Post job

Family physician vs family practitioner

The differences between family physicians and family practitioners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a family physician and a family practitioner. Additionally, a family physician has an average salary of $215,471, which is higher than the $180,399 average annual salary of a family practitioner.

The top three skills for a family physician include patients, family medicine and primary care. The most important skills for a family practitioner are family medicine, patients, and family practice.

Family physician vs family practitioner overview

Family PhysicianFamily Practitioner
Yearly salary$215,471$180,399
Hourly rate$103.59$86.73
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs47,35250,599
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 36%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age4848
Years of experience44

What does a family physician do?

A family physician specializes in providing health care services to an entire family, regardless of age, health condition, or gender. Aside from conducting regular check-ups and consultations, they serve as a family's primary contact when health problems occur. Among their responsibilities include maintaining a family's health records, helping families navigate through the healthcare system, coordinating with insurance companies, and referring them to other specialists when necessary. Moreover, a family physician builds positive relationships with clients, helping them feel comfortable every step of the way.

What does a family practitioner do?

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.

Family physician vs family practitioner salary

Family physicians and family practitioners have different pay scales, as shown below.

Family PhysicianFamily Practitioner
Average salary$215,471$180,399
Salary rangeBetween $135,000 And $342,000Between $90,000 And $359,000
Highest paying CityMount Vernon, WAPhiladelphia, PA
Highest paying stateVermontFlorida
Best paying companyOregon Medical GroupPeaceHealth
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between family physician and family practitioner education

There are a few differences between a family physician and a family practitioner in terms of educational background:

Family PhysicianFamily Practitioner
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 36%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common majorMedicineMedicine
Most common collegeUniversity of VirginiaDuke University

Family physician vs family practitioner demographics

Here are the differences between family physicians' and family practitioners' demographics:

Family PhysicianFamily Practitioner
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 42.2% Female, 57.8%Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between family physician and family practitioner duties and responsibilities

Family physician example responsibilities.

  • Manage complicated and often difficult to control chronic medical conditions in patients with limit resources.
  • Examine patients, using medical instruments and equipment; elicit and record information about patient's medical history.
  • Perform hematology, chemistry and immunology screen test to provide immediate results for diagnosis.
  • Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
  • Case, endotracheal intubation and artificial mechanical ventilation to which it require, bladder catheterizations rectal and nasogastric.

Family practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Manage family health problems, examine patients, perform physical examination.
  • Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
  • Provide examination, testing, diagnosis, treatment, referral and follow- up care for newborn through geriatrics.
  • Provide residential care and emergency medical treatment to incapacitate elderly patients
  • Operate electrocardiogram equipment to administer diagnostic testing (EKG).
  • Ensure patient and family understanding of diagnosis treatment and all accompanying relevant information.
  • Show more

Family physician vs family practitioner skills

Common family physician skills
  • Patients, 28%
  • Family Medicine, 26%
  • Primary Care, 15%
  • Urgent Care, 8%
  • EMR, 7%
  • Internal Medicine, 3%
Common family practitioner skills
  • Family Medicine, 32%
  • Patients, 25%
  • Family Practice, 12%
  • Internal Medicine, 8%
  • Urgent Care, 7%
  • Pediatrics, 6%

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs