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General practice in Greece: A student's and supervisor's perspective
Author(s) -
Liangas Georgios,
Lionis Christos
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
australian journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.48
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1584
pISSN - 1038-5282
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1854.2004.00570.x
Subject(s) - competence (human resources) , vocational education , nursing , supervisor , health care , general practice , primary care , medicine , perspective (graphical) , medical education , psychology , family medicine , pedagogy , political science , social psychology , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
Objective: The present study reports the observations of an Australian medical student, his reflections on these observations and commentary from the Greek supervisor.Setting: One urban General Practice at the University Hospital in Heraklion, Crete and three community health centres in rural Crete.Main outcome measures: Points of comparison were formed during the patient's consultations and clinical investigations.Results: Although the level of knowledge and GP's competence in Crete and New South Wales appear to be similar and there is an impression that the patient satisfaction in Greece is comparable to that in Australia, a striking feature in Greek primary care is the communication between practitioner and patient, as well as the poor level of note keeping. In contrast, Primary Care in Greece seems to be far more involved in research.Conclusion: To attain a higher quality in primary care, leading to a better outcome for the people of Greece, the primary care physicians need more effective vocational training and the appropriate support from health authorities.What is already known in this subject? • A National Health Care System was inaugurated in Greece in the early 80's, which gave emphasis to the development of primary care and general practice.• Greek GP's are seeking recognition from the hospital physicians and they are exploring ways for improvement.What this study adds? • The present study has several implications for both the medical students’ education and for professional development.• The present study argues for a more effective vocational training of practicing GPs with emphasis on communication skills, note keeping and better support from the health authorities.