Personal information
Henriëtte van der Horst is professor of General Practice and head of the Department of General Practice at VU university medical centre.Short biography
I've got a long-lasting relationship with VU and Vumc. I studied medicine at the VU, and also did my the vocational training for general practice at the VU. From 1983 until October 2007, I've worked part-time as a GP, first in Amsterdam, and later in Utrecht. In 1985 I started teaching at the Department of General Practice of the VU. In 1992, I started a research project, resulting in a thesis on the effectiveness of patient education and counselling for patients with irritable bowel syndrome in general practice, which I defended in May 1997. In 1998, I switched to the vocational training institute for general practice, coordinating the curriculum. In 2001, I switched back again to research. From the start I've also been involved in our Academic Network of General Practice, coordinating research projects and training GPs. Since October 2007 I’m head of the Department of General Practice at VUmc.
Research topics
Research into medical unexplained physical symptoms is my main area of interest, but I’m also involved in projects on depression, hand- and wrist symptoms, patient-doctor communication and the influence of patient feedback on communication skills. I’m especially interested in diagnostic and prognostic research concentrating on symptoms instead of diseases.