title: The Q-List manifesto: how to get things right in generalist medical practice.
abstract: Checklists have become popular in medical practice since the publication of surgeon Atul Gawande's book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. Based on his 26 years of practice as a family physician and informed by scholarly works from other professional disciplines, the author suggests that although checklists are helpful for promoting habitual reflection, they are limited in scope and meaning, and more suited for procedural undertakings than the bio-psycho-social-existential orientation of generalist practice. The author reviews the characteristics of generalist practice and suggests that clinicians develop a list of questions to help them recall and examine concepts key to the exploration and management of routine and challenging situations with patients. He proposes his own Question-List, or Q-List, and recommends its adaptation for use as a manifesto to the rich and engaging work of generalist medicine.
authors.affiliation: University of El Salvador.
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Ventres
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care