General Practice through the Medical Students' Eyes

General practice is taught in the fourth year of a 5-year medical curriculum at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. During the module, each student is assigned to 16 half-day clinical attachments. They are to observe and comment with case illustrations on eight important general practice principles: the patient has a hidden agenda, selective physical examination, time as a diagnostic tool, psychosocial factors contributing to the patient's illness, family support enlisted in patient management, doctor-patient relationship as a therapeutic tool, tailoring therapy to the patient's lifestyle and the management of an overtalkative patient. Their feedback and insights are reported in this article. The aim is to demonstrate what is being taught to the medical students, and to stimulate more interest in teaching in general practitioners.