General practitioner vs public health physician

The differences between general practitioners and public health physicians 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 public health physician. Additionally, a public health physician has an average salary of $199,316, 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 public health physician are patients, primary care, and patient care.

General practitioner vs public health physician overview

	General Practitioner	Public Health Physician
Yearly salary	$172,831	$199,316
Hourly rate	$83.09	$95.83
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	64,698	93,090
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

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 public health physician do?

A public health physician provides health services in communities, treating and diagnosing illnesses and injuries, referring patients to other services when necessary. Besides providing direct health care, they also spearhead various programs focusing on disease and injury prevention, help local communities in dealing with natural disasters and outbreaks, and facilitating seminars and information drives. Moreover, a public health physician may also utilize their health care expertise by participating in various studies and research programs meant to help communities.

General practitioner vs public health physician salary

General practitioners and public health physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Practitioner	Public Health Physician
Average salary	$172,831	$199,316
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $347,000	Between $103,000 And $382,000
Highest paying City	Oklahoma City, OK	Santa Ana, CA
Highest paying state	Mississippi	California
Best paying company	Altru Health System	Alameda Health System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between general practitioner and public health physician education

There are a few differences between a general practitioner and a public health physician in terms of educational background:

	General Practitioner	Public Health Physician
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	Duke University	University of Virginia

General practitioner vs public health physician demographics

Here are the differences between general practitioners' and public health physicians' demographics:

	General Practitioner	Public Health Physician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 32.1% Female, 67.9%
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, 5.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 18.9% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between general practitioner and public health physician 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.

Public health physician example responsibilities.

Develop skills in managing diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension.
Educate employees about the prevention of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
Develop, administer, and follow up on new to EHR competency assessments complete by new hires during EMR training.
Work and supervise patients with severe emotional problems.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
Scan and upload patient documentation into eClinicalWorks system.

General practitioner vs public health physician skills

Common general practitioner skills

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

Common public health physician skills

Patients, 39%
Primary Care, 13%
Patient Care, 10%
Urgent Care, 7%
Family Practice, 5%
Medical Care, 4%

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General Practitioner vs Public Health Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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