The document outlines several key principles of family medicine according to various experts and organizations. It discusses that family medicine is the specialty focused on comprehensive primary care for patients and their families. Some of the core principles mentioned include that the family physician acts as a skilled clinician, values the patient-physician relationship, provides community-based care, and coordinates care as a resource to their practice population. The principles aim to emphasize whole-person care, prevention, and management of common medical issues.

1. PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY
MEDICINE
BY
DR MOHAMMED LUKMAN ABOLAJI
REVIEWED BY
DR IMANA SADIQ DEJI
7/28/2021 1

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
 INTRODUCTION
 KEY TERM DEFINITION
 FAMILY MEDICINE
 THE PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
 SUMMARY
 CONCLUSION
 REFRENCES
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3. PRE-TEST
1. The family physician
a. Is a doctor who owns a private hospital.
b. Supervises primary health care activities only.
c. Is any doctor who treats all members of a family.
d. Is a specialist that provides continuing, comprehensive and holistic care in a
personalized manner to patients, while maintaining an intimate, confidential relationship
with the patient.
e. Is a doctor who works for the National Health Insurance Scheme.
7/28/2021 3

4. PRE-TEST
2. Family medicine is
a. Medicine practiced only in the General Outpatient department.
b. A specialty under community health.
c. The body of knowledge that emphasizes responsibility for total continuous and
comprehensive health care with the least amount of fragmentation.
d. A specialty for doctors who want minimal work related stress.
e. A female dominated specialty where work stops at 4pm daily.
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5. PRE-TEST
3. Concerning the principles of family medicine, which of the following is not true?
a) The family physician is a skilled clinician.
b) The doctor-patient relationship is continuous.
c) Family Medicine is a community based discipline.
d) The Family Physician as a resource to the practice.
e) Family physician is a care Co-coordinator.
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6. PRE-TEST
4. Concerning the principle of family medicine, which of the following is incorrect
a) The principles of family medicine are universal.
b) The principle will vary from place to place according to local needs.
c) Attaches importance to the subjective aspects of medicine.
d) Ideally the family physician share the same habitat as their patients.
e) Family physician has management expertise of common problems.
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7. INTRODUCTION
 “A well trained family
practitioner can manage
well, most of the
problems that most of the
people have most of the
time”
Professor David Metcalfe
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8. DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
 “Family” is defined as the functional and structural unit of the
society.
 Family is a group of individuals connected to a patient biologically,
legally, or by choice, from whom the patient can expect a measure of
support in the form of food, shelter, finance and emotional nurturing;
that shares a past, a present and a future with the patient.
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9. DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
 A “Family Physician” is a multi-competent specialist who is trained to
provide comprehensive health care both at first contact and in
continuity.
 The family physician is the physician generalist who takes
professional responsibility for the comprehensive care of unselected
patients with undifferentiated problems and who is committed to the
person regardless of age, gender, illness, or organ system.
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10. DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
 “The general practitioner or family physician is the physician who is
primarily responsible for providing comprehensive care to every
individual seeking medical care and arranging for other health
personnel to provide services when necessary.
 The general practitioner/family physician functions as a generalist
who accepts everyone seeking care, whereas other health providers
limit access to their services on the basis of age, sex or diagnosis.
WONCA 1991
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11. FAMILY MEDICINE
“It is the medical specialty which provides continuing and comprehensive
health care for the individual and the family. In breadth it is the
specialty which integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral
sciences”.
“The scope of Family practice encompasses all ages, sexes, each organ
system and every disease entity”. (American academy of Family
Physicians).
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12. THE PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
 Principle is the fundamental truth or proposition that serves as
the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain
of reasoning.(Cambridge dictionary 9th edition)
 A principle is a set of moral rules.
(Collins Dictionary 3rd edition )
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13. THE PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
 Family Medicine has its principles on which it is based. These principles
reflect its philosophy.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. The family physician is a skilled clinician.
2. The doctor-patient relationship is central.
3. Family Medicine is a community based discipline.
4. The Family Physician as a resource to the practice
5. Family physician is a care Co-coordinator.
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14. THE PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
 “The principles of family medicine
are universal, whereas family
practice will vary from place to
place according to local needs.”
Jack H. Medalie
7/28/2021 14

