Geriatric physician vs general practitioner

The differences between geriatric physicians and general practitioners 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 a general practitioner. Additionally, a geriatric physician has an average salary of $210,898, which is higher than the $172,831 average annual salary of a general practitioner.

The top three skills for a geriatric physician include patient care, EMR and nursing home. The most important skills for a general practitioner are patients, diagnosis, and internal medicine.

Geriatric physician vs general practitioner overview

	Geriatric Physician	General Practitioner
Yearly salary	$210,898	$172,831
Hourly rate	$101.39	$83.09
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	38,498	64,698
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Doctoral Degree, 50%
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 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.

Geriatric physician vs general practitioner salary

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

	Geriatric Physician	General Practitioner
Average salary	$210,898	$172,831
Salary range	Between $104,000 And $423,000	Between $85,000 And $347,000
Highest paying City	Anderson, SC	Oklahoma City, OK
Highest paying state	North Dakota	Mississippi
Best paying company	Freeman Health System	Altru Health System
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between geriatric physician and general practitioner education

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

	Geriatric Physician	General Practitioner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Doctoral Degree, 50%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	Duke University

Geriatric physician vs general practitioner demographics

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

	Geriatric Physician	General Practitioner
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9%	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%
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, 9.7% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between geriatric physician and general practitioner 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.

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.

Geriatric physician vs general practitioner skills

Common geriatric physician skills

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

Common general practitioner skills

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

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Geriatric Physician
Geriatric Physician vs General Practitioner

Updated January 8, 2025

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