Family Medicine is a specialty in breadth that emphasizes health care given in the context of the person, the family, workplace and the community The family physician is not only a health care giver but is also a counselor, educator, researcher, life long learner and leader. The World Organization of Family Doctors, in its workshop with the World Health Organization, has expressed the need for family doctors to play an active role to meet the needs of the people. The role of family doctors and the knowledge base and skills needed have been defined. In Asia Pacific, emphasis has been given to teacher training, research, networking and publication of Asia Pacific Family Medicine. Quality is another priority area. The Philippines has identified the roles of family physicians, reviewed and updated the competencies of family physicians in accordance with the roles. The standard of training and accreditation is being revised to make it more relevant to the identified competencies To properly orient members on the values and principles in Family Medicine and how they can be integrated in clinical practice, various strategies have been implemented. Family Health Care Program where principles will be applied by residents and medical students in training has been required for all training programs. Since the Philippine Academy of Family Physicians accept members through Continuing Medical Education, an Orientation Course in Family Medicine was introduced for physicians going through this track.

The Filipino Family Physician, 2000 38 ( 2 ) pages 40-48