ABSTRACT
Patrick Byrne was a pioneer in developing specific and vocational training for general practitioners. Byrne’s commitment to the education of general practitioners extended worldwide. This was exemplified when working as chairman of the Leeuwenhost Group, a group of university teachers of general practice that spanned 11 European countries. In 1971, he gave the W. Victor Johnston Memorial Oration to the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Notably, he was awarded the Hippocratic Medal of the International Society for General Practice in 1963, and the Sesquicentennial Medal of the Medical University of South Carolina in 1974. The model is useful for analysing ‘dysfunctional’ consultations where the patient may be misunderstood and dissatisfied whilst the doctor may be frustrated and today it is sometimes included in consultation training for general practitioner trainees. Byrne authored and co-authored a great number of publications. Perhaps the most influential piece was the book he co-authored with B. E. Long, Doctors Talking to Patients.
