DOCTOR/PHYSICIAN

Specialties: Cruise-Ship Doctors, Family Practitioners, Neurologists, Physiatrists, Sports Physicians, Surgeons.

What do Doctors do?

  • Physicians diagnose and treat human disease and maintain and improve the health of their patients.
  • They use medical equipment and instruments and tests.
  • They adhere to standard medical procedures.
  • Some Physicians are General Practitioners who deal with a wide range of medical problems.
  • Others are specialists who have completed advanced training in fields such as family orthopedic surgery or dermatology.
  • Those in primary care practice include General Practitioners, Internists, Pediatricians, Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
  • Increasingly, Physicians are assigning tasks of a routine nature to auxiliary workers, such as Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants.

Salary and Employment Outlook:

EDD Labor Market Information

Career Info Net

Typical Employers:

Physicians usually work in their own offices and/ or are on staff at hospitals. Some are employed by medical groups, while others work for health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. Others work for local, state, and federal government agencies, and the Peace Corps. Physicians work for others in order to avoid the high cost of malpractice insurance and to have more free time. A small number of physicians are working as temporaries. A few agencies are prepared to refer physicians to temporary positions for physicians in private practice, and to replace physicians on leave in hospitals and clinics. The American Medical Association is expected to have a referral service for temporaries in the near future.

Preparation:

A premedical curriculum should be taken in an accredited college with a major in Science, Biology, or Chemistry. It is very rare for students without undergraduate degrees to be admitted to medical school. A few programs offer combined undergraduate/ medicine studies, granting both degrees over a six to eight year period. Those admitted will serve a residency to train in a specialty. Graduation from medical school is required. Each school has its own admissions requirements. Almost all medical colleges require applicants to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), which is administered twice a year.

Admission to medical schools is highly competitive. Medical schools can be expensive, but many forms of financial aid are available. Another way to enter this field is by attending school while in the Military and then completing your enlistment. When entering the civilian work world, Physicians will need to be licensed by the state in which they will practice.

Educational Program(s):

  • Medicine
  • Related Programs: Chiropractic Training, Emergency Medical Care, Life Sciences, Public Health

    Web Resources:

    Occupational Outlook Handbook

    ONet Online

    Career Center

    Career Info Net

    Association of American Medical Colleges

    American Medical Association

     

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