Family medicine in a globally-connected world: a South African perspective and the RCGP International and Overseas Network

The recent launch of the International and Overseas Network (ION) by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), presented a unique opportunity to review family medicine across the globe. This article looks at the future of family medicine from a South African perspective.

In 2007, family physicians were recognised for the first time as medical specialists in South Africa. Training is exclusively in the state sector, and predominantly hospital-based. Family physicians lead ward-based outreach teams composed mostly of community health workers and primary healthcare nurses.1 Unlike many British GPs, most South African family physicians also have other, more traditional hospital roles such as casualty, anaesthesia, or surgery duties. In 2014, to overcome the challenge of training to established international standards while retaining sensitivity to local …