Our History
Born at the dawn of the specialty of family practice in 1969, our department has continuously experienced growth, innovation, and creativity as an academic department. We strive to meet the needs of the communities that we serve.
A more detailed history of our last 50 years can be found in our 50 Year Anniversary Book.
Through the Years
A timeline of the department's history
1969 – Dr. Fay Smith, MD became the first Professor of General Practice at UNMC. Residency training programs in Family Practice began at UNMC.
1970 – Dr. Francis Land became the first Chairman of the Family Practice Department. During his chairmanship, the residency program expanded from four to 29 residents and a four faculty compliment.
1974 – Dr. Margaret Faithe served as Interim Chairwoman of the Department of Family Practice
1975 – Dr. Paul Young became the second Chairman of the Family Practice Department and continued to lead growth and expansion in the faculty and residency program
1981 – Dr. Robert Bass served as the third Chairman of Family Practice and oversaw the development of a community-based rotation for Family Practice residents
1989 – General Internal Medicine and Family Medicine begin joint Primary Care Residency program
1991 – Rural Residency Training Tracks in Grand Island and Kearney were started
1992 – July, 1992 the department’s residency training program added the Family Practice residents from the United States Air Force – adding an 8x8x8 resident compliment and eight additional military faculty
1993 – Department begins Accelerated Residency program accepting four medical students
1996 – Department awarded first RO1 grant
1996 – Rural Residency Training Tracks in North Platte and Scottsbluff were started
2003 – Department awarded second RO1 grant
2008 – Department of Family Medicine received the University-Wide Teaching Award from the University of Nebraska educational system
2009 – Department creates partnership with Xi’an Jai Tong located in China and hosts visiting professors
2010 – Department expands hospital services to Bellevue with the opening of the Bellevue Medical Center
2010 – Dr. Michael Sitorius honored for 20 years as Chair in the Department of Family Medicine
2013 – U.S. News & World Report ranks UNMC No. 6 in primary care
2013 – The joint family medicine department between UNMC and Tongji University in Shanghai is
established
2014 – U.S. News & World Report ranks UNMC No. 6 in primary care
2014 – Family Medicine Interest Group receives national award from the American Academy of Family
Physicians for professional development.
2015 - U.S. News & World Report ranks UNMC No. 4 in primary care
2016 - U.S. News & World Report ranks UNMC No. 5 in primary care
2016 – Department moves into former Orthopedics area to make room for new cancer center
2017 – American Academy of Family Physicians ranks UNMC eighth nationally in percentage of medical
school graduates who were family medicine residents
2019 - Addiction Medicine Fellowship begins in the Department of Family Medicine
2019 - The UNMC College of Medicine is ranked as having one of the nation's top 10 Best Primary Care Programs by U.S. News & World Report.
2020 - Dr. Jeffrey Harrison named the fifth Chairman of Family Medicine
2021 - U.S. News & World Report ranks UNMC No. 6 in primary care
2021 - Sports Medicine Fellowship accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
