[Towards a single society for specialists in family medicine and specialists in general internal medicine in Switzerland?]

Abstract

The debate on the legimity of having two distinct medical societies and specialist degrees in Switzerland, one for family medicine and the other for internal medicine, is currently reactivated due to the rapid evolution of medical demographics and of our health system. In this paper, the academic representatives of those disciplines from the French-speaking part of Switzerland sum up the arguments for and against creating a single medical society for generalists and internists, in the perspective of education and research. They conclude that the advantages vastly outweigh the inconveniences and support this project. Moreover, they propose a training track individualized according to the trainee's future practice environment (hospital-based, urban or suburban outpatient practice).