ABSTRACT
When faced with an eager medical learner in the office, one tries to formulate a mental checklist of skills to impart to the undergraduate or postgraduate trainee. In doing so, one typically includes appropriate procedures or exam techniques such as how to distinguish a benign pediatric murmur from one that is not, inject a joint, examine a frightened child or perform a comfortable pap smear. Where does teaching preventive care fit in? Most of us instinctively incorporate it efficiently into our practice, based on years of experience. It seems somewhat amorphous and difficult to conceptualize, let alone nurture as a skill in a novice who is perhaps more concerned with concrete knowledge gaps such as antibiotic coverage or titration of insulin. This chapter will articulate what it is that we do as practitioners when we address this less tangible yet vital area within family medicine, and give some tools and references for your teaching toolbox.
