Annals Journal Club: Balint Groups and ‘The Joy of Being a Doctor’

doi:10.1370/afm.833

The Annals of Family Medicine encourages readers to develop a learning community of those seeking to improve health care and health through enhanced primary care. You can participate by conducting a RADICAL journal club and sharing the results of your discussions in the Annals online discussion for the featured articles. RADICAL is an acronym for Read, Ask, Discuss, Inquire, Collaborate, Act, and Learn. The word radical also indicates the need to engage diverse participants in thinking critically about important issues affecting primary care and then acting on those discussions.¹

HOW IT WORKS

In each issue, the Annals selects an article or articles and provides discussion tips and questions. We encourage you to take a RADICAL approach to these materials, and to post a summary of your conversation in our online discussion. (Open the article online and click on “TRACK Comments: Submit a response.”) You can find discussion questions and more information online at: http://www.AnnFamMed.org/AJC.

CURRENT SELECTION

Article for Discussion

Kjeldmand D, Holmström I. Balint groups as a means to increase job satisfaction and prevent burnout among general practitioners. Ann Fam Med. 2008;6(2):138–145.OpenUrl Abstract/FREE Full Text

Discussion Tips

Balint groups are commonly used in family medicine training programs but actually had their roots in general practice.²^,³ It may be worthwhile to consider how this study of long-term practicing generalist physicians might affect your current opportunity to develop or participate in a Balint group. Balint Societies exist in more than 20 countries.⁴^,⁵

Discussion Questions

What questions are addressed by the article? Why do they matter?
How well does the study design fit the research questions?
What are the main findings?
To what degree can the findings can be accounted for by:
- How participants were selected?
- How information was gathered?
- Confounding (false attribution of causality because two factors thought to be associated actually are associated with a third factor)?
How well are data sources and analysis triangulated; that is, how well are multiple sources of information and viewpoints used to generate trustworthiness?
How transportable are the findings to your practice setting? How might they be adapted?
What are the implications of the findings for training, development, and preventing burnout?
What questions do you have for further research or application?

REFERENCES

↵
Stange KC, Miller WL, McLellan LA, et al. Annals Journal Club: It’s time to get RADICAL. Ann Fam Med. 2006;4(3):196–197. http://annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/4/3/196.
OpenUrl FREE Full Text
↵
Lakasing, E. Michael Balint—an outstanding medical life. Br J Gen Pract. 2005; 55(518):724–725. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1464079.
OpenUrl FREE Full Text
↵
Balint, Michael. The Doctor, His Patient, and the Illness. New York, NY: International Universities Press; 1957.
↵
The Balint Society. http://www.balint.co.uk/. Accessed Jan 27, 2008.
↵
The American Balint Society. http://americanbalintsociety.org/. Accessed Jan 27, 2008.