Fp

[robf]

Is a family practitioner the same as a general practitioner? What percentage of med students go into these fields?

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[Dr. MAXY]

I don't know about allopathic schools but with Osteopathic schools, about 60% of the graduates go into primary care which includes FP.

 

[Dr/\/\om]

The term General Practitioner is a holdover from *old times* and doesn't apply to many physicians today. It used to be roughly equivalent to FP, but today it means that the physician didn't complete a residency and, thus, has no specialty.

Keep in mind, there are older docs that still use this term, but really mean FP, but that doesn't apply to the younger (under 60ish) docs.

 

[sanfilippo]

yes, back in the old days, all you needed to "set up shop" was a year of internship, something similar to a "transitional" year of the present. these were general practitioners. now, most people use GP to describe internists (internal medicine physicians). family practice is a separate training/residency program from internal medicine; both are 3 years, i think, but in family you're confined pretty much to outpatient care and preventive medicine that encompasses health care for adults, children, and women's health issues. Internists treat adults, including the inpatient. There's now a movement to create more "hospitalist" residencies for internists who want to focus solely on inpatient care. There are also med/peds and ER/med combined residencies.

At my school, which is allopathic, about 50% go into "primary care" (FP, IM, peds, ob/gyn) and the other 50% go into specialties (surgery, ortho, radiology, anesthesiology, etc.). some people don't count ob/gyn or psych as primary care fields; others do. however, a good chunk of people going into IM here subspecialize (cardio, GI, endocrine, hem/onc, ID, rheumatology, geriatrics, pulmonology, allergy/immunology, etc.).

-s.

 

[Darth Vader]

Originally posted by Dr/\/\om
The term General Practitioner is a holdover from *old times* and doesn't apply to many physicians today. It used to be roughly equivalent to FP, but today it means that the physician didn't complete a residency and, thus, has no specialty.

Keep in mind, there are older docs that still use this term, but really mean FP, but that doesn't apply to the younger (under 60ish) docs.

This is partially true, but not completely accurate. The term GP just means someone who is practicing primary care, generally just internal medicine. The difference between the terms GP and internist is that an internist has completed a residency in internal medicine. A GP can be anyone with an MD who is only practicing primary care. A lot, if not all states, have a test to allow docs to become GPs as long as they have completed at least one year of residency. So I know of some surgeons who are now practicing private practice GP because they met the requirements for to become a GP and they took the test. You might not be able to be hired by some hospital or practices with a GP license, but you can always set up a private practice and offer primary care services. You can imagine why states, particularly those with PCP shortages, would want to allow any person with an MD to set up shop in their state regardless of their actual specialty and why some physicians in certain specialties (surgical, EM) might feel the need to switch specialties after a while. A win-win situation for both parties. The patients do fine too, because most MDs know at least as much as an NP or PA practicing PC, regardless of their subspecialty. And also, it is true that a long time ago there used to be residency programs called GP programs. I don't know what happened to these programs, but I imagine that they got absorbed into internal medicine or were eventually disbanded.

 

[southerndoc]

I was under the impression that a GP is someone who has completed the first year of residency (internship) and has obtained his/her medical license, but he/she didn't complete a residency.

Hence, this person is not board certified in any specialty, but is legally allowed to practice medicine since most states do not require the completion of a residency to practice. Most only require completion of the intern year and passing USMLE Step 3.

 

[Dr/\/\om]

Originally posted by Darth Vader

This is partially true, but not completely accurate. The term GP just means someone who is practicing primary care, generally just internal medicine. The difference between the terms GP and internist is that an internist has completed a residency in internal medicine.

Are we not saying the same thing? I said that a GP did not complete residency. The GPs that I have encountered practice more like FP than IM (they take peds cases).

I don't know of any internal med physician who would refer to their practice as General Practice. Do you mean that they are in general internal medicine rather than sub-specializing?