A statewide model for faculty development in family medicine.

The number of faculty needed to teach in family practice residency programs has increased as student demand for training in the specialty has grown. Residency programs have recruited practicing family physicians or recent graduates of residency programs as physician faculty members. The multiple demands of faculty positions and difficult periods of orientation to effective faculty functioning have been significant obstacles to recruitment and retention of faculty. A statewide Family Practice Faculty Development Center has been formed and has received support from Texas medical school family practice departments and free-standing residency programs. The Faculty Development Center utilizes a multidisciplinary staff to offer a range of programs including fellowships, preceptorships, institutes, and workshops, and conducts research projects in the area of teaching family medicine in order to aid faculty in current and new residency programs in acquiring excellent teaching, research, and administrative skills.