What does an Acute Care Physician do?
An acute care physician is responsible for providing quality care services for the patients, diagnosing them, and administering medications. These physicians have the same duties as regular physicians, usually working for patients with a short-term illness or those patients recovered from medical conditions that require ongoing treatment and medications. Acute care physicians monitor patients' medical histories, scheduling follow-up checkups, as well as other procedures. They should have excellent communication and organizational skills, and most importantly, the knowledge of the medical industry within their expertise.
Acute care physician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real acute care physician resumes:
- Gain experience managing patients with cardiopulmonary, post-surgical orthopedic, post-traumatic, and metabolic conditions
- Pursue exposure to ICU, NICU and orthopedic surgery.
- Evaluate and analyze patients' medical charts, physical and mental abilities to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
- Collect patient's health information before having surgery.
- Analyze procedures and diagnoses using ICD-9 & CPT codes.
- Rotate in rheumatology, medicine, pediatrics, neurology.
- Order medical procedures and labs to increase accuracy of diagnosis.
- Demonstrate and teach the use of adaptive device to patient with multiple diagnosis.
- Call in medications, ordering of supplies, injections, EKG's, and phlebotomy.
- Receive credit for psychiatry PGY-1 year from the APA for initial intern training in OB/GYN residency.
- Review patient medical records and assigns appropriate codes using ICD-9 and CPT coding to format all encounters.
- Reflect on patient encounters and collaborate with rehabilitation team members.
- Train to perform rehabilitation director position in time of their absence
- Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
- Train in the insertion of central venous catheters, peripheral arterial catheters, and pulmonary artery catheters.
Acute care physician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 38% of Acute Care Physicians are proficient in Patients, Family Practice, and Internal Medicine. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Acute Care Physicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 38%
Evaluated and analyzed patients' medical charts, physical and mental abilities to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients.
- Family Practice, 12%
Offered, in additional to traditional family practice, nutritional/biochemical medicine, herbal medicine and homeopathic therapeutics.
- Internal Medicine, 6%
BOARD CERTIFICATION: 9/1990, 9/2000, 9/2010 Internal Medicine #130013
- Epic, 4%
Tested new procedures in Epic test environment, including analysis from work queue and new error correction queue.
- Medical Care, 4%
Directed and supervised medical care for two terminally ill family members suffering from diabetes mellitus and congestive heart failure.
- ICU, 3%
Attended ICU patient care rounds with the medical team.
"patients," "family practice," and "internal medicine" are among the most common skills that acute care physicians use at work. You can find even more acute care physician responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for an acute care physician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what acute care physicians do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, an acute care physician resume shows how acute care physicians use communication skills: "translate from spanish to english, for patients, doctor or staff communications. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling acute care physician duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress." According to an acute care physician resume, here's how acute care physicians can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "demonstrated clinical competency and compassion in providing care and assured continuity of care through appropriate discharge planning. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of acute care physicians is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday acute care physician duties, as "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "scanned patient records for upcoming appts in the emr answered a high volume of calls, attention to detail. "
Dexterity. A big part of what acute care physicians do relies on "dexterity." You can see how essential it is to acute care physician responsibilities because "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical acute care physician tasks: "help move / lift patients with limited mobility to chair, bed. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in acute care physician job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what acute care physicians do. Acute care physician responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." You can also see how acute care physician duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "provided leadership for clinical staff and delivered quality medical care at the pocahontas family medical center. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to acute care physician responsibilities. Much of what an acute care physician does relies on this skill, seeing as "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of acute care physicians: "job description includes providing dot physical exams, sports physicalexams, acute care and workman compensation care. "
The three companies that hire the most acute care physicians are:
- Carbon Health58 acute care physicians jobs
- HealthTrust35 acute care physicians jobs
- Integrity Locums25 acute care physicians jobs
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Compare different acute care physicians
Acute care physician vs. Family practice md
A family practice MD is responsible for monitoring and diagnosing patients' conditions of all ages. Family practice MDs identify the patients' medical histories and administer treatment plans and medications. They also coordinate with other medical professionals for further laboratory examinations. A family practice MD must have excellent communication and extensive knowledge of the medical industry to identify the best treatment methods for the patients. Family practice MDs keep an organized record of medical charts for reference and reports.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between acute care physicians and family practice md. For instance, acute care physician responsibilities require skills such as "epic," "icu," "surgery," and "acls." Whereas a family practice md is skilled in "primary care," "emr," "patient care," and "private practice." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Family practice mds really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $207,373. Comparatively, acute care physicians tend to make the most money in the non profits industry with an average salary of $225,585.The education levels that family practice mds earn slightly differ from acute care physicians. In particular, family practice mds are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an acute care physician. Additionally, they're 14.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Acute care physician vs. Medical doctor
A Medical Doctor, also known as a physician, is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats patients from injuries and illnesses. As a Medical Doctor, your day-to-day duties will typically include assessing a patient's symptoms, prescribing and administering treatment to patients, and providing follow-up medical care to patients. You will be responsible for interpreting patients' laboratory results and referring them to other providers when needed. Also, you will need to work closely with other healthcare professionals and promote health education.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real acute care physician resumes. While acute care physician responsibilities can utilize skills like "epic," "dot," "acls," and "rehabilitation," medical doctors use skills like "patient care," "primary care," "emergency medicine," and "emr."
On average, medical doctors earn a lower salary than acute care physicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, medical doctors earn the most pay in the transportation industry with an average salary of $180,010. Whereas acute care physicians have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $225,585.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Medical doctors tend to reach similar levels of education than acute care physicians. In fact, they're 5.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 14.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Acute care physician vs. Family practice doctor
Family practice doctors provide lifelong care for a patient and their family. They offer medical attention to all family members, educates patients on disease prevention, provide health maintenance, and ensure mental and emotional needs are met. They manage basic complaints, like colds or flus, and also treat chronic illnesses, like asthma, diabetes, or degenerative conditions. They provide ongoing personalized care. Doctors must be empathetic, professional, and knowledgeable.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, acute care physicians are more likely to have skills like "family practice," "epic," "icu," and "dot." But a family practice doctor is more likely to have skills like "family medicine," "patient care," "outpatient clinic," and "disease prevention."
Most family practice doctors achieve a similar degree level compared to acute care physicians. For example, they're 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 8.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Acute care physician vs. Family practitioner
Family practitioners are medical professionals who are responsible for providing care for an entire family in small and rural communities. By using their knowledge in the medical profession, these doctors are required to diagnose and treat a variety of medical issues while referring patients to an appropriate specialist if medical problems are outside their range of practice. They must participate in well-care visits with their patients to monitor the development of their health as well as perform routine tests such as cholesterol tests and blood pressure readings. Family practitioners must also help women give birth to a child.
Types of acute care physician
Updated January 8, 2025
