Physician
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Physician examining a child |
A
physician (also called
doctor in some places) is a person who practices
medicine. See that article for more information on what physicians do in their practices; this article focuses on physician training and regulation.
In the
United States, the term
physician is traditional and commonly used. In
Britain &
Ireland,
Canada,
Australia,
New Zealand,
Japan,
South Africa,
India,
Indonesia,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka and
Zimbabwe, the term
doctor is more common (and in formal/legal contexts,
medical practitioner as well), as
physician refers to
specialists in
internal medicine.
Because of the extensive training requirements, physicians are traditionally considered to be members of a learned
profession.
Medical education, training and
career pathways vary considerably across the world.
In all developed countries,
entry-level medical education programs are
tertiary-level
courses
undertaken at a
medical school pertaining to a
university. Depending on jurisdiction and university, these may be either undergraduate-entry or graduate-entry programs.
Following completion of entry-level training, newly graduated doctors are often required to undertake a period of supervised practice before full registration is granted; this may be referred to as "
internship" or "conditional registration".
Further training in a particular field of medicine may be undertaken. In some jurisdictions this is commenced immediately following completion of entry-level training, whilst other jurisdictions require junior doctors to undertake
generalist (unstreamed) training for a number of years before commencing
specialization.
Various teaching methodologies have been utilized in medical education, which is an active area of educational research.
In the USA, there are two types of physicians. Allopathic physicians hold a MD and osteopathic physicians hold a DO. Both physicians are fully licensed to practice in all 50 states.
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International maritime flag "W", meaning that the ship crew requires medical assistance |
In most jurisdictions, physicians need government permission to practice. This is known as
licensing in the
United States, as
colegiation in
Spain, as
ishi menkyo in Japan, as
autorisasjon in
Norway, as
Approbation in
Germany, as "άδεια εργασίας" in Greece and as
registration in
Australia, the
United Kingdom and
Ireland. In
France, civilian physicians must be a member of the
Order of physicians to practice medicine. In some countries, including the United Kingdom and Ireland, the profession regulates itself, with the government affirming the regulating body's authority (in the UK the
General Medical Council).
Regulating authorities will revoke permission to practice in cases of malpractice or serious misconduct.
Graduates of Foreign Medical Schools, who enter USA have to pass
USMLE step 1 and 2
ECFMG and do a residency program to qualify for a state license. After graduating from medical school, American physicians usually take a standardized exam which enables them to obtain a certificate to practice from the appropriate state agency. All American states have an agency which is usually called the "Medical Board," although there are alternate names such as "Board of Medicine," "Board of Medical Examiners," "Board of Medical Licensure," "Board of Healing Arts," etc. Australian states usually have a "Medical Board," while Canadian provinces usually have a "College of Physicians and Surgeons."
In the United States, as a result of the
war on drugs, pharmaceuticals are strictly regulated at the federal level by the
Food and Drug Administration and the
Drug Enforcement Administration. All practicing American physicians who intend to prescribe controlled substances must obtain a number from the DEA, and that DEA number must appear on all their prescriptions. Use of the DEA number enables dispensing pharmacists or the DEA to ensure that a physician is not dispensing potentially addictive or harmful drugs, such as
opiates or
stimulants, in contravention to accepted standards of care.
*
List of physicians*
General practitioner*
Medical specialist*
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