RDP,
Fp is an exciting and broad specialty. Most choose it because of the vast variety of pts (newborns to the elderly) and the diversity of medicine (from a rash to an MI to a hidden cancer, etc.). It can be very rewarding, but hectic at the same time as the healthcare in this country struggles. But, this will effect all specialties in some way.
1.) FP is a 3 yr post graduate residency (there is a hint of making it 4, but ??)
2.) FP for now is pretty wide open. The fill rate was 70% this yr if I recall correctly. This can be to your advantage if you really want to stay in one geographic area. Even as an IMG you will lots of opportunities!
3.) This all depends. In residency...your first yr will be in the hospital doing inpt medicine mostly. You will have one half day of clinic a week. These pts are YOUR pts and you start this rapport from day 1 and carry these pts the entire 3 yrs. The second and third years consist of more clinic 3-4 half days a week and you rotate through the various areas like er, icu, ccu, etc. For attendings this is all up to you. Some do all ambulatory medicine, most do a mix of out and in patient medicine (follow their pts and the groups pts when on call), and then some do other things like urgent care/er. this is the good thing with fp..you can do whatever...solo, group etc.
4.) Fp is one of lower paid specialties rangin anywhere from 120-160 starting depending on where you live. check out salary.com but, there are lots of loan repayment programs with fp if you were to do to an underserved area.
5.) this is a difficult one. for me the pros far outweigh the cons. i love the variety and diversity of fp. as a med student after a while i hated everything at the end of a rotation (just too redundent for me), but loved everything at the beginning. so if i had a mix of everything here and there i would be gold! i like the continuity too. i just think its cool to have delivered a kid and then that same kid comes to you when hes 12 with a sprained ankle or laceration. you can say hey, "i delivered you"! or remember when you were 4 and had pneumonia. if you like to know alot about different things and have an open mind to new things and challenges then fp may be good for you. if you like to know alot about one thing or a focused area then fp may not be good for you. for instance, i loved my cardiology rotation, but not enough that i would want to do it all the time...i mean mi, chf, htn, mi, chf, htn. you will see plenty of that stuff as an fp trust me! as for me i like the clinic at times and the hosp at other times, but not one all the time. again, fp suits me in this regard. i also like the urgent care/er side of fp. contrary to popular belief there are many smaller hospitals that still hire fps to work in the er. ok ok...the cons! well for me i think its the lack of prestige...not that i care what anyone thinks about me, but i want to be respected b/c i think i deserve it and sometimes as an fp you will be looked down upon. but, BUT, only if you dont strive to overcome the stigmata of just knowing a little about alot! settle for knowing alot about alot! i think fp is the most challenging specialty...you have to know and learn SO much its overwhelming at times. sure, you dont have to...you can refer everything out, but then not only do your pts lose confidence in you so do your peers and the medical community....hince you will give fp a bad name! the other major con is the $$$. not that i got into this for the $$, but my loan situation sux and frankly i just think we should be compensated better than we are!
all in all go into an area of medicine that you love..yes LOVE and will be happy in. dont do it for the wrong reasons...prestige and $$$. you will be a very unhappy doc!
check out the aafp.org site and click the student tab. they have a ton of good info on there.
Best of luck!!
