Developing training and refreshing curricula for human resources for health in different fields is a key priority of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Development of training packages for the family physician in the family practice programme is the responsibility of the primary health care development centre, in collaboration with human resource development department. The family physician is a general practitioner or specialist (in the field of family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics), with at least a medical doctorate degree and valid medical work permit. Accordingly, a short mandatory course is arranged at the beginning of the work contract as a family practitioner, with a continuous professional development programme.
The roles of the family physician, at the first level of service, are to:
- provide comprehensive services, including prevention
- ensure continuity of care
- conduct health management
- conduct research
- coordinate with other sections
Arrangements have been made for a Master of Public Health course and specialty training course for 3 years as family medicine for general practitioners. WHO aims to support national counterparts to develop a model for human resource development for family physicians in the programme.
