[Reference groups as a form of training in general practice].

In 1985 the first "reference groups" were established within the Norwegian College of General Practitioners. Today there are 20 such groups, with a total of 117 members. The reports of these groups have been studied in order to obtain a picture of how they are organized, how and how often they meet, their aims, and what they produce. The reference groups represent a unique way of studying which seems to produce substantial results in the form of books, booklets, articles, courses and know-how within different fields of Norwegian general medicine.