Activities	Diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases and injuries that commonly occur in the general population.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	This wage is equal to or greater than $166,400 per year in 2010.
Work Context & Conditions	Many physicians—primarily general and family practitioners, general internists, pediatricians, ob/gyns, and psychiatrists—work in small private offices or clinics, often assisted by a small staff of nurses and other administrative personnel.
Minimum Education Requirements	M.D. D.O.
Skills	Social Perceptiveness, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing, Mathematics, Systems Evaluation, Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Science, Complex Problem Solving
Abilities	Oral Expression, Finger Dexterity, Manual Dexterity, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Deductive Reasoning, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Information Ordering, Inductive Reasoning, Written Expression, Oral Comprehension, Speed of Closure

Job Category		Healthcare Practitioners & Technical
Job Description		Family and general physicians assess and treat a range of conditions that occur in everyday life. These conditions include anything from sinus and respiratory infections to broken bones. Family and general physicians typically have a base of regular, long-term patients. These doctors sometimes refer patients with more serious conditions to specialists or other healthcare facilities for additional care.
Working Conditions		Physicians and surgeons held about 691,000 jobs in 2010. Many physicians work in private offices or clinics, often helped by a small staff of nurses and administrative personnel. Increasingly, physicians work in group practices, health care organizations, or hospitals where they share a large number of patients with other doctors. The group setting gives doctors backup coverage, allows them more time off, and lets them coordinate care for their patients, but it gives them less independence than solo practitioners have.
Salary Range		Wages of physicians and surgeons are among the highest of all occupations. According to the Medical Group Management Association's Physician Compensation and Production Survey, median total compensation for physicians varied by their type of practice. In 2010, physicians practicing primary care received total median annual compensation of $202,392, and physicians practicing in medical specialties received total median annual compensation of $356,885.  Median annual compensations for selected specialties in 2010, as reported by the Medical Group Management Association, were as follows: Anesthesiology $407,292 General surgery 343,958 Obstetrics/gynecology 281,190 Internal medicine 205,379 Psychiatry 200,694 Pediatrics/adolecent medicine 192,148 Family practice (without obstetrics) 189,402 Earnings vary with the physician’s or surgeon’s number of years in practice, geographic region of practice, hours worked, skill, personality, and professional reputation.

Education Required		Most applicants to medical school have at least a bachelor's degree, and many have advanced degrees. While a specific major is not required, all students must complete undergraduate work in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and English. Students also take courses in the humanities and social sciences. Some students volunteer at local hospitals or clinics to gain experience in a healthcare setting. Medical schools are highly competitive. Most applicants must submit transcripts, scores from the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and letters of recommendation. Schools also consider an applicant’s personality, leadership qualities, and participation in extracurricular activities. Most schools require applicants to interview with members of the admissions committee. A few medical schools offer combined undergraduate and medical school programs that last 6 or 7 years. Students spend most of the first 2 years of medical school in laboratories and classrooms, taking courses such as anatomy, biochemistry, pharmacology, psychology, medical ethics, and the laws governing medicine. They also gain practical skills, learning to take medical histories, examine patients, and diagnose illnesses. During their last 2 years, medical students work with patients under the supervision of experienced physicians in hospitals and clinics. Through rotations in internal medicine, family practice, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery, they gain experience in diagnosing and treating illnesses in a variety of areas. Physician education is very expensive. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 88 percent of public medical school graduates and 85 percent of private medical school graduates were in debt for educational expenses in 2010.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Physics
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Psychology, Personnel and Human Resources, Administration and Management, Education and Training, Therapy and Counseling, Chemistry, Biology, Mechanical, Education and Training
Certification and Licensing		After medical school, almost all graduates enter a residency program in the specialty they are interested in. A residency usually takes place in a hospital and varies in duration, usually lasting from 3 to 8 years, depending on the specialty. All states require physicians and surgeons to be licensed; requirements vary by state. To qualify for a license, candidates must graduate from an accredited medical school, complete residency training in their specialty, and pass written and practical exams. All physicians and surgeons must pass a standardized national licensure examination.  M.D.s take the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). D.O.s take the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA). For specific state information about licensing, contact your state’s medical board.

Interest Area		Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Social Status Looked up to by others in their company and their community. Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Variety Do something different every day. Social Service Do things for other people. Security Have steady employment. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Co-workers Have co-workers who are easy to get along with. Activity Busy all the time. Autonomy Plan work with little supervision. Recognition Receive recognition for the work you do. Authority Give directions and instructions to others. Compensation Get paid well in comparison with other workers. Responsibility Make decisions on your own.
Skills		Social Perceptiveness Be aware of others' reactions and understand why they react the way they do. Monitoring Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Mathematics Use math to solve problems. Systems Evaluation Look at many indicators of system performance, taking into account their accuracy. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Judgment and Decision Making Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information. Science Use scientific methods to solve problems. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Finger Dexterity Able to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. Manual Dexterity Able to make quick, coordinated movements of one or two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. Arm-Hand Steadiness Able to keep the hand and arm steady while making an arm movement or while holding the arm and hand in one position. Deductive Reasoning Able to apply general rules to specific problems to come up with logical answers, including deciding whether an answer makes sense. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Written Expression Able to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. Speed of Closure Make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

Related Jobs		Veterinarian, Optometrist, Nurse, Registered, Physician, Surgeon, Dentist, Podiatrist, Chiropractor, Physician Assistant
Job Outlook		Employment of physicians and surgeons is expected to grow by 24 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will occur because of the continued expansion of healthcare-related industries. The growing and aging population is expected to drive overall growth in the demand for physician services as consumers continue to seek high levels of care that uses the latest technologies, diagnostic tests, and therapies. Many medical schools are increasing their enrollments based on perceived higher demand for physicians.   Although the demand for physicians and surgeons should continue, some factors will likely reduce growth. New technologies will allow physicians to treat more patients in the same amount of time, thereby reducing the number of physicians who would be needed to complete the same tasks. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners (a type of registered nurse) can do many of the routine duties of physicians and may increasingly be used to reduce costs at hospitals and outpatient care facilities. For more information, see the profiles on physician assistants and registered nurses. Furthermore, demand for physicians’ services is sensitive to changes in healthcare reimbursement policies. Consumers may demand fewer physician services if changes to health coverage result in higher out-of-pocket costs for them. Job prospects should be good for physicians who are willing to practice in rural and low-income areas, because these areas tend to have difficulty attracting physicians. Job prospects also should be good for physicians in specialties dealing with health issues that largely affect aging baby boomers. For example, physicians specializing in cardiology and radiology will be needed because the risks for heart disease and cancer increase as people age.
More Information		American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Physicians and Surgeons, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/29-1062.00