AFMRD: A History of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors

Promoting Excellence in Family Medicine Graduate Education

Program directors of Family Medicine residency programs have unique jobs with very special challenges and responsibilities. By the late 1980s, residency directors across the country began to recognize that a national association was needed to provide them with a stronger voice and to help better meet their needs within the family of Family Medicine.

As a result, after several years of study and organization, the Association of Family Practice Residency Directors (AFPRD, now the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, or AFMRD) was officially incorporated in the state of Missouri on August 31, 1990.

Today, the AFMRD represents the nation's residency directors and serves as their official voice. Its top priority — to gain representation for program directors on the Residency Review Committee for Family Medicine (RRC-FM) — has been a resounding success, reflected in the fact that program directors hold four of the ten seats on the Committee, plus one alternate position.

Throughout the years, AFMRD has created many innovative programs and awards that have promoted excellence in Family Medicine graduate education and beyond. Chief among these have been the National Institute for Program Director Development (NIPDD), the educational preceptorships, “Frontline: Diabetes” and “Frontline: Better Bones-Osteoporosis,” and the Nikitas J. Zervanos Outstanding Program Director Award.

In addition, AFMRD has worked closely with other Family Medicine organizations such as AAFP, ABFM, NAPCRG and STFM to provide a voice for residency directors and improve medical education and care within the specialty. As part of these cooperative efforts, AFMRD helped to sponsor the publication of the Annals of Family Medicine.

AFMRD also produces its own newsletter called Highlights and works with the Family Medicine Television Network (FMTN) to broadcast programming that allows residents and faculty to interact with leaders in their discipline.

As a proud member of the family of Family Medicine, the AFMRD continues to look toward the future in order to help usher in the next generation of family physicians.