Nicholas Pimlott

The family physician sees every contact with his patients as an opportunity for prevention or health education. Dr Ian McWhinney, A Textbook of Family Medicine Thinking about preventive health care and the most effective way to provide it has been a major preoccupation of my career. My interest began soon after I joined the Department of Family Medicine at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Ont, in 1994. I inherited many older patients from 2 family physicians who had recently retired.

Le médecin de famille considère chaque contact avec ses patients comme une occasion de faire de la prévention ou de l’éducation en matière de santé. Dr Ian McWhinney, A Textbook of Family Medicine Les réflexions à propos des soins de santé préventifs et des moyens les plus efficaces de les prodiguer comptent parmi les préoccupations importantes dans ma carrière.

In McWhinney’s Textbook of Family Medicine, Dr Ian McWhinney proposed the first of 9 principles he argued distinguish family medicine from other medical specialties: “The family physician is committed to the person, rather than to a particular body of knowledge, group of diseases or special technique. The commitment is open-ended in two senses.