Profile of Full-time Family Practice Educators

This paper presents the first study of characteristics of full-time family practice educators in the United States. The majority of family practice educators entered the teaching field within the 1972 to 1975 time period, having done so after a period of ten to 20 years in the private practice of family medicine. Group practice (124) marginally outnumbered solo practice (102) with internal medicine and pediatrics representing the greatest percentage of patient care in all previous practice settings. A large majority of family practice educators have had two years of graduate training and are diplomates of the American Board of Family Practice. The respondents expressed a high degree of personal and professional satisfaction in their present positions, but many desired continuation of personal patient contact.