Teaching Medicine in the Community

Profound changes are taking place in health care provision throughout the world - prompted by changing demography, increasing involvement of con­sumers, and technological developments that reduce the time patients spend in hospitals. These changes raise important questions for medical education if it is to produce professionals able to face the challenges of the 21st century. Existing institutions may no longer provide the best environment to learn basic dinical skills. They may also find it difficult to develop appropriate emphasis on the psychosocial context of illness and the need to respond to patient concerns and expectations. The role of community-based medical education is increasingly central and general practice is a valuable training environment. Particular advantages are its tradition of concern for the whole person and its different approaches to taking dinical decisions. However, the demands on resources and on individ­ual practices may make it difficult for opportunities for training in primary care to be fully exploited. This accessible and timely book aims to help current and prospective teachers discover the needs, the opportunities, and the methods for medical education in the community and to play amore effective role in facilitating students' learning.