15. THE PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
by the College of Family Physicians of
Canada (CFPC)
 In the mid-1980s, CFPC produced the 4 principles of family medicine to
provide guidance and direction for practitioners, residency programs, and the
CFPC when making educational policy decisions
 The Family Physician is a Skilled Clinician
 Family Medicine is a Community-based Discipline
 The Family Physician is a resource to a defined practice population
 The patient-physician relationship is central to the role of the FP.
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16. Principles of Family Medicine
McWhinney 1997
1.Sees every contact with patients as an opportunity for prevention or
health education.
2.Commitment to the person rather than to a particular body of
knowledge, group of disease, or special technique.
3.Seeks to understand the context of illness in relation to patient family,
work, community.
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17. Principles of Family Medicine
McWhinney 1997
4.Sees himself or herself as part of a community.
5. Views his practice population as “a population at risk”. It implies a
commitment to maintain health in the members of his practice
whether or not they happen to be attending the office.
6. Ideally share the same habitat as their patients.
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18. Principles of Family Medicine
McWhinney 1997
7. Sees patients at the office, in their homes and in the hospital.
8. Attaches importance to the subjective aspects of medicine.+
9. Manage resources:. In all parts of the world, resources are limited. It is,
therefore, the family physicians' responsibility to manage these resources (to
control admission to hospital, use of investigations, prescription of treatment,
and referral to specialists) for the benefit of their patients and for the
community as a whole.
10. Researcher
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19. Principles of African Family Medicine
1. The African Family Physician is committed to the Primary Health Care team,
and is its clinical leader.
2. The African Family Physician provides clinical consultation, teaching,
encouragement, management, monitoring and evaluation to other members of
the Primary Health Care team in order to improve the quality of primary care.
3. The African Family Physician provides clinical diagnostic and management
services for a pre-selected minority of patients who have been screened by other
members of the Primary Health Care team
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20. Principles of African Family Medicine
4. The scope of practice of the African Family Physician is sensitive to and
dependent on the context of the health system in which the Primary Health Care
team operates.
5. The African Family Physician strives to use the most appropriate evidence to
address the highest priority clinical, family and community issues.
6. The African Family Physician is competent in surgical, anesthetic, and
procedural obstetric care at the district hospital level, i.e. in the absence of
other specialists.
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21. Principles of African Family Medicine
7. The African Family Physician knows his or her limitations, and identifies and refers patients
who present with clinical problems beyond the scope of practice, to appropriate levels of care.
8. The African Family Physician supports members of the Primary Health Care team in the
community, in the facilities where they work, as well as at the district hospital.
9. The Primary Health Care team including the African Family Physician is patient & family-
centered and community-oriented. This means that people who are ill and those who are at risk,
are always managed in the context of their families and communities. The Family Physician as the
link between family care, facility/hospital-based care and primary/community-based care.
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22. Principles of African Family Medicine
10. The Primary Health Care team including the African Family Physician engages
with the community in which it operates as a population at risk, by defining its
boundaries and acting on its health priorities.
11. The African Family Physician is dedicated to life-long learning and provides
leadership in continuing professional development for the whole team.
12. As a manager of resources, the African Family Physician is primarily
concerned with the reduction of disparity, and equal access to health services of
all sectors of the community.
Steve Reid, South African Journal Family Practice, 2007 7/28/2021 22

23. PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
ESSENTIAL
 Family Medicine is the specialty of first contact with the patient, with an
emphasis on providing comprehensive physical, psychological and social care
for the patient and his family.
 The ten essential principles of Family Medicine care are
1.Caring
2. Clinical competence,
3.Cost-effective care,
4.Continuity of care
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24. PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
ESSENTIAL
6. Common problems management expertise,
7.Co-ordination of care
8. Community based care including prevention and research
9.Communication and counselling skills of high standard
10. Continuing medical education.
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25. PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
GAY
1. Patient centered approach
2. Orientation on family and community context
3. Field of activities determined by patient needs and requests
4. Unselected and complex health problems
5. Low incidence of serious diseases
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26. PRINCIPLES OF FAMILY MEDICINE
GAY
6. Diseases at early stage
7. Simultaneous management of multiple complaints and pathologies
8. Continuing management
9. Coordinated care
10. Efficiency
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27. SUMMARY
A deep understanding of the principles of family medicine is key to effective
functioning of a family physician who is charged with the professional
responsibility of offering a committed coordinated comprehensive care to all
individuals seeking healthcare.
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28. CONCLUSION
The practice of Medicine changes in response to many influences, some scientific
and technological, some social and environmental. Family medicine is probably
the only one of many new disciplines that have consistently incorporated these
numerous influences into its principles.
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29. REFERENCES
 Rakel Textbook Of Family Medicine 7th Edition
 Sloane. D.S., Slatt, L.M. and Curtis, P. Essentials of Family Medicine 2nd
Ed Baltimore/London, Williams and Wilkins, 1993: 3-8.
 McWhiney, l.R. A textbook of family medicine, 2nd Edition, Oxford,
Oxford University Press, 1989: 1-25.
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30. REFERENCES
 Ernesto Mola, Tina Eriksson. The European Definition Of General Practice /
Family Medicine. Wonca Europe 2011 Edition
 Cambridge Dictionary 9th Edition
 Collins Dictionary 2nd Edition
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31. POST-TEST
1) The family physician
a. Is a doctor who owns a private hospital.
b. Supervises primary health care activities only.
c. Is any doctor who treats all members of a family.
d. Is a specialist that provides continuing, comprehensive and holistic care in a
personalized manner to patients, while maintaining an intimate, confidential
relationship with the patient.
e. Is a doctor who works for the National Health Insurance Scheme.
7/28/2021 31

32. POST-TEST
2.Family medicine is
a. Medicine practiced only in the General Outpatient department.
b. A specialty under community health.
c. The body of knowledge that emphasizes responsibility for total continuous and
comprehensive health care with the least amount of fragmentation.
d. A specialty for doctors who want minimal work related stress.
e. A female dominated specialty where work stops at 4pm daily.
7/28/2021 32

33. POST-TEST
3. Concerning the principles of family medicine, which of the following is not true?
a) The family physician is a skilled clinician.
b) The doctor-patient relationship is continuous.
c) Family Medicine is a community based discipline.
d) The Family Physician as a resource to the practice.
e) Family physician is a care Co-coordinator.
7/28/2021 33

34. POST-TEST
4. Concerning the principle of family medicine, which of the following is incorrect ?
a) The principles of family medicine are universal.
b) The principle will vary from place to place according to local needs.
c) Attaches importance to the subjective aspects of medicine.
d) Ideally the family physician share the same habitat as their patients.
e) Family physician has management expertise of common problems.
7/28/2021 34

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