Master of Family Medicine

The purpose of the qualification is to graduate family physicians capable of delivering comprehensive, cost-effective patient care using a bio-psychosocial framework in primary care contexts. Additional purposes include an ability to answer questions by means of research and to pass on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the discipline of family medicine to future generations of doctors.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution conducts RPL in terms of the policy and guidelines of the institution to recognise other forms of formal, informal and non-formal learning and experience.

In cases where learners do not comply with the formal admission requirements, the institution applies its RPL policy.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor Honours in Family Medicine, NQF Level 8.
• 2 years of approved clinical experience after registration as a medical practitioner.

1. Ability to continue life-long learning.
2. Ability to reflect.
3. Ability to be patient-centred.
4. Ability to think in terms of systems.
5. Evaluate and manage patients with both undifferentiated and more specific problems cost-effectively using a bio-psychosocial approach.
6. Promote health and quality of life of the community.
7. Maintain up to date, quality practice by implementing research findings and own research.
8. Disseminate knowledge and skills to patients, the community, fellow health workers, and future generations of family physicians.
9. Manage him/herself and his/her practice (in public or private sector) effectively with visionary leadership.
10. Understand normal human development and counsel patients through these stages.
11. Utilise the potential of the family to promote health.
12. Awareness of cultural and other contextual aspects of health and illness.
13. Able to promote health and prevent illness.
14. Be able to solve ethical dilemmas.
15. Be skilled to maximise the potential of the consultation.

Associated Assessment Criteria

• Define learning needs arising from practice and meet these needs by accessing resources such as library books, journals, internet and personal interaction.
• Process experience to increase understanding and inform action.
• Understand not only the illness but also the patient as an individual within a specific context.
• Understandi of the interaction between systems.
• Diagnose illness.
• Formulate and implement, with the patient, a mutually acceptable, cost-effective management plan, evaluating and adjusting elements of the plan as necessary.
• Utilise and integrate resources in cost effective provision of affordable and accessible health care.
• Identify and manage problems influencing the health and quality of life in the community work with the community in this.
• Define problems and perform research (both qualitative and quantitative) to deepen understanding and find solutions.
• Critically read and analyse literature for professional growth and implementation in practice.
• Implement research and literature review in the management of problems in practice.
• Understand the principles of adult education.
• Skills in presenting information-written and verbal to individuals and groups.
• Manage him/herself maintaining his/her own health and fitness to practice
• Manage resources and processes effectively. Includes cost-effective clinical care, human resources, tools and information.
• Audit practice and act on the results in order to assure ongoing quality of practice.
• Ability to manage people to fulfil their potential and create an optimum working environment. (leading, motivating, providing strategic input, conflict management, encouraging teamwork).
• Understandof human development.
• Form and maintain a therapeutic relationship with a patient and deal with issues such as transference and boundaries.
• Understand the impact of illness on the family and the impact of the family on the illness and use this understanding to promote health.
• Conduct a family interview.
• Hold an attitude of respect for, and willingness to learn about, cultural beliefs of patients and communities in order to negotiate most appropriate management.
• Understand of own cultural issues and values that impact on one's work.
• Implement opportunistic and routine health promotion in consultations.
• Run health promotion and preventive interventions in the community.
• Have an attitude of "the community at risk" i.e. Implement intervention aimed to prevent illness and detect early illness in people at risk in the community.
• Define an ethical dilemma in practice.
• Ability to resolve dilemmas using ethical principles
• Conduct a patient-centred consultation.
• Understand of the doctor-patient relationship and an ability to deal with difficult relationships.
• Establish rapport with patients, show empathy, explain illness and interventions clearly and negotiate appropriate management with the patient.
• Understand the patient as a person within a specific context.

Integrated Assessment

Observed role-played consultations.

Demonstrate ability to form therapeutic relationships with patients, use a patient-centred approach, give clear explanations of the illness or interventions, and negotiate management with the patient. The learner is required to write up a three stage assessment which requires an ability to make accurate clinical diagnoses, show an understanding of the patient with regard to their fears, beliefs and expectations and to identify contextual factors that impact on the illness or the management. Learners are required to decide on a management plan including curative, preventive and promotive care appropriate for the patient as an individual within a particular context.

Observed consultations with real patients-videotaped and in-vivo. Demonstrates the same as above but in a real situation. The video-recorded consultation demonstrates the learner's performance in their work situation.

Observed structured clinical exam-tests clinical skills such as diagnostic skills, and practical skills relevant to general practice and emergency care.

Clinical Exams-tests attitudes and ability to integrate knowledge, and skills in the consultation.

Oral exam-Tests knowledge, understanding and problem solving ability.

Participation in coursework including patient presentations-Demonstrates learner's understanding of the material, personal and professional development.

Assignments

Audit project-Demonstrate ability to set target standards for their practice, assess how these are being met, and use this information to plan for improvement of quality of the service.

Human Growth and Development-Learners integrate reflections from their reflective journals with theoretical knowledge of human growth and development in order to show understanding of the human life cycle.

Principles of Family Medicine -Assesses how learners are using the principles in their practice.

Family interview-Demonstrates ability to conduct a family interview in learner's own practice.

Ethics-Learners define an ethical problem from their practice and demonstrate a step-by-step approach to solving it.

Evidence-Based Medicine-Demonstrates the ability to define a problem in practice, access and critically assess the literature and implement the best evidence in practice.

Patient Studies-Demonstrate ability to learn using resources such as journals, to solve problems in practice and continue professional and personal development.