Postgraduate Diploma in Family Medicine

Purpose

Family Medicine has recently gained specialist status in South Africa; A family physician delivers competent and comprehensive (curative, preventive, promotive, rehabilitative and palliative) care to patients and families in the community (ranging from primary care to district hospital facilities) using a bio-psychosocial approach. The purpose of the Postgraduate Diploma is to enable doctors to become more competent in the practice of family medicine and in this way improve the quality of health care provided by generalist doctors in the communities in which they work.

The qualification aims to help meet the expected demand for teachers of Family Medicine. While doctors with a Diploma: Family Medicine are not given specialist status, the course prepares there for the national Family Medicine exam or provides access to the Master Degree in Family Medicine, both of which are accepted for registration as a specialist in Family medicine. We will encourage doctors in the public sector as well as private sector to enrol. Doctors doing their community service year may be keen to join the qualification, thus using the opportunity to enhance their careers while in community settings. We also envisage enrolment of doctors with a little more experience who have decided to make family medicine their career. The third enrolment group envisaged are doctors in their mid-careers who want to catch up with new developments in family medicine and interact with colleagues on meaningful learning. The mix of learners with differing levels of experience will enrich the learning environment.

Rationale

This qualification will supply doctors with further training in Family Medicine in order to provide a high standard of cost-effective care at primary care level. Also, they will be able to train undergraduates in Family Medicine and Primary Care, supervise community service doctors more effectively and train doctors who in the future may require Postgraduate training in Family Medicine to practice independently.

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 of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, NQF Level 8.

1. Evaluate and manage patients with both undifferentiated and more specific problems cost-effectively according to the bio-psycho-social approach.
2. Manage him/herself and his/her practice in public or private sector effectively, with visionary leadership.
3. Prevent illness and promote health at an individual and community level.
4. Continually improve own practice of medicine by means of on-going learning.based on evidence.
5. Pass on knowledge and skills regarding family medicine to patients, the community, other health-care workers and medical learners and doctors.
6. Practice in an ethical, compassionate and responsible manner.

• Diagnose illness in a primary care context.
• Formulate and implement, with the patient, a mutually acceptable, cost-effective management plan, evaluating and adjusting elements of the plan as necessary.
• Management skills including diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
• 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.
• Ability to work with the community in this.
• 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 (in public or private sector) effectively his/her own health and fitness to practice.
• Ability to 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.
• Manage people to fulfil their potential and create an optimum working environment. (leading, motivating, providing strategic input, conflict management, encouraging teamwork).
• Understanding of human development and self awareness and understanding of own developmental issues, strengths and weaknesses.
• 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.
• Ability to conduct a family interview.
• Implement opportunistic and illness 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.
• Resolve dilemmas using ethical principles.
• Conduct a patient-centred consultation.
• Understanding 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.
• Understand not only the illness but also the patient as an individual within a specific context.
• Understanding of the interaction within and between systems.
• Define learning needs arising from practice and meet these needs by accessing resources such as library books, journals, internet and personal interaction.
• Process experience in order to increase understanding and inform action.

Integrated Assessment

Formative assessment will be using of assignments after specific modules as well as assignments on patient-triggered learning requiring the integration of what is learned in modules. Summative assessment will be using of role-played consultations, actual consultations, practical skills stations and oral examinations.