WONCA News – August 2017
The latest WONCA News (August 2017) is accessible via the WONCA website, with lots of WONCA news, views and events.

From the President 
In her President’s column this month, Professor Amanda Howe reflects back on WONCA Europe in Prague, and her presentation highlighting the challenges of building relationships and reducing social conflict:

“In Prague, I talked about the role of family doctors in building relationships and reducing social conflict. Globally, separatist forces operating across our world today are a source of anxiety, threat and conflict. Concepts of tribe and nation can be a source of pride but also division. Professional groups such as WONCA face the challenge of trying to find shared values and means of improving our professional standing and impact, while respecting the diverse settings and backgrounds of our members and patients. Almost all our members will be working with people from different ethnicities, cultures, and social settings, both as their patients and colleagues: also external stakeholders from community leaders to politicians. This is actually a great privilege and often a pleasure but their worlds, experiences and priorities may be very different from our own, and we need to become skilful in working with others”

Read the full article via the WONCA website, and remember also that there are Spanish and French versions of Amanda’s column.

WP on Education – update
Professor Val Wass, Chair of the WONCA Working Party on Education, reports on two workshops which were held at the recent WONCA Europe conference in Prague on the undergraduate curriculum.  There is undoubtedly strong interest in improving the status of family medicine as a career choice to medical students globally. The workshop in Prague in June concluded with a number of actions. For a full update on the WP on Education go to the WONCA website at: http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/WPonEducation-Julyupdate.aspx

Education for Primary Care – free access to paper
Education for Primary Care are pleased to announce free access for a month to a paper in the 28: 5 issue of the journal which is now on line.

In Denmark group supervision for general practitioners is an established part of continuing professional development. This paper explores ways peer group supervision in a long term well established group of general practitioners can improve communication and patient centred care  at the same time maintaining enthusiasm and preventing burn out. 

Witnesses in the consultation room – Experiences of peer group supervision.
Helena Galina Nielsen & Annette Sofie Davidsen
University of Copenhagen , Denmark 

Family violence – how to ignore it?
Dr Ana Nunes Barata sits on the WONCA Executive as the Young Doctors’ Movements representative.  She’s also acutely interested in family violence, and is involved in both the WONCA SIG on Family Violence and also the Vasco da Gama Movement Family Violence Group.  Here she writes on the subject:

I’ve been collaborating with Vasco da Gama Movement’s Family Medicine Violence group since 2013, and it has been an incredibly rich experience. I had the opportunity to meet other colleagues who are developing inspiring work on this topic, to collaborate with them in their initiatives and, most importantly, to learn with and from each other. From this group’s workshops, sessions and texts, I have collected very useful resources when it comes to assessing Family Violence. 

Read more on Ana’s reflections on the WONCA website at: http://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/FamilyViolence-Howtoignoreit.aspx

WONCA SAR Nepal conference:  deadlines approach
After their devastating earthquake, Nepalis are trying to rebuild themselves and their country. As part of this regeneration, they will be hosting the WONCA South Asia Region conference in Kathmandu, on November 25th and 26th 2017.  The deadline for submission of abstracts is 31st August, 2017 and this is also the deadline for Early Bird registration.