The WONCA WORKING PARTY on RURAL PRACTICE is the rural working group of the world organisation of academic associations and national colleges.
Amongst other work it runs regular conferences and Gramado in Brazil was host to the 12 th WWPRP conference.
The picture above is of Carlos Grossman and his wife Doris, he was heralded during the conference as the father of family medicine in Brazil, I spoke to him about why as a cardiologist in the 1970s he had decided to set up a family medicine programme.
His response was both simple and profound : ” We need to be close to the people.”
Is there a better explanation ?
Rural people are disadvantaged from the outset because of distance, Carlos Grossman recognised it is essential to have health care that is provided close to the people, by a professional trained to engage closely with them in their work and family life, a professional who shares the closeness of the community. This shared experience, also identified by McWhinney as a essential part of family practice, brings with it opportunities for fantastic work in supporting people to live happier and healthier lives.
It is a phenomenal thing to come to a realisation that the culture you work in as a GP is substantially different from that of other GPs, and the question of what it means to be a “rural” GP is worth a later exploration, suffice to say being able to spend time with like minded but different people, with a richly diverse way of dealing with a common set of challenges was not only interesting but I suspect will prove useful in the New Zealand context.
My task now is to share some of the ideas that were shared with me during the event.
For those of you who “twitter” searching through my recent tweets using #nzrgpn you will be able to find slides and comments from the main speakers.
Consider following me @opotikigp and @ruralwonca for future links and conversations about rural health.
Don't Shoot.. 