Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · May 2021
A Thoughtful Rebirth of Health Care: Lessons From the Pandemic.
In 16 years of practice, I had never seen a patient light a cigarette or pour a glass of wine in front of me. Yet, that occurred at the very onset of the COVID-19 era, a time that has shattered any preconceived notions of what I might experience during a clinical visit. ⋯ The rapid changes we have had to make in the last year have demonstrated the resiliency of our profession. This is a critical time to refocus and make sure that health care is person-centered, encompasses all modifiable health determinants, and helps individuals achieve health rather than primarily manage disease.
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Annals of family medicine · May 2021
It's Not You, It's Me: Learning to Navigate the Patient-Physician Relationship.
In this essay, a medical student details how she struggled to let go of a patient with whom she connected throughout the patient's pregnancy during her second year of medical school. Although she learned in her preclinical "doctoring" courses how to build quick connections with patients, such training did not delve into how to manage meaningful, emotionally complex connections that may form with patients during longitudinal rotations or, as in this case, extracurricular activities. While primary care physicians may have decades of practice managing evolving longitudinal relationships, medical students who form strong connections with patients are just learning what it means to navigate those relationships, some of which come to an end. Reflecting on the end of this particular relationship helped the author appreciate the power of the longitudinal physician-patient relationship and taught her that taking care of patients also requires taking care of one's self.
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Annals of family medicine · Mar 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialContinuity of Cancer Care and Collaboration Between Family Physicians and Oncologists: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial.
Collaboration between family physicians (FPs) and oncologists can be challenging. We present the results of a randomized clinical trial of an intervention designed to improve continuity of care and interprofessional collaboration, as perceived by patients with lung cancer and their FPs. ⋯ This intervention improved patient and FP perception of interprofessional collaboration, but its effectiveness on continuity of care was less clear for FPs than for patients. Additional strategies should be considered to sustainably improve continuity of care and interprofessional collaboration.