Research Article Open Access Okokon and Ogbonna, J Gen Pract 2013, 2:1 DOI: 10.4172/2329-9126.1000135 Research Article Open Access Volume 2 • Issue 1 • 1000135 J Gen Pract ISSN: 2329-9126 JGPR, an open access journal Keywords: Physician-patient relationship; Continuity of care; Family practice, Primary care Abbreviations: GPAQ: General Practice Assessment Questionnaire; UCTH: University of Calabar Teaching Hospital; WONCA: World Organization of National Colleges, Academies and Academic Associations of General Practitioners/Family Physicians Introduction One of the issues that was succinctly articulated into the consensus statement that was produced at the second African Regional World Organization of Family Doctors’ (WONCA) Conference which was held in Rustenburg, South Africa (October 2009) was the leadership role of the Family Physician in Primary Care in the African context. Part of the Statement highlighted the fact that the Family Physician is a clinical leader and consultant in the Primary Health Care team, ensuring primary, continuing, comprehensive, holistic and personalized care of high quality to individuals, families and communities [1]. Against this background, the clinical acumen of the Family Physician in patient care with particular regard to the consultation must be explored, to bring to the fore, those attributes that enhance patient satisfaction. Tere have been physicians in all ancient cultures. Tese frst pre- historic doctors were Shamans who maintained contacts with spirits and gods while they used natural methods and herbs in the healing process [2]. In those Hellenic times, the central skill of a physician was the ability of the doctor to say whether the patient would survive or die. Afer these times, the School of Hippocrates (460-377BC) which originated on the Mediterranean Island of Kos during the Greek democracy, taught that the doctor and patient together should fght against illnesses and actually did specify instructions for patients to help in fghting diseases [3]. Tis was a dramatic shif from the time of the Shamans and opened the way for future changes in the physician- patient relationships. Te consultation is part of the cycle of care, where patients should learn about their diseases, come to terms with their conditions and also be given the opportunity to share in their management. Te importance of the consultation in Family Medicine cannot be over- emphasized. Consultation occurs only because it is the surest path-way to reaching the patient’s problems with a view to solving them afer attaining a workable diagnosis. Patients are major contributors to the consultation and are bound to have major efects on it. Patients and physicians alike come to the consultation table with diferent agendas and this is most obvious in primary care where many patients present with undiferentiated symptoms. In Western Countries, physicians’ attributes that enhance the attainment of rewarding consultation with patients have been extensively studied but there appears to be a paucity of data from developing countries. Te relationship between the physician and patient is at the heart of clinical medicine and is subject to a number of powerful forces: cultural, social, economic and psychological and itself exerts a powerful infuence on the patient’s response to illness [4]. Continuity of care is enhanced in patients with chronic illnesses where there had been a building up of much confdence in the physician, following an initial positive consultation process. *Corresponding author: Dr. I. B. Okokon, Department of Family Medicine, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria, Tel: +234 803 345 8695; E-mail: itabokokon@yahoo.com, etekambaokokon@unical.edu.ng Received July 30, 2013; Accepted November 04, 2013; Published November 12, 2013 Citation: Okokon IB, Ogbonna UK (2013) The Consultation in Primary Care: Physician Attributes that Infuence Patients’ Satisfaction in Calabar, Nigeria. J Gen Pract 2: 135. doi: 10.4172/2329-9126.1000135 Copyright: © 2013 Okokon IB, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Background: The Consultation is of immense importance in primary care. This study aimed to utilize physician attributes in the patient-care process in determining the proportion of patients who were satisfed or otherwise with the consultation at their doctor-patient interaction. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study undertaken in the Family Medicine Clinic of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. A modifed post consultation version of the General Practice Assessment Questionnaire was administered to 430 patients aged 18 to 67 years, who were selected through a process of systematic random sampling over a period of three weeks. Data generated in this study was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences version 11. Results: Of the 430 subjects studied, 46.74% were males and 53.26% females. The physician attributes shown to positively affect patients’ satisfaction with the consultation included: manner of asking the patients about their feeling regarding their illnesses, detailed enquiry about the patients’ symptoms, discussing the origin of the patients’ illnesses, involving the patients in decisions about the care and explaining the patients’ problems and any treatment needed. Others were: making the patients feel at ease during the examination, showing care and concern and addressing their main presenting problems. Conclusion: The study demonstrated clearly that physician attributes greatly infuence the outcome of the Consultation in Primary Care. The Consultation in Primary Care: Physician Attributes that Influence Patients’ Satisfaction in Calabar, Nigeria Ita Bassey Okokon 1,2 * and Udoezuo Kingsley Ogbonna 2 1 Department of Family Medicine, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria 2 Department of Family Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria J o u r n a l o f G e n e r a l P r a c t i c e ISSN: 2329-9126 Journal of General Practice