Family medicine is now an integral part of the curriculum of medical schools in Switzerland. The current challenge is to convey information about the attractive aspects of family medicine to medical students to address the growing shortage of primary care physicians. This article describes the implementation of a research program to promote career choice in family medicine, which leads to the development of a conceptual framework as a theoretical basis for teaching and research. Innovations from three medical schools in French-speaking Switzerland are presented. The authors describe the implication for family physicians in private practice, who are key partners of academic family medicine.