Family practice in the predoctoral curriculum: a model for success.

Fifty-five percent of students who began their medical education at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, School of Medicine have elected family practice residencies. A coordinated and concentrated approach to admissions and curriculum, emphasizing family practice as an institutional goal, is described and discussed. As the national average for graduating seniors seems to have stabilized at approximately 13 percent, this approach may serve as a model for other institutions which wish to increase the number of family physicians. Family physicians are heavily involved in all aspects of the teaching program. Institutional parameters which are necessary for success are briefly discussed.