Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between general practitioners and medical doctors 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 medical doctor. Additionally, a medical doctor has an average salary of $181,967, 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 medical doctor are patients, patient care, and internal medicine.
| General Practitioner | Medical Doctor | |
| Yearly salary | $172,831 | $181,967 |
| Hourly rate | $83.09 | $87.48 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 64,698 | 60,642 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 50% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A Medical Doctor, also known as a physician, is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats patients from injuries and illnesses. As a Medical Doctor, your day-to-day duties will typically include assessing a patient's symptoms, prescribing and administering treatment to patients, and providing follow-up medical care to patients. You will be responsible for interpreting patients' laboratory results and referring them to other providers when needed. Also, you will need to work closely with other healthcare professionals and promote health education.
General practitioners and medical doctors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Practitioner | Medical Doctor | |
| Average salary | $172,831 | $181,967 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $347,000 | Between $95,000 And $347,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oklahoma City, OK | Brownsville, TX |
| Highest paying state | Mississippi | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Altru Health System | Pacific Medical Centers |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a general practitioner and a medical doctor in terms of educational background:
| General Practitioner | Medical Doctor | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 50% | Doctoral Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Medicine |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between general practitioners' and medical doctors' demographics:
| General Practitioner | Medical Doctor | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1% | Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1% |
| 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, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |