Job Description

A physician is a trained professional who we all trust to give us a proper diagnosis of what could be wrong with us when we are not feeling quite right. If we have a cough, fever, or are just feeling like not our usual selves, then we go to the doctor so that he can take some tests, tell us what’s wrong with us, and then send us off on our merry little way with some meds and a large bill.

Average Salary

For giving us the gift of health, doctors are well-compensated for their services. The average physician’s salary varies between $150,000 and over $300,000. There are a many factors that are the cause of such a wide array of salaries, such as specialty as well as experience.

Specialization

There are several types of physicians, and each of them has their own subject that they specialize in. Obstetrics, surgery, immunology, and general practice are just a few of the many different types of specializations that physicians can choose to study while they are medical school. During medical school, the last year is dedicated to a residency program, which is essentially an internship. This internship is when physicians decide which direction of medicine they want to follow. Based on this, their salary is higher or lower depending on which type of medicine they specialize in. Keep in mind that the more specific the specialization, the more money will be made.

Experience

When a student just finishes his residency program and gets his first job at a hospital or other type of facility, he will not be making as money as a doctor who has been there for over 10 years. Over the years, doctors get pay raises and bonuses, which add up to comprise their total salary. Also, when a company has an excellent physician on staff, they typically do not want to lose him and will offer a high salary in order to keep him away from straying to another company.

Job Description

A physician has a lot to handle, and therefore needs a person to take off some of the workload that has to be dealt with. This is the job of a physician assistant. They do just about everything that a physician does, such as prescribing medicine and performing medical exams, except they do not handle the more complicated cases. These cases are given to physicians, who have a higher education and will be able to offer more information regarding certain diagnoses.

Average Salary

Physician assistants do not have as high of an education requirement to fulfill, and therefore do not have as many responsibilities as physicians do. This means that they also do not earn as high of a salary as a physician. The average physician assistant salary is between $75,000 and $100,000 a year. There are several factors to consider when discussing salary, such as the type of medical facility you will work in and experience.

Employer

The type of facility you work in has a tremendous affect on how high your salary can be. Hospitals, for example, do not pay as high as private practice offices. In addition, working in a specialized setting such as obstetrics will cause salary to be higher. Having a specialization means that you are knowledgeable about a specific subject manner and will be able to provide helpful information as it pertains to the case.

Experience

Experience is one of the most important factors that can affect salary. With more experience under your belt, employers see you as very knowledgeable and that you will be an important asset to the team. This translates into making a higher income. Within a few years time of being in the industry, your salary will increase by thousands of dollars due to the salary raises and bonuses that your employer will offer to you.

When you were a kid, you and your family went to the same doctor, and he seemed to know your whole family by name. Chances are, you’ve moved on and go to a different doctor, and he is probably a family physician. These doctors are general practice and they have a wide array of activities that they perform. They are often the first phone call that people make whenever they have a question about their health and it’s not a dire emergency.

Average Salary

With several patients relying on these doctors for medical help, these doctors are compensated quite well for their services. The average income for a family physician is between $130,000 and $250,000. There are several factors that must be considered when salary is involved, such as experience and the type of employer.

Experience

When a physician first appears on the scene right out of medical school and finishing his residency, he will be making approximately $160,000 as a starting salary. This means that as time goes on in the company and he becomes more seasoned in the position, physician salary gets higher. This is due to bonuses and salary increases that employers are entitled to give to their employees. The longer the doctor stays in the field, the more money he will make in the long run.

Employer

As a family physician, there are different places to work for, such as in a hospital or in a private practice. Those who work in private practices will often earn a higher income than those working in a hospital. A lot of times, these private practices will specialize in certain areas or procedures. This increases the amount of money that patients pay in order to be seen by these specialty doctors. In addition, the physicians can also choose to specialize in a certain area, such as obstetrics, which also increases salary.

Job Description

An emergency physician works in emergency rooms and treats patients who have come in search of dire medical care. If you were to fall off the roof of your house, you would be taken to the emergency room, and an emergency physician would be the one helping you and fixing any broken bones. These doctors must make quick decisions due to the limited time their patients may have depending on the injury. They also order different tests and x-rays to properly diagnose their patients, and they set up times for them to come back to check upon their progress. Sometimes, they must even refer a patient to a specialist if the ailment is out of their power to cure.

