How To Become A Family Practice Doctor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a family practice doctor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Janet Williams Ph.D.

Family practice doctors are general physicians who provide medical care for children and adults alike in cases that do not need specialized interventions. They treat patients without regard to age or gender, diagnosing and medicating various illnesses. Advising on the prevention of diseases is also their job. They work in hospitals or other healthcare facilities or run private practices.

As a family practice doctor, you will examine patients who turn to you for help. You will prescribe medication, perform vaccinations, advise on treatments, and refer your patients to specialized examinations if you are unable to identify the cause of symptoms with the tools at your disposal.

You have to invest in extensive medical education in order to take on this role. A bachelor's degree, as well as a medical degree, will be necessary, along with a medical internship or resident practice. You will need to acquire certification by passing the national exam of a medical board, plus you have to receive a license from the state you will be practicing in.

What general advice would you give to a family practice doctor?

Janet Williams Ph.D.

Professor of Biology, College of Our Lady of the Elms

Students who wish to continue their education in healthcare (MD, DO, DMD, DVM, PA, PT, OT, and many other areas), should ensure that they have plenty of experience in healthcare by becoming certified as an EMT or CNA, and spend at least 1-2 years working or volunteering in that capacity. Students should graduate with strong GPAs, over 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, and should have taken all of their prerequisite courses. Students should be prepared to take standardized admissions exams, and plan to do well in them.

ScoreFamily Practice DoctorUS Average

Salary

9.9

Avg. Salary $187,028

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 19.12%

Black or African American 5.18%

Hispanic or Latino 9.60%

Unknown 4.46%

White 61.47%

Gender

female 65.77%

male 34.23%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a family practice doctor

Explore family practice doctor education requirements

Most common family practice doctor degrees

Doctorate

35.2 %

Bachelor's

32.4 %

Master's

12.8 %

Start to develop specific family practice doctor skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	34.30%
Family Medicine	20.81%
Urgent Care	7.50%
Patient Care	7.33%
Internal Medicine	4.75%

Complete relevant family practice doctor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 4-10 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New family practice doctors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a family practice doctor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real family practice doctor resumes.

Research family practice doctor duties and responsibilities

Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
Provide patients with a clinical diagnosis and provide appropriate follow-up evaluation, with referrals to clinical specialists when deem necessary.
Set up appointments.Billing and coding for emergency procedures (EKG).
Interpret diagnosis results and help in treatment of acute, chronic illnesses.

Prepare your family practice doctor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your family practice doctor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a family practice doctor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable family practice doctor resume templates

Build a professional family practice doctor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your family practice doctor resume.