Family physician vs internist

The differences between family physicians and internists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a family physician, becoming an internist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an internist has an average salary of $223,415, which is higher than the $215,471 average annual salary of a family physician.

The top three skills for a family physician include patients, family medicine and primary care. The most important skills for an internist are patients, primary care, and EMR.

Family physician vs internist overview

	Family Physician	Internist
Yearly salary	$215,471	$223,415
Hourly rate	$103.59	$107.41
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	47,352	31,659
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	6

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 an internist do?

An internist is a physician of internal medicine whose primary duty is to diagnose and treat different illnesses and injuries. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial assessment and examination, reviewing medical records and histories, providing consultations, prescribing medicines, and coordinating with different health care workers to ensure optimal care and service to patients. Moreover, it is essential to discuss and explain conditions to patients or their families, monitor their condition, provide health care advice, and refer them to any specialists or support services as needed.

Family physician vs internist salary

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

	Family Physician	Internist
Average salary	$215,471	$223,415
Salary range	Between $135,000 And $342,000	Between $120,000 And $415,000
Highest paying City	Mount Vernon, WA	Springfield, OH
Highest paying state	Vermont	Alaska
Best paying company	Oregon Medical Group	Central Ohio Primary Care
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between family physician and internist education

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

	Family Physician	Internist
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	University of Virginia	University of Virginia

Family physician vs internist demographics

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

	Family Physician	Internist
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 42.2% Female, 57.8%	Male, 37.3% Female, 62.7%
Race ratio	Black 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, 10.0% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between family physician and internist 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.

Internist example responsibilities.

Train and manage new interns/ volunteers assisting with the evidence-based hypertension management program.
Implement EMR solely in a huge practice.
Evaluate health education needs of patients and provide necessary training and instruction.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
Perform uncomplicated surgical extractions, bone grafting and suturing as needed independently.
Provide physiotherapy, rehabilitation and chiropractic treatment for various conditions and injuries.

Family physician vs internist skills

Common family physician skills

Patients, 28%
Family Medicine, 26%
Primary Care, 15%
Urgent Care, 8%
EMR, 7%
Internal Medicine, 3%

Common internist skills

Patients, 30%
Primary Care, 13%
EMR, 7%
Critical Care, 6%
Private Practice, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%

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Family Physician vs Internist

Updated January 8, 2025

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