A university of department of family medicine after ten years.

The Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington was started ten years ago after a major curriculum change in the medical school placed new emphasis on education and training of family physicians for the surrounding region in Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WAMI). This department has organized active programs in patient care, teaching and research at the university base and in a number of affiliated community sites throughout the region. The department is well accepted within the mission of the medical school. Almost a third of graduating medical students choose postgraduate training in family practice. Almost 90 percent of the graduates of the ten programs within the department's network of family practice residencies are established in active family practices, with more than two thirds settling in the WAMI region. Follow-up studies show that these graduates feel well prepared for their practices; are providing a broad range of services in rural, suburban and urban settings; are typically involved in partnership or group practice; and are generally well satisfied with their personal and professional lives.