The doctor-patient relationship - General Practice Specialty Training Program

Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of general practice is the close relationship with patients, families and local communities that is nurtured over time. GPs follow their patients through good times and bad, and are privileged to share in their major life events. The strong bond that develops means that GPs are in an ideal position to manage both the biomedical and psychosocial aspects of their patient’s ailments. A GP may be responsible for the care of multiple generations within a single family. For example, when confronted with a young child with persistent asthma, it may be apparent to the GP that the smoking habits of a parent are playing a major role. In this scenario lies an opportunity to intervene with the dual aims of health promotion (assisting with smoking cessation) and treatment of disease (improvement of asthma control).

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