The European definition of the discipline and speciality of general practice/ family medicine, as defined in 2005 states: "General practice/family medicine is an academic and scientific discipline and a clinical specialty with its own educational content, research and evidence base and clinical activity, orientated to primary care". According to this definition general practitioners/ family doctors are "specialist physicians trained in the principles of the discipline".The two terms "general practice" and "family medicine" were synonymous in this context. Family medicine is a new specialty in Oman; it needs to be nurtured well so that not only the individuals, but also the specialty achieves global standards. This requires constant evaluation and updating of the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training programmes. The needs of trained family physicians also need to be identified and addressed by constant monitoring including audits and peer reviews. There should be a constant review of resource allocation so that quality primary care is provided in the most cost effective manner.