STRENGTHENING ACADEMIC GENERALIST DEPARTMENTS AND DIVISIONS

Academic departments of family medicine and divisions of general inter nal medicine and general pediatrics exist in the majority of medical s chools in the United States and have important roles in generalist med ical education. The major organizational issues facing these units con cern institutional influence, faculty development, role in medical edu cation, research productivity, financial stability, and clinical respo nsibilities. These issues must be understood in order for medical scho ols and teaching hospitals to achieve the societal goal of producing n ecessary generalist physicians.