Evaluation of a family-oriented continuing medical education course for general practitioners

OBJECTIVE: To explore the long-term effects of a 2-year Family Systems Medicine course. Fifteen experienced GPs participated in the training programme. SETTING: Continuing Education Centre, University of Tampere, Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, Finland. METHODS: The participants assessed the development of their professional skills on the Doherty-Baird scale and filled in 2 questionnaires. The material obtained from the application form and 2 questionnaires was analysed using the grounded theory method. RESULTS: The reasons for taking part in the course seemed to be the constant increase in the workload, problems caused by the demands for change and adaptation, stress and exhaustion. Furthermore, 10 health centres out of 15 had adopted the population-based practice, which requires different working methods compared to the old routines. Some trainees reported that their family-centred working methods improved during the course. A year after the end of the training, all of the GPs who had participated were using such methods in their daily practice. Half of the participants felt that they had also improved the functioning of their working group by making it more family-oriented. The significance of multi-professional collaboration was one of the most important insights during the course. CONCLUSION: The 2-year family-oriented training programme provided GPs with systemic thinking and with new skills, including the ability to work with families. The programme raised awareness of the need for multi-professional collaboration in the primary care settings.