Generalism in Clinical Practice and Education

Advocates for adaptable, person-centered healthcare, offering theoretical insights and practical examples from a diverse global perspective.

Generalism is a key approach to healthcare organization and delivery that enables person-centered, dynamic, and cost-effective patient care. With its emphasis on adaptability, generalism requires expansive, nurturing, and personalized approaches to clinical education in which a generalist attends to and explores patient priorities.

Generalism in Clinical Practice and Education outlines a generalist philosophy of practice, which is brought to life through interleaved examples. Written by a range of international clinicians, patients, and academics this book does not prescribe a single way to do generalism properly. Rather, it seeks to inspire readers’ future engagement with generalism in practice and education through sharing underpinning concepts, values, and principles. This ‘big picture’ attention to generalism across public health, social determinants of health, and clinical care is at the heart of sustainable and efficient use of resources to prioritize those in need. The book explores four key principles that aim to achieve creative, inclusive, and agile approaches to clinical care. Its goal is to support generalism in clinical practice and education and to produce clinical practitioners and learners who enjoy, embrace, and enhance future clinical care.