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.
General practitioner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real general practitioner resumes:
- 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.
General practitioner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 32% of General Practitioners are proficient in Patients, Diagnosis, and Internal Medicine. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of General Practitioners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 32%
Served as initial contact to hospital patients; conducted thorough patient assessments and coordinated referrals to appropriate physicians based on findings
- Diagnosis, 7%
Consulted with Radiologist on site to provide provisional diagnosis.
- Internal Medicine, 6%
Consulted with 10 outpatients and 8 inpatients daily in internal medicine.
- Outpatient Clinic, 5%
General practitioner at the outpatient clinic of Victoria Hospital.
- Emergency Room, 5%
Provided services in the Department of Emergency Room and in-patient Hospital.
- Oral Surgery, 4%
Performed minor oral surgery such as Impaction and Apicoectomy.
"patients," "diagnosis," and "internal medicine" are among the most common skills that general practitioners use at work. You can find even more general practitioner responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a general practitioner to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." General practitioners often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "admitted and discharged patients, coordinated communication with nurses and other medical personnel. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling general practitioner duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress." According to a general practitioner resume, here's how general practitioners can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "provided safe, effective and compassionate patient care under supervision of senior medical resident or faculty. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of general practitioners is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday general practitioner duties, as "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "keep accurate records and documented medical history of the patient in detail. "
Dexterity. For certain general practitioner responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "dexterity." The day-to-day duties of a general practitioner rely on this skill, as "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what general practitioners do: "administered screening tests, provided vaccinations and ensured health education through hands-on family planning, lifestyle modification and community-based childcare. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in general practitioner job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what general practitioners do. General practitioner responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." You can also see how general practitioner duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "collaborated with residency program leadership to assist in the preparation for intern applicant interviews and weekly didactic sessions"
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to general practitioner responsibilities. Much of what a general practitioner does relies on this skill, seeing as "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of general practitioners: "perform physical examination, order relevant laboratory tests, interpret results, assess the problem and reach diagnosis. "
The three companies that hire the most general practitioners are:
- Ethos Veterinary Health2 general practitioners jobs
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Compare different general practitioners
General practitioner vs. Physician
Physicians' general responsibility is to check, diagnose, and treat a patient's condition to improve their overall wellness. A physician could be General Practitioners or Specialist Physicians, wherein General Practitioners are physicians who provide regular checkups for patients depending on their needs and refer them to a Specialist Physicians who are more skilled in a particular field of expertise for a thorough diagnosis. Physicians monitor a patient's medical history and ensure follow-up checkups to observe if the condition of a patient is changing over time. A physician may refer a patient to other health professionals for further examination as needed.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a general practitioner are more likely to require skills like "outpatient clinic," "oral surgery," "health education," and "administer medications." On the other hand, a job as a physician requires skills like "surgery," "emr," "rehabilitation," and "family practice." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Physicians earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $169,042. On the other hand, general practitioners are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $154,946.The education levels that physicians earn slightly differ from general practitioners. In particular, physicians are 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a general practitioner. Additionally, they're 25.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General practitioner vs. Professor of family medicine
A professor of family medicine is a medical expert who facilitates discussions and lectures for future medical practitioners. Their responsibilities revolve around developing teaching strategies, creating lesson and assessment plans, organizing activities and projects, preparing coursework, and monitoring the progress of students. They may also participate in studies, utilizing their expertise for discoveries. Furthermore, as a professor of family medicine, it is essential to lead and encourage students to reach their potentials, all while maintaining a safe and productive learning environment for everyone.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real general practitioner resumes. While general practitioner responsibilities can utilize skills like "diagnosis," "outpatient clinic," "emergency room," and "oral surgery," professors of family medicine use skills like "family practice," "urgent care," "cme," and "epic."
Professors of family medicine may earn a higher salary than general practitioners, but professors of family medicine earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $183,433. On the other hand, general practitioners receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $154,946.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Professors of family medicine tend to reach higher levels of education than general practitioners. In fact, they're 14.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 25.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for general practitioners in the next 3-5 years?
Janet Williams Ph.D.
Professor of Biology, College of Our Lady of the Elms
Possibly, a little further out, will be genome sequencing to determine health risks for patients. It might even be able to prescribe lifestyle and nutrition best-practices for individuals, based on their genetics.
General practitioner vs. Primary care physician
A Primary Care Physician is responsible for providing regular medical care for their patients. They provide personal assistance, medical attention, and emotional support to others, such as coworkers, customers, and patients.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from general practitioner resumes include skills like "emergency room," "oral surgery," "physical exams," and "administer medications," whereas a primary care physician is more likely to list skills in "family practice," "urgent care," "pediatrics," and "emr. "
Primary care physicians earn the highest salary when working in the insurance industry, where they receive an average salary of $202,734. Comparatively, general practitioners have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $154,946.primary care physicians typically earn similar educational levels compared to general practitioners. Specifically, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 10.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General practitioner vs. In-house physician
An In-House Physician is in charge of providing health care services to diagnose and treat the medical conditions of patients within a community or organization. Their responsibilities typically include providing consultations, conducting various tests and examinations, studying a patient's medical history, prescribing medication, developing care and treatment plans, and referring patients to other specialists when necessary. They must also monitor the patients regularly and help them feel comfortable every step of the way. In-House Physicians must maintain an active communication line with nurses and other health care experts for a smooth and efficient workflow.
Types of general practitioner
Updated January 8, 2025
