Family practice doctors provide care to people of all ages. These generalists treat chronic conditions, evaluate symptoms, offer preventative care, and let people know when they need to see a specialist.
Family practice doctors often work in private office settings or with a group of other family practice doctors. They also work for community medicine clinics and in hospital settings.
Many family doctors provide care to underserved populations in areas where there are limited community resources and high levels of illiteracy and poverty.
What Does a Family Practice Doctor Do?
Family physicians who work in community health settings deliver a wide range of care services. Among other things, they offer:
Routine checkups, including well-baby and child visits
Health risk assessments
Immunizations
Screening tests
Healthy lifestyle counseling
Treatment of common chronic conditions
Family practice doctors can also specialize in areas including sports medicine, emergency and urgent care, and public health. Doctorss provide general and coordinate with specialists as needed.
Education and Training
After graduating with an undergraduate degree, family medicine doctors study at accredited schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine.
To become licensed, family medicine doctors need to complete
An average of four years in medical school
Take board exams like portions of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States
A three to four-year residency with rotations in obstetrics, pediatrics, general surgery, emergency medicine, and inpatient hospital care (including critical care)
Certification through the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) or American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians (AOBFP).
The licensing process in the state where they will work
Reasons to See a Family Practice Doctor
You can see a family practice doctor may also help you with
Chronic disease management
Family medicine doctors can treat and monitor various chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), kidney disease, heart disease, high cholesterol, arthritis, skin problems, and breathing issues caused by conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
They can also prescribe refills for medications to treat chronic conditions, often coordinating with specialists.
