Building a Culture of Curiosity in Family Medicine to Increase Research Capacity

Family medicine as a discipline is the foundation of health care systems. In addition to clinical practice and education, research is a professional duty for family physicians. Unfortunately, the culture of family medicine has historically de-emphasized research. As a specialty, our clinical practices provide an excellent opportunity to create patient-oriented evidence that can benefit the patients and communities we serve. To accomplish this task, family medicine should weave curiosity into the fabric of the specialty. To create a culture of curiosity which normalizes the production of practice-based research and scholarship, the authors describe 2 approaches - top-down and grass-roots - that can be used to develop a culture of curiosity among individuals and institutions. Methods to sustain a culture of curiosity that leads to inquiry and creates further improvements in research and scholarship are also described. By harnessing the power of curiosity, we can transform our discipline into one that values and excels in research and scholarship and produces generations of family physicians that will include practice-based research as an essential part of their daily activities.