Michael Kidd addresses the 19th WONCA Europe Conference
When the president of WONCA World speaks about the current state of family medicine/general practice on a global scale, it is important to pay attention to his words. Not only because he leads the organization that represents family doctors/general practitioners in almost every corner of the planet, but because he is someone who, in later years, has been able to share ideas with colleagues from every continent and has been invited to visit multiple healthcare systems.
With all of this information stored, Michael Kidd is able to say that family medicine/general practice is in a privileged position to influence healthcare systems, health outcomes and the well being patterns of most world populations. The book “The Contribution of Family Medicine to Improving Health Systems”, edited by Michael Kidd and presented during this 19th WONCA Europe Conference, is based in this same approach and interpretation of the current state of affairs. In the same way, the growth of the specialty is only possible if family doctors/general practitioners see beyond the walls of their consultation room and collaborate with each other. On this matter, Michael Kidd quoted the first president of WONCA, Monty Kent Hughes: “the future of our professional discipline will depend on our ability to work together in the service of humanity”.
In accordance with modern times, it is fundamental that family doctors/general practitioners turn their attention to the new possibilities of global communication and Michael Kidd challenged the delegates to participate in WONCA’s efforts to explore cyberspace: “please join WONCA on social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn”.
The current WONCA President also highlighted the nations where the discipline is rapidly growing and gaining prestige: “in China, there are new challenges and a primary care revolution is taking place. The country is trying to develop a solid primary care system”. In countries were the value of family medicine/general practice as already been proven, there are also positive developments. Michael Kidd pointed out the example of Ireland, “that now as a government with a minister for primary care”.
