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General practitioner vs family practitioner

The differences between general practitioners 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 general practitioner and a family practitioner. Additionally, a family practitioner has an average salary of $180,399, which is higher than the $172,831 average annual salary of a general practitioner.

The top three skills for a general practitioner include patients, diagnosis and internal medicine. The most important skills for a family practitioner are family medicine, patients, and family practice.

General practitioner vs family practitioner overview

General PractitionerFamily Practitioner
Yearly salary$172,831$180,399
Hourly rate$83.09$86.73
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs64,69850,599
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Average age4848
Years of experience44

What does a general practitioner do?

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.

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.

General practitioner vs family practitioner salary

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

General PractitionerFamily Practitioner
Average salary$172,831$180,399
Salary rangeBetween $85,000 And $347,000Between $90,000 And $359,000
Highest paying CityOklahoma City, OKPhiladelphia, PA
Highest paying stateMississippiFlorida
Best paying companyAltru Health SystemPeaceHealth
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between general practitioner and family practitioner education

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

General PractitionerFamily Practitioner
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 42%
Most common majorMedicineMedicine
Most common collegeDuke UniversityDuke University

General practitioner vs family practitioner demographics

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

General PractitionerFamily Practitioner
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 60.9% Female, 39.1%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, 61.3% 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 general practitioner and family practitioner duties and responsibilities

General practitioner example responsibilities.

  • Shadow and note specific medical cases as well as participated in patient diagnosis and treatment plan discussions
  • Evaluate a variety of medical conditions and afflictions, including making comprehensive diagnosis and specifying treatment plans.
  • Serve as initial contact to hospital patients; conduct thorough patient assessments and coordinate referrals to appropriate physicians base on findings
  • Assist in major elective and emergency surgeries such as appendectomies, exploratory laparotomy, thyroid surgery, hysterectomy and cesarean operations.
  • Collect and dispatch blood samples according to national malaria eradication and sputum samples for national tuberculosis control program.

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

General practitioner vs family practitioner skills

Common general practitioner skills
  • Patients, 32%
  • Diagnosis, 7%
  • Internal Medicine, 6%
  • Outpatient Clinic, 5%
  • Emergency Room, 5%
  • Oral Surgery, 4%
Common family practitioner skills
  • Family Medicine, 32%
  • Patients, 25%
  • Family Practice, 12%
  • Internal Medicine, 8%
  • Urgent Care, 7%
  • Pediatrics, 6%

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