A teaching unit in primary care sports medicine for family medicine residents.

The authors describe their experience in setting up a sports medicine teaching unit within a family practice center of a teaching hospital. The unit's patient population more closely resembles that of a typical family practice than that of a traditional musculoskeletal teaching clinic (e.g., orthopedics, emergency room). The teaching program includes direct observation of residents performing history taking and physical examinations through one-way mirrors, close supervision for each case, and a sports therapist who educates patients and residents about home exercise programs when physiotherapy within private clinics is not necessary or affordable. At the end of each session 20-30 minutes are devoted to teaching specific physical examination skills. The authors describe how their clinic interacts with other services within the hospital and how certain obstacles they encountered when setting up the clinic might be avoided by others. They feel that this type of unit complements other existing programs in the family medicine department and provides an excellent learning experience for family medicine residents, who are likely to see a high proportion of patients with muskuloskeletal injuries in their practices.