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Primary care physician vs attending physician

The differences between primary care physicians 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 a primary care physician and an attending physician. Additionally, a primary care physician has an average salary of $214,843, which is higher than the $200,702 average annual salary of an attending physician.

The top three skills for a primary care physician include patients, internal medicine and family practice. The most important skills for an attending physician are patients, primary care, and surgery.

Primary care physician vs attending physician overview

Primary Care PhysicianAttending Physician
Yearly salary$214,843$200,702
Hourly rate$103.29$96.49
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs130,60653,195
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age4848
Years of experience44

What does a primary care physician do?

A Primary Care Physician is responsible for providing regular medical care for their patients. They provide personal assistance, medical attention, and emotional support to others, such as coworkers, customers, and patients.

What does an attending physician do?

An Attending Physician typically supervises fellows, residents, medical students, and other practitioners. They are responsible for supervising each patient every day, reviewing treatment plans with residents, and supervising patient management documents.

Primary care physician vs attending physician salary

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

Primary Care PhysicianAttending Physician
Average salary$214,843$200,702
Salary rangeBetween $134,000 And $344,000Between $125,000 And $321,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WAMiami, FL
Highest paying stateNorth DakotaNew Jersey
Best paying companyAlameda Health SystemCommunity Health Systems
Best paying industryInsuranceHealth Care

Differences between primary care physician and attending physician education

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

Primary Care PhysicianAttending Physician
Most common degreeDoctoral Degree, 40%Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common majorMedicineMedicine
Most common collegeDuke UniversityUniversity of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Primary care physician vs attending physician demographics

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

Primary Care PhysicianAttending Physician
Average age4848
Gender ratioMale, 49.4% Female, 50.6%Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage13%13%

Differences between primary care physician and attending physician duties and responsibilities

Primary care physician example responsibilities.

  • Full spectrum of family medicine, including obstetrics, pediatrics and inpatient medicine.
  • Maintain renewal for physicians' licenses, DEA certificates, ACLS certifications and CME records.
  • Attend ICU patient care rounds with the medical team.
  • Display technical proficiency in using NaturaeSoft electronic medical record (EMR).
  • Provide on-site, immediate response for all hospital emergencies following ACLS protocols.
  • Enter prescriptions on computer, giving injections, filing charting information in patient chart.
    • Show more

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 physician vs attending physician skills

Common primary care physician skills
  • Patients, 25%
  • Internal Medicine, 14%
  • Family Practice, 11%
  • Urgent Care, 8%
  • Pediatrics, 7%
  • Patient Care, 6%
Common attending physician skills
  • Patients, 35%
  • Primary Care, 8%
  • Surgery, 5%
  • Internal Medicine, 5%
  • BLS, 4%
  • Rehabilitation, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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