From crisis to success. Turning around a family practice residency program

On Match Day in 1991, Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, learned that no residents had matched for the family practice residency program. In the 1992 match, the medical center filled all its residency positions, and repeated the success in the 1993 and 1994 matches. Broadlawns affected this impressively rapid turnaround through a strong commitment to bring its program to a level competitive with leading family practice residency programs, substantive changes to the structure and curriculum of the program, and significant expenditures of time, resources and personal energy. The Broadlawns' case illustrates the need for family practice residency programs to position themselves as strong competitors in the residency market.