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Original Research
A global ‘Common Core’ framework for family medicine faculty development: Getting the right person, doing the right thing, right!
Submitted: 19 December 2025 | Published: 13 June 2026
About the author(s)
Esther M. Johnston, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United StatesRamakrishna Prasad, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, National Centre for Primary Care Research and Policy, Academy of Family Physicians of India, Bangalore, India
Bassim Birkland, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Department of Family Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; and, Seed Global Health, Boston, United States
Klaus B. von Pressentin, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Sophie Watson, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
Annika Carlson, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States
Shailendra Prasad, The Global Engagement Network for Primary Health Care, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States of America; and, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
Abstract
Background: Family medicine is a medical speciality with a global reach, with common core principles but significant regional variations in training pathways, certification and recognition and clinical practice.
Aim: Partly because of the differences in how family medicine is defined and practised in different areas, there are no existing globally informed guidelines on how to prepare family medicine faculty. This study aims to address this need.
Setting: This study was conducted with an expert group composed of family medicine faculty development experts from across the world.
Methods: A modified Delphi survey, grounded in a constructivist paradigm, was used to obtain consensus from family medicine faculty development experts representing a diverse range of geographical regions. We applied a combined approach to framework analysis, identifying themes deductively from an existing framework for general clinical educator development, as well as inductively from the comments of study participants. We analysed these responses using thematic analysis.
Results: The final framework for family medicine faculty development includes three domains, encompassing the technical skills, knowledge and interpersonal approach, and professional role modelling expected of a family medicine educator.
Conclusion: This study offers a novel framework for ensuring quality in the educators who are training the next generation of family medicine physicians.
Contribution: Developed through consensus of a global expert team, this framework offers specific recommendations regarding technical skills, knowledge, philosophical approaches and professionalism, while offering sufficient flexibility to be applied in a wide array of regions and settings, reflecting the practice of family medicine itself.
Keywords
Sustainable Development Goal
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