Global Family Medicine Survey
Share your voice, shape our values
Family doctors worldwide are invited to take part in a new global survey aimed at strengthening the shared identity of our profession.
The Global Family Medicine Community Survey is now open. Led by Dr Anna Stavdal, Immediate Past-President of WONCA, and Dr Florian Stigler of the Golden Nuggets of Family Medicine website, this survey is part of WONCA’s broader Core Values Project. It’s your chance to reflect on the values that shape your practice – and to help guide the future of family medicine.
Why take part?
Because your voice matters. This is a unique opportunity to contribute your perspective as a family doctor and help build a common language for our global profession. No matter where you work or how your health system is structured, your input will help inform how we define and teach family medicine for years to come.
Please also consider sharing the survey link with colleagues, national organisations and GP networks – and on your social media. The more people take part, the stronger the collective outcome.
Take the survey and learn more
WONCA Global Core Values Project
The Global Core Values Project began in 2023 as an open invitation from then-WONCA President Anna Stavdal. She launched the initiative with Prof. Felicity Goodyear-Smith and Prof. Johann A. Sigurdsson, who have since played key leadership roles in shaping the project’s direction. Since then, it has grown into a worldwide process of discussion, learning, and exchange across all WONCA regions.
Workshops have been held at regional conferences across the globe, and participants have engaged in online meetings and written contributions. The goal is to develop a shared set of values and principles for family medicine that recognises both our differences and our common ground. This shared understanding supports stronger training, research, and advocacy for our profession.
From reflection to publication
The first phase of the project is concluding with the launch of a new book:
Core Values in Family Medicine: Inspiring Global Change
Edited by Anna Stavdal, Johann A. Sigurdsson and Felicity Goodyear-Smith.
This book gathers regional insights and reflections on the values that underpin family medicine today. It will be launched at the WONCA World Conference in Lisbon in September 2025.
As noted by project lead Anna Stavdal, “Felicity Goodyear-Smith did a tremendous amount of work formatting and editing the regional chapters. Without her, the publication would not have been possible at such speed.”
View the book on the Routledge website
Looking ahead: Phase 2
Phase 2 of the Core Values Project will be launched at the Lisbon conference. This new phase will focus on deepening the discussion around how family medicine is taught, understood and practiced in different contexts. Topics will include:
- What generalist care providers are called in different countries
- How they are trained
- How those training programmes reflect shared values
- What work settings they practise in - from hospitals to communities
The next phase will continue using online meetings, regional workshops and written contributions as its core methods. New participants are welcome, especially from under-represented countries and communities.
If you would like to get involved or learn more, please email CoreValues@wonca.net.
Join the global conversation
The Global Core Values Project is a living, inclusive effort to shape the foundation of our discipline. By taking part in the survey and encouraging others to do the same, you can help define what family medicine stands for, now and into the future.
Take the survey here