General practitioner vs md

The differences between general practitioners and mds can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a general practitioner, becoming an md takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a general practitioner has an average salary of $172,831, which is higher than the $75,011 average annual salary of an md.

The top three skills for a general practitioner include patients, diagnosis and internal medicine. The most important skills for an md are patients, customer service, and surgical procedures.

General practitioner vs md overview

	General Practitioner	MD
Yearly salary	$172,831	$75,011
Hourly rate	$83.09	$36.06
Growth rate	7%	16%
Number of jobs	64,698	58,569
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	48	37
Years of experience	4	12

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 an md do?

A Doctor of Medicine or MD is the designation of a person who completed medical education. Generally, MDs focus on the treatment of conditions in need of medication. These doctors do health assessments, prescribe medication, run diagnostic tests, treat patients, and offer health and wellness advice. Among their health specialties are in the areas of neurology, gynecology, and dermatology. They may also perform surgery when necessary. All these are made possible with their knowledge and skills in medicine.

General practitioner vs md salary

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

	General Practitioner	MD
Average salary	$172,831	$75,011
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $347,000	Between $25,000 And $224,000
Highest paying City	Oklahoma City, OK	Vancouver, WA
Highest paying state	Mississippi	Washington
Best paying company	Altru Health System	Atrium Health Floyd
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between general practitioner and md education

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

	General Practitioner	MD
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Medicine	Nursing
Most common college	Duke University	-

General practitioner vs md demographics

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

	General Practitioner	MD
Average age	48	37
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
Race ratio	Black 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, 14.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 9.1% White, 47.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	13%	6%

Differences between general practitioner and md 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.

Md example responsibilities.

Manage the office regarding Clia and OSHA laws and regulations
Manage on call pager for after hours triage and urgent matters while staying in complete communication with the physician.
Manage patient files by making new charts, keying all encounters through ICD-9 coding procedures and posting in patient database.
Operate electrocardiograph (EKG), call to schedule test for patients and routine office visits.
Back office responsibilities include rooming patients, obtaining vitals, chief complaint and documenting into EMR system.
Assist physicians in exams rooms, administer intramuscular injections and perform venipuncture on adult and pediatric patients.

General practitioner vs md skills

Common general practitioner skills

Patients, 32%
Diagnosis, 7%
Internal Medicine, 6%
Outpatient Clinic, 5%
Emergency Room, 5%
Oral Surgery, 4%

Common md skills

Patients, 33%
Customer Service, 8%
Surgical Procedures, 6%
Surgery, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Vital Signs, 4%

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General Practitioner vs MD

Updated January 8, 2025

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