Primary Care Physician Jobs: What Do You Need To Know?

If you interested in working in the medical field, you will first need to determine what particular area you want to work in. It’s important to determine what sort of education and professional training that you will need. Here we will look at one of the most common jobs, a primary care physician, and discuss exactly what primary care physician jobs entail.

What Does A Primary Care Physician (PCP) Do?

Primary care physician jobs are usually general in nature. A primary care physician will usually be your first point of contact if you have a health concern. This includes more minor concerns such as a chest infection following a cold, up to more chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Where a specific disease or conditions is suspected, for example cancer, a primary care physician will then refer you to a specialist such as an oncologist for treatment.

What Primary Care Physician Jobs Are Available?

Although a primary care physician deals with a broad range of medical concerns, there are areas of specialty. People who are interested in becoming a primary care physician may consider the following areas:

Internal medicine – Internists deal purely with adult care. Their training is biased towards internal conditions such as those involving the organs, and their three year residency will be undertaken in a hospital setting.

Pediatricians – A pediatric physician deals solely with the care of children. To work in this field, the physician must have undertaken their fellowship in this specialist area of care.

Geriatricians – Physicians who work in geriatric care work only with elderly patients. They need a minimum of one year’s fellowship experience, in addition to a three year residency in family medicine.

Family practitioners – A family doctor will cater for a wide range of medical needs, and will deal with patients of all ages. This may or may not include specialties such as pre-natal care.

A career as a primary care physician can be very rewarding. Knowing what type of job you want can help you to tailor your education and training towards that field. Contact MDM Search to get started with your primary care physician job search today!