Average Salary Range

Due to the extreme important of their job duties, the average emergency physician salary is between $190,000 and $320,000. There are several factors that cause such a wide range of salaries, such as experience and the type of employer.

Experience

When a doctor just gets out of medical school, he will be making around $100,000 as a starting salary, which isn’t too bad. However, the more experience he has in the field, the higher that number will get until it reaches around $300,000 after being an emergency physician for over 10 years. As the number of years in the field increases, these physicians increase their knowledge and experienced with different types of patients and illnesses. This, in turn, increases their salary.

Type of Employer

The type of employer is also a significant factor in determining salary. The federal government pays emergency physicians the lowest, while non-profit organizations pay the most. In addition, the highest paid doctors are the ones who are self-employed.

When thinking about salary, it is important to take in certain factors such as experience and the type of employer into consideration. As an emergency physician, you have spent many years in school, and you will be working strenuous hours, and should be compensated well for this.

Job Duties

Physicians have a lot of work to handle, and sometimes they need to delegate their tasks to other people in order to be able to see the patients who have been admitted for the direst situations. The people who get the work from physicians are called physician assistants. They do just about everything that physicians do, except they don’t handle the most complicated cases. They take patient information, order x-rays and other tests, treat minor injuries, and prescribe certain medications. They are considered to be in the middle of an RN (Registered Nurse) and a physician.

Process

To become a physician assistant, you must go through a lot of schooling, but not as much as it takes to be a physician.

Bachelor’s Degree

You’ll need to go to a university and obtain a bachelor’s degree in physician assistance, or if your school does not offer this program, then another medical-related is accepted.

Physician Assistant Program

After you receive this bachelor’s degree, then it is time to go through a physician assistant program, which will give you a master’s degree in the subject. The requirement for almost all programs is having at least 8 credit hours of anatomy and physiology.

The program is two years long, and you will learn about subjects in the first year such as: biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, disease prevention, among others. The last year is dedicated to clinicals, which gives you real-world experience depending on which specialty you choose to study.

Apply for Jobs

Once you graduate with your master’s degree, then you will be able to apply for jobs. If you have experience within the medical field, then your chances are fairly high for being hired.

The Job

There are a lot of stigmas that go along with becoming a doctor or physician, such as that they spent tons and tons of money putting themselves through medical school, and that they scare their patients every time they come in for a visit. These two are fairly accurate. Physicians are who we go to when we are feeling out of sorts and want a diagnosis on what could be wrong with us. We trust that they have spent enough time in school to fully understand all kinds of medical problems so that they can refer to their knowledge bank and pull a few diagnoses when trying to figure out our symptoms.

The Process

Becoming a physician is not an easy task, and it really is quite expensive. There are a few steps that are involved in the process:

1) Finding  Your Passion

Being a doctor is not for anyone. Yes, you will make excellent money, but you will not survive the life of the doctor if you do not have a passion for people or for figuring out mysteries and if you get discouraged easily. They work long and strenuous hours, and are on-call even when they’re off work just in case something happens to a patient of theirs. You must have  the mindset of someone who loves being around all kinds of people, and you must also have a lot of patience.

2) Pre-Med

Once you’ve figured out that you want to become a physician, the next step is going to a university and studying pre-med. You will get a bachelor’s degree and have a basic understanding of medicine.

3) Taking the MCAT and Applying for Med School

The MCAT is an entrance exam that must be taken prior to going to medical school. The score, coupled with a good GPA from undergraduate school, is the determining factor in which medical school that you get into. There are several books and resources that are available to help you prepare for this exam.

4) Medical School

Once the four-year undergraduate is obtained, your education is just beginning. Medical school gives you an even more in-depth understanding of medicine, and you will be able to find your specialization if you so choose to have one.

Medical school also requires a residency of at least a year in the specialization that you have chosen. Physicians are often general medicine, but they can prefer to be within a certain industry. The residency program is offered during the last year of medical school, and sometimes you can get hired at the place where you have done your residency.

5) Beginning Your Career

Once residency is completed, then you are done with your requirements and will be able to practice within the medical field. It is up to you what type of facility you want to work in, whether it’s in a hospital or emergency room setting, or if you want to open up your own practice or work for a smaller practice. Each one of these scenarios has their upsides and downsides, and it is up to you to follow the path where you will enjoy your job the most.