Duration: One Year Course

Goal: The goal of this course is to train practicing physicians in the application of integrated system based approach in the diagnosis and management of common medical problems in ambulatory patients of all age groups presenting in a family practice setting.

Objectives:
At the end of the course the student should be able to:

Demonstrate effective communication skills in carrying out a patient-centred interview, exploring the patient’s illness experience, personal history and social context

Perform a physical examination, which is accurate and appropriate to the presenting problem and sensitive to patient comfort and interpret the findings.?

Describe the indications for, risks of and methods used in the common investigations, diagnostic and interventional procedures used for the common problems and presentations and interpret the results.?

Demonstrate clinical problem-solving skills, including the ability to diagnose and to initiate management (both non-pharmacological and pharmacological) of the common problems and presentations.

Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, including documenting in patient records, making case presentations, writing prescriptions, writing referrals and in negotiating and summarizing the management plan with patients.

Demonstrate an understanding of common ethical issues in practice such as confidentiality, consent and patient autonomy.

Introduce health promotion and disease prevention principles and activities appropriate to particular patient populations into the clinical encounter using evidence-based guidelines.

Demonstrate self-directed life-long learning and the use of evidence-based resources in making informed decisions about diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on patient information and preferences, up-to-date scientific evidence, and clinical judgment.

Identify and use or liaise with appropriate resources to support the delivery of patient care including inter-professional teams and community resources.

Demonstrate how to obtain informed consent for an investigation, procedure or management from a patient

Understand how their patient care and other professional practices affect other health care professionals, the health care organization, and the larger society and how these elements of the system affect their own practice

Practice cost-effective health care and resource allocation that does not compromise quality of care

Course structure:
35 clinical case vignettes
2 contact sessions of 4 days each

Teaching learning activities:
Distance learning / Self study

Case vignettes

Upload articles / videos / pictures + assignment questions

To move from recall / knowing to problem solving / comprehension and synthesis. To encourage self learning, subtly direct them with questions, cases, recent advances etc., towards learning, reasoning, problem solving

Use GEMS for all material… go paperless

Estimated time commitment from students: Minimum 4 hours per week

During contact session
Demonstration
Practice (simulated + on patients)…documented in a portfolioCase presentations
Focus on ethics, humanities, soft skills etc….and to protect oneself from law
A typical day during the contact session
Forenoon: short briefing + observation of patient care at OPD / ward + debriefing
Afternoon: demo + skills practice + case discussion

Assessment plan:
OSCE stations (30%)
Assignments (50%)
4 cases per month, to be submitted once in 15 days
Compiled in a e portfolio