What Qualities Define an Expert Family Doctor?

Abstract

D o you remember your first day on the job after successfully completing your family practice residency program? Although you may have been excited to be a “real” doctor, you were likely to have been nervous as well. How many times during that first week as an attending physician did your mind seem to short circuit? Confidence does seem to improve over time, but at what point in your career would you really consider yourself an expert in family medicine? With each passing day, we, as family doctors, shape our unique styles and talents, which eventually attract patients through our doors. We are driven to provide compassionate, patient-centered, and evidence-based care designed to improve the lives of the families who seek our professional services. Family doctors must know a tremendous amount about diseases, disorders, and preventive care that affect all individuals, members of all religions, and people of both sexes, whether healthy or chronically ill. As family medicine specialists, we can care for > 90% of the patients who consult us, and we expeditiously direct care to other specialists when necessary. Yet, at what point in our careers do we actually become experts in family medicine? Does simply becoming board certified make us experts? Expertise in medicine is acquired through years of contact with patients who trust our guidance. Although we have many drugs for treating both acute illnesses and chronic diseases, our track record for curing disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease is dismal. Let someone walk through the doors with chlamydia urethritis, and we can …