Medical education research at the University of Washington School of Medicine: lessons from the past and potential for the future.

Faculty in the Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics at the University of Washington School of Medicine received over $1.2 million in direct grant and contract support in 2003. In this case study, the authors provide some of the history and background of the evolution of the department's structure and its role in providing leadership in medical education research at the university, as well as regionally, nationally, and internationally. The authors offer their observations and reflections on what has helped and hindered the department's success, and end with some predictions on medical education research in the future. The University of Washington's five-state regional WWAMI educational program, establishing a single medical school for the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho, has been an important environmental influence on the direction of the department's educational and research activities. External support has helped the department to create the Northwest Consortium for Clinical Performance Assessment, the Center for Medical Education Research, the Teaching Scholars Program, and a Biomedical and Health Informatics graduate and fellowship training program, as well as a number of international programs.