Taking the first steps. Research career program in family medicine.

PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED Research is not new to family medicine, yet it is pursued less than in other clinical disciplines. We need to establish a critical mass of family medicine researchers.

OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM To establish a departmental research organization using a strategy implemented in 1995 by the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.

MAIN COMPONENTS OF PROGRAM We set out to establish a critical mass of researchers. Applicants were required to complete credible and feasible 3- to 5-year research plans and to have formal support from their clinical chiefs. Once selected, researchers were supported for 40% of their time. Support was provided for 3 years and was renewable according to progress on their research plans. Researchers were expected to publish on average two papers yearly and be involved as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on at least one successful grant after the first 3 years. Since implementation in 1996, funded researchers have become principal investigators in 80% of the grants in which they are involved compared with 20% before the support program. Nine of 15 Medical Research Council grants held by family physicians in Canada have department members as principal investigators. Faculty-supported researchers contributed more than 200 peer-reviewed publications to the literature between 1996 and 2000.

CONCLUSION Four years of experience allows for early assessment of the first step taken to build a thriving family medicine research organization using limited departmental resources.