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The differences between medical doctors and family 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 medical doctor and a family practitioner. Additionally, a medical doctor has an average salary of $181,967, which is higher than the $180,399 average annual salary of a family practitioner.
The top three skills for a medical doctor include patients, patient care and internal medicine. The most important skills for a family practitioner are family medicine, patients, and family practice.
| Medical Doctor | Family Practitioner | |
| Yearly salary | $181,967 | $180,399 |
| Hourly rate | $87.48 | $86.73 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 60,642 | 50,599 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Medical Doctor, also known as a physician, is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats patients from injuries and illnesses. As a Medical Doctor, your day-to-day duties will typically include assessing a patient's symptoms, prescribing and administering treatment to patients, and providing follow-up medical care to patients. You will be responsible for interpreting patients' laboratory results and referring them to other providers when needed. Also, you will need to work closely with other healthcare professionals and promote health education.
Family practitioners are medical professionals who are responsible for providing care for an entire family in small and rural communities. By using their knowledge in the medical profession, these doctors are required to diagnose and treat a variety of medical issues while referring patients to an appropriate specialist if medical problems are outside their range of practice. They must participate in well-care visits with their patients to monitor the development of their health as well as perform routine tests such as cholesterol tests and blood pressure readings. Family practitioners must also help women give birth to a child.
Medical doctors and family practitioners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Doctor | Family Practitioner | |
| Average salary | $181,967 | $180,399 |
| Salary range | Between $95,000 And $347,000 | Between $90,000 And $359,000 |
| Highest paying City | Brownsville, TX | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Florida |
| Best paying company | Pacific Medical Centers | PeaceHealth |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical doctor and a family practitioner in terms of educational background:
| Medical Doctor | Family Practitioner | |
| Most common degree | Doctoral Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Medicine | Medicine |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between medical doctors' and family practitioners' demographics:
| Medical Doctor | Family Practitioner | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.9% Female, 53.1% | Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 19.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |