A change of place and pace: Family physicians as hospitalists in Canada

Jean M. Maskey

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Family Physicians and Hospital Medicine
Emmanuel M Monjok

Published on: 25 May 2008

Published on: (25 May 2008)
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Family Physicians and Hospital Medicine
Emmanuel M Monjok, Family and Community Physician/Epidemiologist
I was delighted to read your article about your experiences as a hospitalist. I would like draw your attention to the fact that family physicians/general practitioners (GP) in Sub-Saharan Africa are specifically trained for hospital work.
The concept of family medicine in these African nations is still underdeveloped. The majority of the people are still living in rural areas with underdevelopment, poverty and lack of medica...
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I was delighted to read your article about your experiences as a hospitalist. I would like draw your attention to the fact that family physicians/general practitioners (GP) in Sub-Saharan Africa are specifically trained for hospital work.
The concept of family medicine in these African nations is still underdeveloped. The majority of the people are still living in rural areas with underdevelopment, poverty and lack of medical personnel. The family physician/GP is still doing "everything" from surgery, gynecology, obstetrics, orthopedics, ophthalmology, etc.
In Nigeria, the training for GP/family medicine is based on the concept of training a "specialist GP" to function in a district/rural hospital, as if there were no general surgeon, gynecologist/obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon or otolaryngologist available. At least 90% of the time, these specialists are not available in district hospitals.
GPs practicing in remote communities in Australia also have these "added" generalist skills. The Australian College of Remote and Rural Medicine has received initial accreditation to provide medical education, training and professional development in the speciality of general practice. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners also offers a Graduate Diploma in Rural and General Practice.
Family medicine in sub-Saharan Arica has yet to gain the respect you have in Canada and UK. In Nigeria, in order to attract young doctors to take up family medicine, the government gave family physicians the status of a Hospital Consultant to be on par with their specialist colleaques, in contrast to the usual type of appointment for family physicians in the UK. The battle for optimal family medicine practices in Nigeria continues.
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Competing Interests: None declared.