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CFPiP was established to develop the strategy for implementation of the concept of family medicine in the health care system in Poland. Among 34 founding members, there were Members of Parliament such as the late Senator Zofia Kuratowska and MP Marek Balicki, university teachers like Professor Maciej Latalski, Professor Tadeusz Tolloczko, Professor Tadeusz Chrusciel and Assistant Professor Rafal Nizankowski, and last but not least health care managers like Adam Roślewski and physicians working with patients on a daily basis. The basic principles for our College followed those of organizations such as the Royal College of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom, and similar colleges, associations and academies of family physicians in Europe, Canada and the United States of America.
Currently, our College numbers five thousand family physicians in the country. The College, being the largest Polish specialty organization for family physicians, , became a member of the World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians (WONCA) in 1996, after a nearly one year long assessment process.
The College of Family Physicians in Poland is a professional, academic association of family physicians, that consistently strives to build a high quality health care system, serving people with dignity and improving the physical and mental health of the population. The College participates in a process of transformation of the existing health care system. Primary health care, its objectives and place in a medical system are the main areas of the College's interest.
The College fulfils its mission by both developing and representing the specialty and discipline of family medicine: fostering and maintaining high standards of medical education and training, supporting the development of research in the area of family medicine and the community, assisting its members in professional and academic development and educating society. The College aspires to enable all citizens and their families to receive the services of a competent family physician.
Within the primary health care system:
The College uses many approaches to accomplish its objectives. The highest priority has been given to service quality in family medicine. For many years, the College has been promoting modern, systematic approaches to the quality issues The organization has developed and published guidelines on various clinical areas in the last years. Based on those guidelines, educational materials have been developed. These are available on the College web site and not exclusively for the College's members.
The College organizes numerous symposiums, courses and conferences. A national congress is organized annually in various places around the country. The educational monthly journal Lekarz Rodzinny ("Family Doctor") has now been published for twenty years.
The College has organized professional development with a School of Tutors, where the leaders of peer-review groups are trained.
Another College activity is the family physician accreditation program, based on specific standards explicitly determining whether practice is desirable or poor.
With its clear focus on research the College arranges conventions, conferences and congresses which present great opportunities to present the findings not only to family physicians, but also to other medical specialists interested in a variety of aspects of medical care. Problemy Medycyny Rodzinnej ("Topics of Family Medicine"), a quarterly peer reviewed research journal of the College, offers physicians an opportunity to present the results of their research projects and papers.
The College of Family Physicians in Poland kindly acknowledge Prof. Carl Whitehouse from the United Kingdom for his review of the content of this site.
