Teaching core content in family medicine

Core content in family medicine has been difficult to define, given that family practice has differed widely from physician to physician, according to locale and availability of resources. Since family medicine has been taught, educators have been attempting to define its core content-and find ways of teaching it. At the McMaster University Medical Centre Family Practice Unit we have put the problems first: residents present a problem in patient care and the group discusses the problem in relation to a precirculated article on the topic. Lecturing is kept to a minimum, and articles are chosen according to the principles of critical appraisal. An attempt at evaluation generated a positive response.