP Hosts Think Tank on How to Boost Patient Safety") that AAFP is actively involved in efforts to boost patient safety. However, the list of "directions the Academy should consider" omits two essential features of any effective error-reduction initiative in our complex, sometimes chaotic health care arena.
The first of these is simplicity. Mental overload inevitably occurs when systems become too complex, and no amount of exhortation or computerization can overcome it. Ignoring or denying this obvious fact is like arguing that if one aspirin tablet is good and two are better, four must be really great.
The second is motivation. If those in the trenches see quality as important and feel good about ensuring it, they will achieve remarkable results. If they feel overwhelmed and/or browbeaten, they will retreat into the bureaucratic mode. The result will be lots of statistics and pretty words but little or no substantive progress.
Robert Gillette, M.D.
Poland, Ohio
To the editor:
This is in response to Milton Johnson's letter in the July FP Report in which he laments how midlevel providers are undermining the medical profession. Perhaps Mr. Johnson should climb off his lofty pedestal. The medical profession, in particular family practice, has only been enhanced by the addition of PAs and NPs. My medical education was one semester shy of the medical student's education at the University of Minnesota. While the degree that hangs on my wall may be different from that of Mr. Johnson, the real measure of a competent provider is in patient satisfaction and outcome. My patients in the rural towns I practice in are well-cared for and happy to have my service. My license is not de facto and was hard earned.
Dan
Lillquist, P.A.-C.
Paynesville, Minn.
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2003 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.