Internist vs family practice doctor

The differences between internists and family practice doctors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an internist, becoming a family practice doctor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an internist has an average salary of $223,415, which is higher than the $187,028 average annual salary of a family practice doctor.

The top three skills for an internist include patients, primary care and EMR. The most important skills for a family practice doctor are patients, family medicine, and urgent care.

Internist vs family practice doctor overview

	Internist	Family Practice Doctor
Yearly salary	$223,415	$187,028
Hourly rate	$107.41	$89.92
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	31,659	32,979
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Doctoral Degree, 35%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	4

What does an internist do?

An internist is a physician of internal medicine whose primary duty is to diagnose and treat different illnesses and injuries. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial assessment and examination, reviewing medical records and histories, providing consultations, prescribing medicines, and coordinating with different health care workers to ensure optimal care and service to patients. Moreover, it is essential to discuss and explain conditions to patients or their families, monitor their condition, provide health care advice, and refer them to any specialists or support services as needed.

What does a family practice doctor do?

Family practice doctors provide lifelong care for a patient and their family. They offer medical attention to all family members, educates patients on disease prevention, provide health maintenance, and ensure mental and emotional needs are met. They manage basic complaints, like colds or flus, and also treat chronic illnesses, like asthma, diabetes, or degenerative conditions. They provide ongoing personalized care. Doctors must be empathetic, professional, and knowledgeable.

Internist vs family practice doctor salary

Internists and family practice doctors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Internist	Family Practice Doctor
Average salary	$223,415	$187,028
Salary range	Between $120,000 And $415,000	Between $101,000 And $345,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, OH	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Central Ohio Primary Care	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between internist and family practice doctor education

There are a few differences between an internist and a family practice doctor in terms of educational background:

	Internist	Family Practice Doctor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 35%	Doctoral Degree, 35%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	University of Virginia	Duke University

Internist vs family practice doctor demographics

Here are the differences between internists' and family practice doctors' demographics:

	Internist	Family Practice Doctor
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 37.3% Female, 62.7%	Male, 34.2% Female, 65.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.0% 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 internist and family practice doctor duties and responsibilities

Internist example responsibilities.

Train and manage new interns/ volunteers assisting with the evidence-based hypertension management program.
Implement EMR solely in a huge practice.
Evaluate health education needs of patients and provide necessary training and instruction.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
Perform uncomplicated surgical extractions, bone grafting and suturing as needed independently.
Provide physiotherapy, rehabilitation and chiropractic treatment for various conditions and injuries.

Family practice doctor example responsibilities.

Manage conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, asthma, and GERD.
Provide patients with a clinical diagnosis and provide appropriate follow-up evaluation, with referrals to clinical specialists when deem necessary.
Set up appointments.Billing and coding for emergency procedures (EKG).
Interpret diagnosis results and help in treatment of acute, chronic illnesses.
Advise patients about appropriate lifestyle modifications, preventative medicine, and recommend health screenings.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service

Internist vs family practice doctor skills

Common internist skills

Patients, 30%
Primary Care, 13%
EMR, 7%
Critical Care, 6%
Private Practice, 6%
Rehabilitation, 5%

Common family practice doctor skills

Patients, 34%
Family Medicine, 21%
Urgent Care, 8%
Patient Care, 7%
Internal Medicine, 5%
Outpatient Clinic, 3%

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Internist vs Family Practice Doctor

Updated January 8, 2025

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