Family practice training in Nepal.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This article describes the health care system in Nepal and the only existing family practice (general practice) training program in that country. The majority of doctors in Nepal still have no residency training, and a specialist focus pervades. The efforts of some leading educators in Nepal led to establishment of a family practice training program in 1982, and the program now enrolls 12 residents per year, half of whom are from India. Major obstacles in education, financing, and policy must be addressed before family practice can have a meaningful presence or effect on the health care in Nepal.