What does a family medicine physician do?

A Family Medicine Physician provides medical services for members of families through the use of various medical instruments and equipment. They administer treatments and prescribe various medications.
Family medicine physician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real family medicine physician resumes:
- Obtain information about clients' medical history, drug history, complaints and allergies.
- Implement integrated practice management and EHR system.
- Perform EKG's, glucose, A1C, and urine testing.
- Send referrals, enter referrals in epic system.
- Perform clinical evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of outpatients
- Assist ATC's with first aid, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries.
- Coordinate governing body reports and site visits (ACGME and GME, RRC).
- Coordinate the adoption of eMDs EMR system base in Austin, TX EMR compliant practice exceeding government/HIPAA standards
- Learned about outpatient management of diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and congestive heart failure.
- Participate in ACLS codes and other procedures including central line placement, lumbar puncture, and paracentesis.
- Interpret regular blood workup, EKG, urine analysis, management of INR, medication reconciliation and palliative care.
- Inform patients that the levothyroxine in SYNTHROID is intended to replace a hormone thatis normally produce by the thyroid gland.
- Record of implementing evidence-base care that results in substantial improvements in clinical outcomes for patients.
- Develop and implement quality improvement protocol for ADHD patients resulting in symptom improvement in patients and decrease risk of medication diversion.
- Diagnose and treat HTN, DM, and COPD, as well as a majority of other commonly seen issues.
Family medicine physician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of Family Medicine Physicians are proficient in Patients, Primary Care, and Urgent Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Family Medicine Physicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 34%
Developed and implemented quality improvement protocol for ADHD patients resulting in symptom improvement in patients and decreased risk of medication diversion.
- Primary Care, 20%
Provide medical assistance as Primary Care Physician.
- Urgent Care, 14%
Provide occupational medicine services and see families in an urgent care environment.
- Internal Medicine, 6%
Care with emphasis on internal medicine, geriatrics and chronic disease, and preventative care.
- Health System, 5%
Board of ManagersLead board member on merger acquisition team and in collaboration discussions with regional Health Systems.
- Surgery, 3%
Established and cultivated a comprehensive database of Physicians within the General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, and Anesthesiology specialties.
Common skills that a family medicine physician uses to do their job include "patients," "primary care," and "urgent care." You can find details on the most important family medicine physician responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a family medicine physician to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what family medicine physicians do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, a family medicine physician resume shows how family medicine physicians use communication skills: "evaluate and treat patients in the emergency department, including follow-up communication with patients, primary health providers. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling family medicine 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 a family medicine physician resume, here's how family medicine physicians can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "treat patients and family with compassion and provide high-quality customer care. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for family medicine physicians to perform their duties. For an example of how family medicine physician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a family medicine physician: "interviewed patients and compiled detailed patient history and physical examination. ".
Dexterity. family medicine physician responsibilities often require "dexterity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." This resume example shows what family medicine physicians do with dexterity on a typical day: "gained extensive hands on experience in acute care of adult, pediatric/neonatal and pregnant patients. "
Leadership skills. Another crucial skill for a family medicine physician to carry out their responsibilities is "leadership skills." A big part of what family medicine physicians relies on this skill, since "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." How this skill relates to family medicine physician duties can be seen in an example from a family medicine physician resume snippet: "create and maintain high performance environment characterized by positive leadership and teamwork orientation. "
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a family medicine physician does. Family medicine physician responsibilities require this skill because "good recordkeeping and other organizational skills are critical in both medical and business settings." This resume example highlights how family medicine physician duties rely on this skill: "track individual and organizational metrics on a daily basis to ensure quality patient care, and meet organizational goals. "
The three companies that hire the most family medicine physicians are:
- Integrity Locums282 family medicine physicians jobs
- The Medicus Firm
272 family medicine physicians jobs
- Essentia Health91 family medicine physicians jobs
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Family medicine physician vs. Chiropractor, sole practitioner
A General Practitioner provides primary and continuing medical care for patients within their community. They are responsible for diagnosing patients, checking patients results, and providing treatment as required.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between family medicine physicians and chiropractor, sole practitioner. For instance, family medicine physician responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "primary care," "urgent care," and "internal medicine." Whereas a chiropractor, sole practitioner is skilled in "litigation," "real estate transactions," "probate," and "bench trials." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Chiropractors, sole practitioner tend to reach similar levels of education than family medicine physicians. In fact, chiropractors, sole practitioner are 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.7% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Family medicine physician vs. General practitioner
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, family medicine physician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "urgent care," "health system," "care clinic," and "surgery." Meanwhile, a general practitioner has duties that require skills in areas such as "oral surgery," "medical care," "patient care," and "physical exams." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, general practitioners earn a lower salary than family medicine physicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, general practitioners earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $154,946. Whereas family medicine physicians have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $202,534.In general, general practitioners achieve similar levels of education than family medicine physicians. They're 3.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 6.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for family medicine physicians in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Haydee Encarnacion-Garcia Ph.D.
Associate Professor, MPH Program Director, Indiana Wesleyan University
Family medicine physician vs. Medical doctor
A physician liaison specializes in helping medical facilities build positive relationships with physicians in a community. Typically working at the business development and sales offices, a physical liaison is responsible for meeting with physicians to introduce and promote the facility and its services, discuss referrals and patient care, and help physicians connect with surgeons and specialists for patient referral. Furthermore, a physician liaison must produce regular progress reports, coordinating with office managers while adhering to the facility's policies and regulations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from family medicine physician resumes include skills like "urgent care," "health system," "care clinic," and "outpatient clinic," whereas a medical doctor is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "family practice," "emergency medicine," and "medical care. "
Medical doctors earn the best pay in the transportation industry, where they command an average salary of $180,010. Family medicine physicians earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $202,534.When it comes to education, medical doctors tend to earn similar degree levels compared to family medicine physicians. In fact, they're 2.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 12.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Family medicine physician vs. Physician liaison
Even though a few skill sets overlap between family medicine physicians and physician liaisons, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a family medicine physician might have more use for skills like "primary care," "urgent care," "care clinic," and "outpatient clinic." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of physician liaisons require skills like "patient care," "service line," "business development," and "crm. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for physician liaisons, with average annual pay of $193,079. Comparatively, the highest family medicine physician annual salary comes from the health care industry.physician liaisons reach similar levels of education compared to family medicine physicians, in general. The difference is that they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 41.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of family medicine physician
Updated January 8, 2025











