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What are the specific responsibilities of a Family medicine doctor?
I am thinking about a career in medicine. I work well with kids and i also would like to work with adults. I am not sure what sector of medicine i specifically want to be in. #doctor #nurse
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Mary Jane’s Answer
Family medicine doctors are primary care providers and most patients' first and best resource for health and wellness. They treat the entire family, from birth to death, so they develop deep and long-lasting relationships with their patients and their communities. Family physicians do everything from routine wellness check-ups and vaccinations to basic office procedures like stitches and skin biopsies and they diagnose and treat a range of both temporary and chronic illnesses. Family doctors often work in emergency rooms in rural areas that don't have specialized emergency medicine doctors. When a patient requires a specialist, the family physician makes a referral to someone like a cardiologist, oncologist, or surgeon. Because family medicine doctors are trained in gynecology and obstetric care, some even deliver babies and perform cesarean sections. Check out the American Academy of Family Physicians student resources here to learn more: https://www.aafp.org/students-residents/medical-students.html
It's OK to not know what specialty you are interested in right now. In medical school, you'll do clinical rotations that will let you see all the specialties. Often students enter medical school with a specialty in mind and then find out they don't like it or that their personality and skills make them more successful in a specialty they hadn't considered. You can do informational interviews and shadow physicians in different specialities in high school and college to get a sense of the good, the bad, and the ugly for each of them, but med schools don't expect you to pick a speciality before you apply. Med schools just want to know that you understand what a career in medicine is like, that you have a desire to care for your community, and that you are able to work with people and patients who have different beliefs, views and backgrounds from your own.
It's OK to not know what specialty you are interested in right now. In medical school, you'll do clinical rotations that will let you see all the specialties. Often students enter medical school with a specialty in mind and then find out they don't like it or that their personality and skills make them more successful in a specialty they hadn't considered. You can do informational interviews and shadow physicians in different specialities in high school and college to get a sense of the good, the bad, and the ugly for each of them, but med schools don't expect you to pick a speciality before you apply. Med schools just want to know that you understand what a career in medicine is like, that you have a desire to care for your community, and that you are able to work with people and patients who have different beliefs, views and backgrounds from your own.
Thank you so much for taking the time to responding to my question. This is incredibly helpful. Thank you!
Grainne
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Dan’s Answer
When I think family medicine, I think of a physician who is an expert at outpatient management as well as a jack of all trades. Family docs have experience in all branches of medicine, they know when to refer to a specialist and is the middle man between all your doctors. There is a joke in medical school, if you love every rotation you're on, consider family medicine.