1. Learning to Become a Family Physician - The First Six Months
INCOMING CHALLENGES
EXPERIENCE
DEVELOPMENT AT 6 MONTHS
The experience of being and feeling responsible for the outcome of their patient’s care, using their knowledge in practice, establishing a practice and adjusting to new practice management responsibilities increases confidence and comfort in the role of doctor
Responsibility
Learning how to be the
doctor responsible for the
patient’s care
As a sense of confidence and comfort in the responsibilities associated with being a doctor develops, the process of learning what it means to be a family physician begins, leading to identification with the role of family medicine resident
The experience of using their knowledge in practice helps residents begin to recognize what in their knowledge bank is relevant to ask given the context. Returning patients allow residents to see the outcome of Rx and management plans and to begin recognizing what is urgent and what can wait
IDENTITY FORMATION
Knowledge
Learning how to use their
medical knowledge in the
context of a family
medicine setting
Increasingly confident that they can medically manage the patient’s care means they are able to broaden focus
of inquiry to include patient’s life
context and illness experience
Recognize that role is not limited to that of medical expert, but competent care as the family physician means being more of a generalist who plays multiple roles in the lives of their patients
The experience of seeing different patient types, personalities and problems over time and hearing their feedback shifts residents concept of what patients want and need. Approach to the relationship becomes more flexible and patient-centered as residents learn to share power within the context of the clinical encounter
Doctor-Patient
Relationship
Learning how to establish
relationships with patients
as the doctor
FIGURE 3