Diagnosing a patient's problem and prescribing treatment for that patient is the main task in a physician job description. Physicians are also known general practitioners and they practice medicine. However, they do not perform surgery. That is the job of a surgeon, but physicians can recommend surgery to a patient.
Physicians are highly trained doctors who have knowledge about all the ailments the human body can suffer. They do not specialize in one particular area, as they are trained to diagnose illnesses that can affect any of the organs within the human body. Physicians at times can be doctors for a complete family; they are able to treat patients of all ages.
To first diagnose the problem, they check the vital statistics of the patient. They ask them what kind of symptoms they are suffering from and then they diagnose what problems they might have. However, if it is still unclear what is ailing the patient, then the physician will order some diagnostic tests like blood and urine test to figure out the problem. After getting the test results the physician will diagnose the problem and start a line of treatment for the patient.
Physicians have good knowledge about diets and they put their patients on special diets that will help them recover from their illness fast. They also recommend an exercise regimen. A combination of all of this helps the patient recover faster and boost the immune system.
The physicians either work in a hospital or they have their own private practice. In the hospital, they make regular rounds of the wards in which patients are admitted. They put treatment orders on the patient's charts which are then followed by the nurses. Whenever the physicians take rounds, they have all the interns with them, so the interns can learn from them. Teaching the residents and the interns is a part of the physician job description.
The physicians who have their own practice have to maintain files of all their patients. If their regular patient gets admitted to a hospital, they make a visit or have to coordinate with doctors in that hospital regarding treatment. They have to call their patients for regular checkups. They also have to carefully explain to them about their medicines and what dosage they have to take.
If a patient is suffering from something that only a specialist can treat, the physicians have to recommend a good specialist to them and provide the specialist with information about the patient's ailment. The physicians have many other responsibilities other than the ones stated above. To know them all, read the detailed physician job description given below.
Responsibilities of a physician according to a physician job description
Physicians charge professional fees if they are running their own practice. If they are working in a hospital, they get a good salary from the hospital. However, the education required by them is one of the most expensive educations, not to mention the long period they have to complete only studying.
Academic qualification required to be a physician
Career Advancement
The physicians who have their own practice are the owners so there is advancement, the physicians working in hospital can become chief of medicine. This is the biggest position they can achieve.
The physician job description may simply seem like treating patients, but they have to save lives on a daily basis and one mistake could cost them a life of another human being. Hence, physicians have to be well trained and confident in what they do.
See Also
Physician Assistant Job Description