Primary care md vs attending physician

The differences between primary care mds 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 an primary care md and an attending physician. Additionally, an primary care md has an average salary of $320,332, which is higher than the $200,702 average annual salary of an attending physician.

The top three skills for an primary care md include primary care, EMR and suturing. The most important skills for an attending physician are patients, primary care, and surgery.

Primary care md vs attending physician overview

	Primary Care MD	Attending Physician
Yearly salary	$320,332	$200,702
Hourly rate	$154.01	$96.49
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	95,564	53,195
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Primary care md vs attending physician salary

Primary care mds and attending physicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Primary Care MD	Attending Physician
Average salary	$320,332	$200,702
Salary range	Between $159,000 And $643,000	Between $125,000 And $321,000
Highest paying City	-	Miami, FL
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Community Health Systems
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between primary care md and attending physician education

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

	Primary Care MD	Attending Physician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Nursing	Medicine
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Primary care md vs attending physician demographics

Here are the differences between primary care mds' and attending physicians' demographics:

	Primary Care MD	Attending Physician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 35.8% Female, 64.2%	Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 19.1% White, 61.4% 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 primary care md and attending physician duties and responsibilities

Primary care md example responsibilities.

Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.
Perform minor medical procedures like EKG, phlebotomy, vaccination e.t.c.
Identify opportunities for improvement and work with hospital staff/management to eliminate barriers physicians and their patients face when accessing hospital services.
Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.

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.

Primary care md vs attending physician skills

Common primary care md skills

Primary Care, 58%
EMR, 23%
Suturing, 7%
Acute Care, 6%
Test Results, 3%
EKG, 1%

Common attending physician skills

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

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Primary Care MD
Primary Care MD vs Attending Physician

Updated January 8, 2025

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