Postgraduate Studies

Intoduction 

There has been an increasing interest in all countries all over the world on the importance and relevance of primary health care and Family Medicine practice. The family physician is considered to be a central figure in this context. Moreover, the MOH started to implement Family Medicine program in Iraq science 2006 in many PHC centers all over the country, eventually there is a great need for a large number of Family physicians to cover the health care in the increasing number of Family Medicine Centers in Iraq. It is expected from a family physician to provide comprehensive continuous health care in a personalized manner to patients of all ages and to their families.

The program will be delivered full-time over two academic years in divided four semesters. Each semester contains different courses. The first semester consists of theoretical lectures and practical discussion in the essentials of community medicine to provide the basic knowledge and skills. The second and third semesters consist of practical training in the hospital about the common medical, surgical, gynecological and pediatric conditions besides other subspecialties (ENT, ophthalmology, Dermatology, clinical Lab and emergency units).

The fourth semester comprises practical and field training in primary health care center about different health activities. This semester is design to provide the basic knowledge & skills in management of common condition in primary health care setting.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, you will be able to:

1. To adopt a bio-psycho-social model taking into account the cultural dimensions.
2. To build an effective patient-physician relationship.
   • To adopt a person-centered approach in dealing with patients.
   • To act as advocate for the patient.
   • To collaborate with patients in management decisions.
3. To master effective and appropriate care provision and health service utilization.
   • To monitor, assess and improve quality and safety of care.
   • To provide cost-conscious medical care.
   • To advocate for individual and community health.
4. To provide longitudinal continuity of care as determined by the needs of the patient.
   • To manage and coordinate health promotion, prevention, cure, care and palliation and rehabilitation.
5. To demonstrate professionalism in dealing with others.
   • To respect patient privacy and autonomy.
   • To demonstrate compassion and respect to others.
   • To demonstrate sensitivity to diverse population with no limitation to gender, age, culture, religion, and disability.
6. To manage primary contact with patients.
   • To manage conditions that may present early and in an undifferentiated way.
   • To cover the most common health conditions prevalent in primary care.
7. To adopt evidence based clinical information management: selectively gather and interpret information from history-taking, physical examination, and investigations and apply it to an appropriate management plan in collaboration with the patient.
   • To use effectively and efficiently diagnostic and therapeutic interventions as needed.
8. To refer to other health professionals and specialists as needed.
9. To promote health and well-being by applying health promotion and disease prevention strategies appropriately.

Eligibility to the program

A physician graduated from Iraqi medical colleges; General Practitioners who spent at least 10 years in service in Primary Health Care.

Period of the study

The study will be one calendar year to cover academic and clinical on job training. This year will be divided into six blocks, two months for each block. The student should have theoretical sessions and on job training program in Family Medicine Centers. The program is a package compressed to fulfill the requirement expected from this specialization.

 Description of the course

This is a 44-week course that aims at orienting General Practitioners on the principles and elements of primary care services including the clinical management of common medical problems. General Practitioners will be exposed to important concepts that are applied in primary care with emphasis on family medicine approach and they will be introduced to recent updates in the management of common medical problems. This will enable General Practitioners to provide a comprehensive, continuous and evidence-based patient-centered health care to individuals in their communities.

The course will start with an orientation in the first week followed by 4 main blocks spanning over a period of 44 weeks and followed by two exams, a written and an OSCE exam delivered during the remaining 3 weeks of the course. Only candidates who pass the written exam will be entitled to attend the OSCE exam. The blocks are divided into different weeks, whereby each week covers specific topics pertinent to primary health care.

During the course, General Practitioners will be attending web-based power point presentations at the rate of 3 topics per week for a total of 48 topics per course; they will be participating in online discussions on weekly basis; and they will be attending a one-day face-to-face live session during the last week of each block. General Practitioners are expected to complete assignments and quizzes that will be posted online throughout the period of the course.