Primary care physician vs pediatrician

The differences between primary care physicians and pediatricians 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 a pediatrician. Additionally, a primary care physician has an average salary of $214,843, which is higher than the $191,371 average annual salary of a pediatrician.

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

Primary care physician vs pediatrician overview

	Primary Care Physician	Pediatrician
Yearly salary	$214,843	$191,371
Hourly rate	$103.29	$92.01
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	130,606	4,117
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 40%	Doctoral Degree, 34%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

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 a pediatrician do?

A Pediatrician diagnoses and treats childrens injuries and diseases. They examine patients and maintain records such as medical history, reports, and examination results.

Primary care physician vs pediatrician salary

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

	Primary Care Physician	Pediatrician
Average salary	$214,843	$191,371
Salary range	Between $134,000 And $344,000	Between $124,000 And $293,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Grand Forks, ND
Highest paying state	North Dakota	North Dakota
Best paying company	Alameda Health System	Yuma Regional Medical Center
Best paying industry	Insurance	Health Care

Differences between primary care physician and pediatrician education

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

	Primary Care Physician	Pediatrician
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 40%	Doctoral Degree, 34%
Most common major	Medicine	Medicine
Most common college	Duke University	University of Virginia

Primary care physician vs pediatrician demographics

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

	Primary Care Physician	Pediatrician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 49.4% Female, 50.6%	Male, 27.2% Female, 72.8%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 18.1% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	13%	10%

Differences between primary care physician and pediatrician 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.

Pediatrician example responsibilities.

Provide exceptional continuity of care and patient satisfaction by managing patients in both outpatient and inpatient pediatric settings.
Work as pediatrician in Al-Ain medical district - PHC - M.O.H of the UAE
care with splinting, suturing ,
Administer vaccines to babies and kids.
Coordinate CME activities for the medical staff.
Identify medical rehabilitation needs (hearing aids, low vision aids).

Primary care physician vs pediatrician skills

Common primary care physician skills

Patients, 25%
Internal Medicine, 14%
Family Practice, 11%
Urgent Care, 8%
Pediatrics, 7%
Patient Care, 6%

Common pediatrician skills

Patients, 30%
Primary Care, 16%
ADHD, 9%
Neonatology, 5%
Internal Medicine, 5%
Epic, 4%

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Primary Care Physician vs Pediatrician

Updated January 8, 2025

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