Expectations of Family Medicine Residency Graduates

Having been trained to meet the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies, as well as the core outcomes established by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), family medicine residency graduates shall demonstrate the ability to practice the specialty of family medicine with independence and competence, by being prepared to provide continuing, comprehensive and personal care within the context of family and the needs of the community. This document has been written for consideration by family medicine residency training programs as they prepare family physicians.

Family medicine residency graduates shall:

1. Be physician scholars who care for the patient, family, and a diverse community; create and integrate new knowledge into practice; and educate future generations of physicians to serve the public.
2. Demonstrate excellence in delivery of safe, equitable, affordable, quality care; and the health of the populations they serve by utilizing a bio-psychosocial model to provide evidence-based socially- and culturally-competent, comprehensive care and preventive services to patients and communities.
3. Provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the management of acute and chronic illness, undifferentiated symptoms, functional complaints, and multimorbidity across multiple care environments, including the home, office, acute care hospital and long-term care facilities.
4. Be proficient in providing comprehensive, longitudinal medical and mental health care through the continuum of life, including newborn, pediatric, adolescent, adult, women’s health, sexual health, maternity, reproductive, geriatric, and end-of-life care and provide trauma-informed, age-appropriate, mental health–aligned interventions, across all domains that reflect the breadth and depth of family medicine.
5. Provide preventive care that improves wellness, modifies risk factors for illness and injury, and detects illness in early, treatable stages and care that speeds recovery from illness and improves function, while supporting patients’ values and preferences.
6. Demonstrate continuous commitment to professionalism in practice for peers, patients, and communities.
   
7. Utilize a systematic analysis of one's practice and a critical review of the medical literature to make adjustments that improve patient outcomes, quality of care, and safety, thus modeling lifelong learning and engagement in self-reflection.
8. Lead and participate in interdisciplinary care teams while facilitating continuous learning and quality improvement for the healthcare team and serving as a patient advocate.
9. Achieve and maintain certification in family medicine through information mastery, life-long practice-based learning, and engaging in self-reflection.
10. Develop trust and effectively communicate with the patient, family and healthcare team in a collaborative fashion about the diagnosis, evaluation and management of acute and chronic medical conditions, while helping patients navigate a complex health system.
11. Perform a needs assessment to determine the most appropriate role in each care setting based on the relationship with the patient, their need for services and the needs of their respective communities.
    
12. Possess the technical skill, knowledge and experience to perform clinical procedures and first line management of injuries, including their indications, consent, performance, complications, interpretation, and billing, within the scope of family medicine that reflect the graduate's training and experience as well as the needs of the community across multiple care environments.
13. Appropriately recognize the need for consultation when indicated, and comanage the patients when applicable.
14. Advocate for patients, families and communities to optimize health care equity and minimize health outcome disparities.
15. Recognize and eliminate gaps in the health of patients and patient panels according to appropriate population driven guidelines.
16. Integrate available technologies to improve patient care.
17. Demonstrate knowledge and experience with understanding of public health issues in their communities, and coordinate care with community health agencies to improve the health of their patients and community.
18. Be capable of developing a fiscally sound practice that meets the community need utilizing the principles of the patient-centered medical home.
19. Recognize signs and symptoms of burnout in themselves, in colleagues, and in the healthcare team, and take necessary steps to improve wellness.
20. Engage in self-care to ensure psychological, emotional, and physical well-being with proactive attention to life inside and outside of medicine.
21. Recognize and support physician peers and interdisciplinary team members at increased risk of self-harm and substance use disorders and utilize the reporting structure, as indicated.
22. Investigate, self-reflect, and follow-up adverse events, near misses, and unsafe conditions to improve patient safety through experiential learning by identifying causes and instituting sustainable systems-based changes to ameliorate patient safety vulnerabilities

ABFM Competency Key

1. Personal physician model (continuity, comprehensiveness)
2. Acute illness/injury, all ages
3. Pediatric care
4. Communication/team relationships
5. Professionalism
6. Women’s health, geriatrics, end-of-life
7. Low-risk maternity care
8. Mental health care
9. Procedural competence
10. Lifelong learning & self-reflection
11. MSK health, medication management, system navigation
12. Preventative care
13. Prioritizing care across settings
14. Undifferentiated symptoms & multimorbidity
15. Team leadership & team-based care

(April Board 2009) (April 2026 BOD)