Family medicine is a subspecialty of the medical profession that allows a physician to diagnose and treat a variety of minor illnesses and injuries as well as practice preventive medicines.This specialty allows a doctor to treat a patient through the span of his or her life, from delivery to old age. A family physician will diagnose and treat a myriad of problems, however are experts in the common ones.
In order to become a family physician, or general physician, a candidate must first earn an undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year institution, such as biological science. The undergraduate degree does not have to be in pre-med education in order for the physician to become a successful family practitioner, however it is helpful. Next, the candidate will move on to obtain four years of education in medical school and then three years as a resident in family medicine before he or she can go on to sit and pass the American Board of Family Medicines board certification examination and become a board certified family medicine doctor. Also, board certification requires a commitment to ongoing learning. Now, in order to keep a board certified status, a physician must re sit for the exam every six to ten years and must have completed 300 hours of continuing education with the six years prior to re-taking the exam.
Family practice careers are one of the most rewarding for most doctors who choose this route. Most family medicine practitioners work in a solo or small group private practice, though working in a hospital setting or even teaching in a hospital are options for this specialty. The stress levels are lower than that of many other medical specialties, though that is not to say that there is not a significant amount of stress involved with practicing family medicine, and patients who join the practice generally stay for many years, allowing the doctor to develop a relationship with them.
The average salary for a family practice doctor is $133,000 per year. Despite the economic slump, careers in the healthcare field have risen, including open positions for doctors. In fact, a fourteen percentage employment growth rate is expected over the next several years.
Family medicine can be practiced as a general practitioner, evaluating people from all age groups including babies. But family medicine doctors can also choose to specialize further into one of the subspecialties below:
Pediatrics
Adolescents
Geriatrics
Sports Medicine
Sleep Medicine
Rural Medicine
In order for the physician to specialize in any one of these subspecialties, they must receive additional training through a fellowship in one of the mentioned subspecialty groups.
Family practices are one of the more rewarding specialties of the medical field. Doctors can watch their patients grow and develop, nurse them through sicknesses and injury, and hold their hands in the golden years. A family medicine career allows doctors the opportunity to get to know their patients and allows them the chance to treat the whole patient and not just the illness.
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