What does a physician-internist do?
Physician-internist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real physician-internist resumes:
- Manage complicated and often difficult to control chronic medical conditions in patients with limit resources.
- Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
- Collect and dispatch blood samples according to national malaria eradication and sputum samples for national tuberculosis control program.
Physician-internist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 57% of Physician-Internists are proficient in Urgent Care, Patient Care, and Private Practice. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Physician-Internists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Urgent Care, 57%
Designed and implemented the Urgent Care Clinical Excellence Program, an educational initiative to reduce practice variability and errors.
- Patient Care, 19%
Provided and managed direct patient care including physical examination, evaluation, assessment and treatment of children with immunological diseases.
- Private Practice, 9%
Solo Private Practice; General Obstetrics-Gynecology; inpatient and outpatient services
- Medical Care, 5%
Assisted this organization in achieving level 2 of meaningful use in using electronic medical records to establish patient-centered medical care.
- Diabetes, 4%
Practiced Internal Medicine in Ambulatory and Inpatient setting with interest in Cardiology and Diabetes.
- EKG, 2%
Improved patient care by instituting new technology for immediate telephone EKG interpretation at regional clinics and hospitals.
Most physician-internists use their skills in "urgent care," "patient care," and "private practice" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential physician-internist responsibilities here:
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a physician-internist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Physician-internists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "learn basic communication skills with patients understand medical terminology clinical exposure recognize emergencysituations interpret medical notes"
Compassion. Many physician-internist duties rely on compassion. "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress," so a physician-internist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways physician-internist responsibilities rely on compassion: "enhance the personal dimension of genuine concern and compassion to patients and their families. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for physician-internists to perform their duties. For an example of how physician-internist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a physician-internist: "simplified complex concepts and provided detailed education to patients. ".
Dexterity. physician-internist responsibilities often require "dexterity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." This resume example shows what physician-internists do with dexterity on a typical day: "direct hands on patient experience obtain patient history and information obtain blood pressure perform injections assist in minor surgery"
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in physician-internist job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what physician-internists do. Physician-internist 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 physician-internist duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "general surgery with dr. richard guttman at cleveland clinic wooster leadership"
Organizational skills. Lastly, "organizational skills" is an important element of what a physician-internist does. Physician-internist responsibilities require this skill because "good recordkeeping and other organizational skills are critical in both medical and business settings." This resume example highlights how physician-internist duties rely on this skill: "practice management related: developed and implemented organizational policies, procedures, methods and standards for the medical practice. "
The three companies that hire the most physician-internists are:
- Private Practice4 physician-internists jobs
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology2 physician-internists jobs
Compare different physician-internists
Physician-internist vs. General practitioner
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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between physician-internists and general practitioner. For instance, physician-internist responsibilities require skills such as "cme," "urgent care," "bls," and "medical assistants." Whereas a general practitioner is skilled in "patients," "diagnosis," "internal medicine," and "outpatient clinic." This is part of what separates the two careers.
General practitioners earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $154,946. On the other hand, physician-internists are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $195,221.On average, general practitioners reach lower levels of education than physician-internists. General practitioners are 5.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 14.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Physician-internist vs. Family practice md
A family practice MD is responsible for monitoring and diagnosing patients' conditions of all ages. Family practice MDs identify the patients' medical histories and administer treatment plans and medications. They also coordinate with other medical professionals for further laboratory examinations. A family practice MD must have excellent communication and extensive knowledge of the medical industry to identify the best treatment methods for the patients. Family practice MDs keep an organized record of medical charts for reference and reports.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, physician-internist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cme," "urgent care," "diabetes," and "bls." Meanwhile, an family practice md has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "family practice," "primary care," and "emr." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, family practice mds earn a higher salary than physician-internists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, family practice mds earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $207,373. Whereas physician-internists have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $195,221.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Family practice mds tend to reach similar levels of education than physician-internists. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 14.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physician-internist vs. Chiropractor, sole practitioner
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.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from physician-internist resumes include skills like "cme," "urgent care," "patient care," and "medical care," whereas a chiropractor, sole practitioner is more likely to list skills in "litigation," "real estate transactions," "probate," and "bench trials. "
When it comes to education, chiropractors, sole practitioner tend to earn lower degree levels compared to physician-internists. In fact, they're 5.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 14.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Physician-internist vs. Family practice doctor
Types of physician-internist
Updated January 8, 2025
