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The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India

Thesis (PhD (Family Medicine))--University of Pretoria, 2023.

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Other Authors: Marcus, Tessa S.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Marcus, Tessa S.
author_browse Marcus, Tessa S.
author_facet Marcus, Tessa S.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD (Family Medicine))--University of Pretoria, 2023.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
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provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/94717 The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India Marcus, Tessa S. jachin.velavan@cmcdistedu.org Velavan, Jachin UCTD Family Medicine Family Physician Education General Practice Graduate Follow Up Professional development Blended Learning Family Medicine in India Health sciences theses SDG-03 SDG-03: Good health and well-being Health sciences theses SDG-04 SDG-04: Quality education Health sciences theses SDG-05 SDG-05: Gender equality Health sciences theses SDG-16 SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions Thesis (PhD (Family Medicine))--University of Pretoria, 2023. Preamble: The ongoing professional development of India’s lean cadre of 250,000 General Practitioners and 30,000 Government doctors is constrained by limited options to update themselves. This negatively impacts on the ability of the country to create a critical mass of Family Physicians (FPs) who can clinically lead quality primary health care. Since 2006 the Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore has run a 2-year blended learning Post Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine (PGDFM). In 2012 this offering was extended to the Medical University, Tamil Nadu, as a Master in Medicine in Family Medicine (M.MED FM). Between 2006 and 2016 they trained around 3000 private practitioners and 250 government doctors in Family Medicine. The Study: Globally, graduate follow-up surveys explore the contribution of qualifications to professional life and inform curricular modification to support intended educational and practice outcomes. Notwithstanding extensive anecdotal information and a 2013 demographic survey of PGDFM & M.MED FM students, this is the first study to systematically assess FP graduate distribution, wellbeing, experiences of practice, their roles in the national health system and their professional development needs. A purposively designed, cross-sectional survey of all PGDFM & M.MED FM graduates who qualified between 2008 and 2018 was undertaken between March and July 2022. Data were descriptively analysed and the results constitute the substance of this dissertation. Study findings: Of a population of 1213 FP graduates, 48% (n=581) responded to the study and 36% (438) completed the questionnaire. Most FPs were urban based, were relatively poorly paid, with female FPs earning significantly less than their male counterparts. FPs were largely hospital based and served mostly adult patients. They were under resourced, lacked technological support and most worked with an inadequate toolkit. Though well trained in consultation skills and the principles of FM, in practice their consultations were compromised by extreme time constraints and care continuity was hampered by an inadequate, patient held paper-based record system, poor back-referrals, and the impediments to relationship continuity characteristic of hospital settings. FPs did not engage adequately with polypharmacy. Most FPs engaged regularly in continuous professional development activities, but involvement in teaching, research and publication was confined to the few those who participated in faculty development programmes. High uptake of places and gender parity in enrolment suggests that the blended learning model made the qualification accessible to working doctors, especially women. The majority of FPs rated the influence of the PGDFM/M.MEDFM highly on their practice. They also identified important gaps, especially in respect of procedural skills and team management as learning areas that reflected common conditions seen in their work contexts. Conclusion: The curriculum is inadequately synchronised with the reality of practice. This challenge is not unique to India and has implications for the meaning of Family Medicine as a discipline. It is important to understand what is central to the practice of a Family Physician and then to focus on developing the competencies needed to render these skills. Family Medicine PhD (Family Medicine) Unrestricted Faculty of Health Sciences SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-04: Quality education SDG-05: Gender equality SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2024-02-19T09:57:30Z 2024-02-19T09:57:30Z 2024-04 2023 Thesis * A2024 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94717 https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.25232830 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Family Medicine
Family Physician Education
General Practice
Graduate Follow Up
Professional development
Blended Learning
Family Medicine in India
Health sciences theses SDG-03
SDG-03: Good health and well-being
Health sciences theses SDG-04
SDG-04: Quality education
Health sciences theses SDG-05
SDG-05: Gender equality
Health sciences theses SDG-16
SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
title The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
title_full The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
title_fullStr The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
title_full_unstemmed The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
title_short The demographic characteristics, practice experiences, roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008-2018 from the Family Medicine Blended Learning 2 Year Diploma run by the Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
title_sort demographic characteristics practice experiences roles and development needs of family physicians who graduated between 2008 2018 from the family medicine blended learning 2 year diploma run by the christian medical college vellore india
topic UCTD
Family Medicine
Family Physician Education
General Practice
Graduate Follow Up
Professional development
Blended Learning
Family Medicine in India
Health sciences theses SDG-03
SDG-03: Good health and well-being
Health sciences theses SDG-04
SDG-04: Quality education
Health sciences theses SDG-05
SDG-05: Gender equality
Health sciences theses SDG-16
SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94717
https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.25232830