Family medicine in the undergraduate medical curriculum

Family medicine has become an integral part of the under-graduate medical curriculum in many schools. The process of developing this important segment of the curriculum has encountered many difficulties which have centered around the particular phase in which family medicine is introduced in the student's development. The student must recognize family medicine as an academic discipline comparable to, and as important as, other traditional specialties. Through the use of the model practice unit, the development of cognitive behavioral objectives, and the provision of continuity of care experiences during the undergraduate medical curriculum, the student can grow to understand that family medicine is, in fact, as academically strong as other more traditional specialties. This article describes the experience, problems, and the development of these components in one medical school.