Fixing family medicine residency training

The number of US medical students entering family medicine continues to decline. Despite the increased presence of family physicians on medical school faculty and increased exposure to family medicine during training, students still cite lack of respect and excessive knowledge base to master as reasons for not choosing our specialty. Specific changes must be made to family medicine residency training to make it more attractive to students and more compatible with the realities of practice today. These changes include eliminating maternity care as a requirement, lengthening training to 4 years, and reducing the number of residency slots available. These changes will ensure that graduating family physicians will be better prepared for practice, better qualified to obtain privileges in the hospital and clinic, and more respected by their colleagues and the public.