Western Europe
In Western Europe, the first post-graduate programs in family medicine were established in the 1990s – early 2000s. Family medicine societies exist in Western European countries, and family medicine is recognized as a part of primary care. In order to specialize in family medicine, one must enter a medical school program after completing high school. Medical school is about 6-7 years in Western Europe, and during this time family medicine is taught as part of the curriculum. Germany has the most schools offering family medicine education. Once graduating from medical school, there is about 3-5 years of post-graduate training to specialize in family medicine. The training is a residency program that is often divided into training in in-patient and out-patient settings. In the Netherlands, the residency program is unique because more time is spent in out-patient settings, and very little time is spent in the hospital. Once practicing as a family physician, most European countries do not have required continuing medical education, but it is still offered and encouraged. Family physicians do not act as gate-keepers in the following countries, with the Netherlands being one of the few countries that do. In the Netherlands, gate-keeping is used before seeing most specialists, and there is a gate-keeping system to go to the emergency. This has been implemented in order to decrease wait times and improve the efficiency of primary care. Majority of the population has access to family physicians, as the health care system in Western Europe requires mandatory health insurance plans that cover the health care cost of primary care.
In Western Europe, specifically in Belgium, Cyprus, France and Greece, family medicine was established in the early 80s, early 2000s. In becoming a family physician, one must attend high school, 6-years of medical school and a residency and/or master’s program, although in France an internship is required. Though, all three countries have family medicine residency, they have limited number of institutions that offer family medicine, however their health systems are recognized by organizations. These institutions also train other primary care deliverers, which include pediatricians, gynecologists and obstetrics, as well as nurses.