Tamas Fülöp Award - The network - Towards Unity For Health

ily doctors will be able to decide and act
environment of complex systems not well
independently to stand up for the needs of
known or well described. Biological inter-
Graz, Austria
their patients; they can be a partner to the
active systems are as complex as socio-
top small scaled specialists; and special-
economical and cultural systems are. The
rate of unnecessary co-treatment, double
ists will be able to understand their and
parameter sustainability gains importance
diagnostics and multiple level treatment;
their patients needs because they have
with the system’s increasing complexity
a low decrease of capita per month treat-
the same roots of basic education.
and reflects the ability to resist stressors
ed, despite increasing numbers of service
Communication will become easier, losses
and/or the ability to use the resources
providers in the area concerned.
in transfer of information will be reduced,
available within the system’s life cycle. If
and misunderstanding caused by emo-
one factor decreases, in consequence the
Active Conclusions
tional level feelings will be minimised.
system’s benefit for all is also reduced.
It is wise not to forget the roots and the
history - if there is no history there will
not be any future. The contemplative view
of the facts can lead to reflected active
conclusions and open an outlook into the
family doctors’ future:
• A medical education programme, well
based on profound scientific knowledge
(including various disciplines as physics,
chemistry, anatomy, histology, pathology),
will overrule so-called holistic education
programmes.
• Intensive practical training has to be
added to the theoretical education -
this could be a paid job with increasing
taking of responsibility (practical knowledge
is supervised learning by doing).
• Specialising in top small scaled fields
shows a high dependency on technical
equipment (financial investment)
and homogenously performed skills.
Therefore, the time spent on specialisations
could be decreased dramatically,
but the basic practical education should
be prolonged and obligatory for all
trainees. It should be the basic outfit
before further small scaled specialisation
and acting bedside in own responsibility
is possible.
These family
doctors will
be able to
decide and act
independently
to stand up
for the needs
of their
patients;
they can be
a partner to
the top small
scaled
specialists.
Science x Practice = Sustainability
In other words: sustainability means strategic
thinking and planning in a time frame
for generations: generations of experts
produced by the education and training
system and generations of implementation
of services run by those experts. The
seed you invest today will be the base of a
sustainable social and healthcare system
in the future.
The multidisciplinary trained family doctor
will be the effective service provider to
cope with the future challenges of health
systems. High standards of primary care
with highly educated and well trained
generalist physicians (‘family doctors’) will
create a flexible and stress resistant structure.
This may be the only effective and
efficient instrument to preserve the traditional
European socio-cultural advantages
- the European Way - to respect individuality,
personal freedom and privacy.
Ilse Hellemann | General Practitioner,
Medical University of Graz, Steirische
Akademie für Allgemeinmedizin, Austria
Email: ilse.hellemann-geschwinder@
J U L Y 2 0 0 8
N E W S L E T T E R N U M B E R 0 1 | V O L U M E 2 7
Well educated and trained staff will be
meduni-graz.at
in a much better and independent posi-
Equation
tion, defending erosion of the right on
The following equation will illustrate this
individualism of their patients and to with-
concept in a simple way: sustainability is a
stand the pressure coming from politics,
product and a main parameter to measure
economy or patients claims. These fam-
efficiency and stability of processes in an
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