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Career Exploration

Family Medicine Physicians

Also called: Family Physician, Family Practice Physician (FP Physician), Medical Doctor (MD), Physician

What they do:

Diagnose, treat, and provide preventive care to individuals and families across the lifespan. May refer patients to specialists when needed for further diagnosis or treatment.

On the job, you would:
  • Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.
  • Order, perform, and interpret tests and analyze records, reports, and examination information to diagnose patients' condition.
  • Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.
On the job, you'll need:

Health

  • medicine and dentistry
  • therapy and counseling

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Math and Science

  • biology
  • psychology

Business

  • customer service

Basic Skills

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Social

  • looking for ways to help people
  • understanding people's reactions

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • notice when problems happen
  • use rules to solve problems

Attention

  • pay attention to something without being distracted
  • do two or more things at the same time

Visual Understanding

  • see hidden patterns

Social

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Concern for Others
  • Integrity

Medical software

  • eClinicalWorks EHR software
  • Epic Systems

Spreadsheet software

  • Microsoft Excel

Electronic mail software

  • Email software

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Average.

New job opportunities are likely in the future.

Median Annual Salary: $211,300

Education

Doctoral degree or post-doctoral training is usually needed.