General Physicians are highly trained specialists who provide a range of non-surgical health care to adult patients. They care for difficult, serious or unusual medical problems and continue to see the patient until these problems have resolved or stabilised.
Much of their work takes place with hospitalised patients and most general physicians also see patients in their consulting rooms.
Their broad range of expertise differentiates General Physicians from other specialists who limit their medical practice to problems involving only one body system or to a special area of medical knowledge.
Physicians generally have six core skills:
1. Patient care. Physicians have to provide compassionate, appropriate, and effective care to promote health and treat health problems in their patients.
2. Medical knowledge. Physicians must be experts in established and new biomedical, clinical, and cognate sciences and how to apply this knowledge to patient care.
3. Practice-based learning and improvement. Physicians must always investigate and evaluate their own care and look for ways to improve.
4. Interpersonal and communication skills. Physicians must be able to communicate effectively with patients, their families, and other health professionals.
5. Professionalism. A commitment to professionalism includes carrying out professional responsibilities, sticking to ethical principles, and being sensitive to a diverse patient population.
6. Systems-based practice. Physicians must be aware of and responsive to the larger context and system of health care. They must also be able to find and use resources to provide the best care possible.
Physicians diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses. Other responsibilities include:
There are generally two types of physicians: medical doctors (MD) and doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO). They use the same methods of treatment, including drugs and surgery, but DOs also focus on the body’s musculoskeletal system, preventative medicine, and holistic patient care.
Some specific types of physicians include:
The most common type of physician is a primary care physician, also known as a family doctor. They’re trained to treat a little bit of everything and coordinate care in one location. Some of the most common issues that they handle are: