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Physician Careers
Related Topics: Physician Career Zone
| Becoming a physician requires a substantial time investment. |
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Most people know what physicians do – they treat the sick and create treatment programs for those with long-term illnesses. They also examine patients, check medical histories, and perform medical tests.
Most people also know that physicians can command high salaries – especially if they’re exceptionally good at what they do. However, it takes quite the investment in time and money to become a physician. |
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Working as a Physician
All physicians choose between one of two degrees – a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree. Both programs leave their graduates capable of performing treatments and surgeries, diagnosing illnesses, and prescribing drugs; however, D.O.s focus more on the musculoskeletal system, holistic care, and preventive medicine than M.D.s do. Typically, D.O.s specialize in primary care, family medicine, general pediatrics, or general internal medicine.
As a physician, you'll most likely specialize in one or more fields.
These may include anesthesiology, pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, obstetrics, or gynecology.
An anesthesiologist deals with pain relief and caring for patients during and after their surgery. They work to maintain a patient’s vital functions like body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate, while the patient is undergoing surgery and may administer pain relief before and after surgery.
If you go into pediatrics, you’ll be dealing with the health of children and teens. You’ll need to know the most common issues these young people will be dealing with, including the various stages of development a child goes through. Most of your work will involve day to day issues like broken bones or diseases, but you might also want to specialize in pediatric surgery or serious conditions. For example, you may specialize in pediatric oncology – the treatment of childhood cancers.
A physician in family medicine is often the first doctor an ill person sees. You’ll have to be familiar with a wide variety of illnesses, infections, and more. Generally, you’ll have a list of long-term clients that you work with over time, rather than seeing a person only a few times. Surgeons, on the other hand, will be dealing with major medical issues and actually operating on people. Surgeons are very specialized and generally only work with patients who are in line for an operation.
Many physicians work out of their own clinic or office and have a small staff that works with them. Surgeons, on the other hand, rarely work out of anything other than larger hospitals that are equipped with full-scale sterile operating rooms. Both work long hours – typically as much as 60 hours a week – and may be called into work at any hour, although this is more common for doctors who work in a hospital than those with their own practice.
If you choose to pursue a career as a physician, you'll also need to be able to come to terms with the emotional strain the profession can bring. Many doctors find it difficult to manage their family lives outside of the hospital, and many well-intentioned marriages end in divorce as a result. In addition, you'll have to find a way to cope with the deaths of your patients. It's impossible to save everyone – especially if you work in a field like oncology or trauma – so you'll need to find a way to accept the loss of a patient and move on. However, although the emotional stress can be tough, most physicians wouldn't trade it for the opportunity to help heal the sick in their times of need.
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