How ambulatory care is different: a paradigm for teaching and practice.

This paper reviews the issues regarding an increased emphasis on medical education and practice in the ambulatory care setting. A paradigm for ambulatory medicine is offered which combines the elements of 'traditional' medical care and teaching with the more 'distinctive' elements representative of the ambulatory setting. The former includes aetiology, history, physical examination, laboratory tests and therapy; while the latter includes continuity, context, health education, economics and responsibility. The paradigm is illustrated in relation to the problem of hypertension. The ambulatory medicine paradigm is further discussed with respect to potential barriers to its acceptance. These include: (1) the assumption that 'traditional' medical education does teach all 10 elements of the paradigm; (2) the axiom that if one learns to care for the sickest patients, the less ill ones should be manageable; (3) the intuitive aspects of the 'art' of practising ambulatory medicine; (4) the recognition that this teaching will require a longitudinal experience; and (5) perception that the five distinctive elements are not 'hard' science and objectively measurable. Nevertheless, the changing face of medical practice requires the adoption of an ambulatory medicine paradigm in medical education.