The teaching of recreation to the family unit should also be included in the sports medicine system of family practice residency training. The rationale for extending education and recreation to the family unit is the promotion of personal and family well-being. Structured family recreational activities promote pleasant exercise, family togetherness, attention to nutrition and increased awareness of general health issues. Family practice residencies should encourage their residents to engage in regular exercise and, in particular, to engage in exercise with members of their families. If residents learned to develop structured educational and scheduled recreational activities with their own families, it would be easier for them to teach recreational principles to the family units of their patients.
Exercise can be beneficial in many physiologic processes.
Appropriate pre-participation evaluation of the athlete is critical. Family physicians should have the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate, treat and counsel patients involved in exercise or supporting activities. Family physicians should have the knowledge and skills necessary to function as a team or sporting event physician, as the practice demands. The implementation of this core curriculum should be longitudinal throughout the resident's experience. The resident's library should have reference material available that amplifies the topics in the curricular guidelines.