Single-handed practices--their contribution to an undergraduate teaching network in the first year of the new curriculum.
OBJECTIVE
The new curriculum at King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, which commenced in September 1996, requires all medical undergraduates to have a general practice placement throughout the 5 years of their medical education.


METHODS
This paper discusses recruitment, training and support of teaching practices for the new curriculum, reviews the distribution of single-handed general practices in the network and, via a selection of monitoring and evaluation procedures, discusses the implications of a policy which is inclusive of single-handed practices. The findings relate to the experience of the first semester of the first year of the new curriculum. It also examines the contributions that single-handed practices have made to the teaching network and the kind of support needed, if single-handed practices are to continue to contribute to the King's teaching network.


METHODS
King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry.


METHODS
Medical undergraduates.


RESULTS
The findings of this paper revealed that over a third of general practice provision is via single-handed practices in South-east London. Within the undergraduate teaching network, 10% of practices are single-handed. Students are welcomed and receive a learning experience comparable to those students in larger practices. Attendance at training events has proved difficult for some of these tutors, but the extra input from the department, in order to address this deficit, has not been onerous. Indeed, single-handed practices have not been unique with regard to difficulties in attendance at training events.


CONCLUSIONS
The study concludes that single-handed practices can make satisfactory provision for undergraduates in the new curriculum and there is no evidence from this study to suggest otherwise.
Wylie
A M
AM
Kings College School of Medicine & Dentistry, Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, Bessemer Road, London SE5 9PJ, UK.
Stephenson
A
A
Copperman
J
J
Wingfield
R
R
Turner
M
M
Steward
C
C
D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D014504:Urban Health; D019037:Urban Health Services