Geriatric physician vs attending physician

The differences between geriatric physicians and attending 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 geriatric physician and an attending physician. Additionally, a geriatric physician has an average salary of $210,898, which is higher than the $200,702 average annual salary of an attending physician.

The top three skills for a geriatric physician include patient care, EMR and nursing home. The most important skills for an attending physician are patients, primary care, and surgery.

Geriatric physician vs attending physician overview

	Geriatric Physician	Attending Physician
Yearly salary	$210,898	$200,702
Hourly rate	$101.39	$96.49
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	38,498	53,195
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

What does a geriatric physician do?

A geriatric physician is a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease ailments in elderly patients. To be precise, they are a primary care doctor specially trained in the aging process. They may be required to plan the successful transfers of patients from the hospital, educate patients on how they can stay active and healthy, and ensure patients are up to date with necessary health tips.

What does an attending physician do?

An Attending Physician typically supervises fellows, residents, medical students, and other practitioners. They are responsible for supervising each patient every day, reviewing treatment plans with residents, and supervising patient management documents.

Geriatric physician vs attending physician salary

Geriatric physicians and attending physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Geriatric Physician	Attending Physician
Average salary	$210,898	$200,702
Salary range	Between $104,000 And $423,000	Between $125,000 And $321,000
Highest paying City	Anderson, SC	Miami, FL
Highest paying state	North Dakota	New Jersey
Best paying company	Freeman Health System	Community Health Systems
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between geriatric physician and attending physician education

There are a few differences between a geriatric physician and an attending physician in terms of educational background:

	Geriatric Physician	Attending Physician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Geriatric physician vs attending physician demographics

Here are the differences between geriatric physicians' and attending physicians' demographics:

	Geriatric Physician	Attending Physician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.5% Asian, 20.4% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between geriatric physician and attending physician duties and responsibilities

Geriatric physician example responsibilities.

Initiate new treatment protocols for managing complex patients with co-morbid psychiatric and medical illnesses.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
Assist physician with minor office surgeries and other various procedures ECG's and immunizations.

Attending physician example responsibilities.

Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Prepare patients for ultrasound guide injections and aspirations which includes draping patients, prepping medications and preparing sterile instruments.
Manage neurological cancer research protocols: collected/organize data, assure compliance with protocol guidelines, manage study database and enroll patients.
Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.

Geriatric physician vs attending physician skills

Common geriatric physician skills

Patient Care, 30%
EMR, 28%
Nursing Home, 22%
Medical Care, 8%
Epic, 8%
Private Practice, 2%

Common attending physician skills

Patients, 35%
Primary Care, 8%
Surgery, 5%
Internal Medicine, 5%
BLS, 4%
Rehabilitation, 3%

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Geriatric Physician
Geriatric Physician vs Attending Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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