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Background: Substantial variations are still to be found in the strength of general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) across Europe regarding governance, workforce competence and performance, as well as academic development and position. Governments are encouraged by the WHO to secure high quality primary health care to their population, a necessity for reaching the goal "Health for all". The present study aimed at investigating the opinions of council members of the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT) on necessary actions to strengthen the position of GP/FM in their country., Methods: The study used a mixed methods exploratory sequential design. EURACT representatives from 32 European countries first participated in brain-storming on how to strengthen GP/FM in Europe. Later, representatives from 37 countries were asked to individually score the relevance of the proposed actions for their country on a 9-point Likert scale. They were also asked to evaluate the status of GP/FM in their country on four dimensions., Results: Respondents from 30 European countries returned complete questionnaires. To build and secure GP/FM as an academic discipline comprising teaching and research was seen as essential, regardless the present status of GP/FM in the respective country. To build GP/FM as a specialty on the same level as other specialties was seen as important in countries where GP/FM held a strong or medium strong position. The importance of common learning objectives and a defined bibliography were stated by respondents from countries where GP/FM presently has a weak position., Conclusions: In order to strengthen GP/FM throughout Europe, EURACT and other professional organizations must establish common goals and share expertise between countries. To influence decision makers through information on cost-effectiveness of a GP/FM-based health care system is also important.

Background: It is increasingly becoming evident that a strong primary health care system is more likely to provide better population health, more equity in health throughout the population, and better use of economic resources, compared to systems that are oriented towards specialty care. Developing and maintaining a strong and sustainable primary health care requires that a substantial part of graduating doctors go into primary care. This in turn requires that general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) strongly influences the curricula in medical schools. In the present paper we aim at describing the extent of GP/FM teaching in medical schools throughout Europe, checking for the presence of GP/FM curricula and clinical teaching in GP offices., Methods: A brief questionnaire was e-mailed to GP/FM or other professors at European medical universities., Results: 259 out of 400 existing universities in 39 European countries responded to our questionnaire. Out of these, 35 (13.5%) reported to have no GP/FM curriculum. These 35 medical faculties were located in 12 different European countries. In addition, 15 of the medical schools where a GP/FM curriculum did exist, reported that this curriculum did not include any clinical component (n = 5), or that the clinical part of the course was very brief - less than one week, mostly only a few hours (n = 10). In total, 50 universities (19%) thus had no or a very brief GP/FM curriculum. These were mainly located in the Eastern or Southern European regions., Conclusion: It is still possible to graduate from European medical universities without having been exposed to a GP/FM curriculum. The European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT) will launch efforts to change this situation.

Background: Family Medicine/General Practice (FM/GP) has not developed in a similar way worldwide. In countries that are not primary care oriented, the discipline of FM/GP may be less developed because this is not a career option for medical graduates. In such a situation, FM/GP will not be regarded as a required clinical experience during medical school., Objectives: To define the 'minimal requirements' or 'minimal core content' for a clerkship in FM/GP of very short duration, i.e. a basic curriculum for a clinical rotation in FM/GP, taking into account that in some European countries the time allocated for this rotation may not exceed one week., Method: The Delphi method was used. The study group was composed of 40 family physicians and medical educators who act as national representatives of all European countries-plus Israel-in the Council of the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice and Family Medicine (EURACT). The representatives are elected among the EURACT members in their country., Results: After three Delphi rounds we obtained a consensual list of 15 themes regarded by the respondents as the most important to be included in a minimal core curriculum for FM/GP in undergraduate medical education., Conclusion: This list may be useful for teachers and institutions that are about to introduce GP/FM as a new topic in their medical faculty, having only limited time available for the course. They will be able to focus on topics chosen by a European expert panel as being the most important in such a situation.

Traditionally, medical students are trained in an algorithmic manner, to focus on excluding serious but rare diseases by conceptualizing diagnoses through a process of exclusion based on systematic and technological investigation of an extensive list of potential diagnoses applicable to the patient's presenting symptoms and signs. Students are not often exposed to common diseases, and trivialize all that which cannot be addressed within a strictly medical model. This paper reflects on the recommendations of the EURACT Educational Agenda document, and proposes a return to empiricism in basic medical training by introducing students to primary healthcare, disease, and decision-making processes early in their training. The authors recommend the teaching of communication skills within primary care doctor-patient encounters, the exploration of new ways of teaching the doctor-patient relationship, and that students and young doctors be encouraged to prioritize quality over quantity. Will this stem the current trends towards increasing workload and burnout?

Barrett's esophagus is a chronic gastroenteric disease that may cause a significant decrease in quality of life. This case presentation will discuss treatment of Barrett's esophagus by a family physician including the family physician's role in the management of such a patient and the importance of an immediate diagnostic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In industrialized countries, the exposure to medical diagnostic radiation is continuously rising. There are several evidences that high doses of those radiation correspond to increased risk of cancer. Nowadays we are facing an abuse of imaging tests. In this article we will first describe the risks of this abuse and second we will focus on the role of the family doctor in trying to reduce this problem [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case study is about a 72 years old patient who came to our practice complaining about otalgy and left hypoacusis. The patient went through different examinations and different medical therapies. At the end, she went through an operation of myringoplasty on both ears. The case seemed to be solved, but after a few months, she went through further complications. The manuscript describes in details all the measures and treatments carried out for the solution of the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]