UJC (Ultimate Journal Club)

This afternoon's "Ultimate Journal Club" was run by journal heavyweight Dr. Kurt Stange, current editor of the Annals of Family Medicine. In addition to broad discussions on running effective journal clubs and publishing research articles, we discussed his recent article, "The generalist approach" (2009), which describes the qualities of a generalist physician that are suited to meet the needs of our fragmented health system (Stange, 2009).

In the article, Dr. Stange narrates a patient story in which issues of transition of care, physician-patient relationship, and continuity of care significantly impact the life (and health) of a person in his care. He notes that the generalist is uniquely able to address these issues, and is distinguished by the following characteristics (among others):

• Humility
• Openness to diversity
• Broad knowledge base (i.e. self, family, systems, interconnectedness)
• Can see the forest through the trees
• Constant scanning and prioritizing
• Integrating & connecting
  

These characteristics act as a wrapper around the evidence-based medical practices that are part of the daily work of all physicians. Yet, while they are often undervalued, these principles of the generalist are the keys to solving issues in health care today.

The Ultimate Journal Club was yet another forum in which was highlighted the unique ability of Family Medicine Physicians to address the needs of the current crisis in health care. These same characteristics were repeated in the morning keynote by Dr. Robert Graham who clearly outlined how Family Medicine principles can help improve the cost, access, and quality of health care.

So...it seems like Family Medicine is integral to the future of medicine. Med. students, pay attention. The wind is shifting (almost daily on Capitol Hill) and we've got to be prepared for where we end up.

References

• Stange. The generalist approach. The Annals of Family Medicine (2009) vol. 7 (3) pp. 198-203
• Stange. The Problem of Fragmentation and the Need for Integrative Solutions. The Annals of Family Medicine (2009) vol. 7 (2) pp. 100-103