Table 2 Student views regarding roles of primary care, subspecialty and family physicians

Location

• Community based

• University based practice

• Solo practice in neighborhood setting

• Private practice in the community

• Cannot be properly practiced in hospital setting

Scope

• Primary consultation before seeing specialists

• Focus on care, not cure

• Common disease, easy to treat

• Psychosocial concerns

• Long term care

• Temporary care

• Focused on specific body part, not whole

• Complex disease treated with difficult procedures

• First contact in coordinated patient care

• Long term care of patients and their diseases

• Home visits

• Continuity of care

• Psychosocial skills

• Mental care provision

• Home doctor

• Focus on prevention

Patient relationship

• Good doctor-patient relationship

• Treat the whole body

• Focus on cure, not care

• Treat disease, not person

• Evidence based

• Patient oriented medicine

• Sees patient as a whole

• Care about whole family

Expertise

• Broad knowledge

• Home visits are important

• Care for entire family

• Focus on prevention, triage, and medical interviews

• Expert knowledge

• Many specialists also provide primary care services

• Surgeons are expert specialists

• Broad knowledge

• Home care

• Care for entire family

• Prevention of disease in the community