4 answers
Michelle
Student
Rochester, Minnesota
1
Question
Asked
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Is family ?
Is family medicine a good job?
What is the hardest thing about family medicine?
Is family medicine a great career?
How do you get patients to open up to you?
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4 answers
Hwal Lee
DMSc, PA-C
227
Answers
Albany, New York
Updated
Hwal’s Answer
Michelle,
I'm a family medicine PA, and the broad range of knowledge and skills needed to take care of the diverse needs of patients of all ages in family medicine is both one of the best things about what I do and a challenge. Often enough, patients have more unmet needs than they are scheduled time with me for, so this is also both a challenge and a motivating opportunity for me to build a partnership and trust with patients over several visits. If these are appealing to you and you feel that you would enjoy these aspects of family medicine, I would say that makes family medicine a great career for you.
Personally, I've found that being patient and open-minded tends to help patients feel comfortable opening up. This can be easier said than done to practice on a daily basis though, so I constant remind myself that doing what I do is a privilege and I should use that privilege to focus on the needs of patients who need me, because that's why I decided to learn and practice medicine in the first place.
Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with. Good luck!
Hwal
I'm a family medicine PA, and the broad range of knowledge and skills needed to take care of the diverse needs of patients of all ages in family medicine is both one of the best things about what I do and a challenge. Often enough, patients have more unmet needs than they are scheduled time with me for, so this is also both a challenge and a motivating opportunity for me to build a partnership and trust with patients over several visits. If these are appealing to you and you feel that you would enjoy these aspects of family medicine, I would say that makes family medicine a great career for you.
Personally, I've found that being patient and open-minded tends to help patients feel comfortable opening up. This can be easier said than done to practice on a daily basis though, so I constant remind myself that doing what I do is a privilege and I should use that privilege to focus on the needs of patients who need me, because that's why I decided to learn and practice medicine in the first place.
Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with. Good luck!
Hwal
Bether Gerber
family nurse practitioner
24
Answers
Tucson, Arizona
Updated
Bether’s Answer
hi michelle.
i work in internal medicine and LOVE it. it is different than family medicine because we only see adults. one nice thing about only seeing adults is that they can tell you what is wrong with them. a baby cannot. so it's a little harder to diagnose them. also their parents are hovering over you anxious and demanding. not so with adults.
as far as adults go, you can't get them to stop opening up to you. the most important thing is TO LISTEN TO YOUR PATIENT. if they feel like you listened, sometimes that is all they need. and they tell you how grateful they are that you listened. a lot of my patients come in and what they need most is a hug. they constantly tell me how much they love and appreciate me. i happen to have a lot of control over my schedule so i love it. the hardest part is staying on time and getting the charting done but it's doable. i highly recommend this job! being a doctor is ok, but being an nurse practitioner is better because it's easier to work part time. or take time off when you have a baby or a sick parent or whatever. and you don't end up with whack student loans. plus it's super easy to move laterally within the field. tired of family practice? go do urgent care. tired of urgent care? do women's health. teach. etc., if you are a doctor you really can't do that. if you do it's a lot harder.
think about it.
i work in internal medicine and LOVE it. it is different than family medicine because we only see adults. one nice thing about only seeing adults is that they can tell you what is wrong with them. a baby cannot. so it's a little harder to diagnose them. also their parents are hovering over you anxious and demanding. not so with adults.
as far as adults go, you can't get them to stop opening up to you. the most important thing is TO LISTEN TO YOUR PATIENT. if they feel like you listened, sometimes that is all they need. and they tell you how grateful they are that you listened. a lot of my patients come in and what they need most is a hug. they constantly tell me how much they love and appreciate me. i happen to have a lot of control over my schedule so i love it. the hardest part is staying on time and getting the charting done but it's doable. i highly recommend this job! being a doctor is ok, but being an nurse practitioner is better because it's easier to work part time. or take time off when you have a baby or a sick parent or whatever. and you don't end up with whack student loans. plus it's super easy to move laterally within the field. tired of family practice? go do urgent care. tired of urgent care? do women's health. teach. etc., if you are a doctor you really can't do that. if you do it's a lot harder.
think about it.
Prof. Hisham Hussein Imam Abdalla
Professor
4
Answers
Cairo, Cairo Governorate, Egypt
Updated
Prof. Hisham Hussein Imam’s Answer
Hi Michelle
Merry Christmas to everyone. Being a physician is a great idea in general. Every medical graduate gets his / her medical degree as a general practitioner who has a general knowledge about all the medical specialities. Being a family medicine physician means that to go studying more to widen your knowledge in the field of Medicine. It is not true that family medicine dies not generate good money. If you go deep and study more in family medicine you may get diploma, master or MD. Doing this will make you reach the Consultant level and will generate for you very good income. My advice is love your career and it will generate very good money.
Good luck.
Merry Christmas to everyone. Being a physician is a great idea in general. Every medical graduate gets his / her medical degree as a general practitioner who has a general knowledge about all the medical specialities. Being a family medicine physician means that to go studying more to widen your knowledge in the field of Medicine. It is not true that family medicine dies not generate good money. If you go deep and study more in family medicine you may get diploma, master or MD. Doing this will make you reach the Consultant level and will generate for you very good income. My advice is love your career and it will generate very good money.
Good luck.
Thank you, this is really helpful.
Michelle
You are most welcome Michelle
Prof. Hisham Hussein Imam Abdalla
Tyler White
Medical Device Sales Associate
20
Answers
Grand Junction, Colorado
Updated
Tyler’s Answer
Great question, Michelle. I have a few family members who are doctors & they've given me their ideas on this.
A career in family medicine would be a fantastic choice. Family medicine includes a great variety & breadth of treatment which helps take the monotony out of a job, unlike a specific specialty within medicine for example. It's meaningful as you get to help patients feel better, develop relationships, & generally it pays well.
One thing to be aware of - if you choose to go the medical school route & become a family medicine doctor, it is one of the lowest paying jobs in the medical field. A doctor in this field still makes a lot of money, just not as much as other specialties. This is important to consider as medical school is expensive and a massive amount of debt is expected to accrue.
Best of luck!
A career in family medicine would be a fantastic choice. Family medicine includes a great variety & breadth of treatment which helps take the monotony out of a job, unlike a specific specialty within medicine for example. It's meaningful as you get to help patients feel better, develop relationships, & generally it pays well.
One thing to be aware of - if you choose to go the medical school route & become a family medicine doctor, it is one of the lowest paying jobs in the medical field. A doctor in this field still makes a lot of money, just not as much as other specialties. This is important to consider as medical school is expensive and a massive amount of debt is expected to accrue.
Best of luck!
Loved reading this, thank you for responding!
Michelle