A family doctor is a specialist who works across several profiles at once and provides assistance to people of different ages. In Europe, medical personnel with this specialization are called general practitioners. Such a term is justified, since family doctors are qualified in several medical areas.
Responsibilities
In the clinic, a family doctor conducts an outpatient appointment. He is approached by people who do not know exactly what their disease is, but a health problem was discovered at the initial stage. A family doctor differs from a therapist in that he can independently diagnose many diseases without leaving his office.
Therapists have few tools at their disposal to quickly identify possible diseases: a tonometer and a phonendoscope. Unlike the usual doctors, the list of services of a family doctor includes several more procedures. He can perform laryngoscopy to assess the condition of the larynx, otoscopy to check the eardrum and rhinoscopy to examine the condition of the nasal mucosa to rule out possible diseases.
A family doctor, along with specialized specialists, has the right to treat patients with the initial stages of diseases of the ear, throat, nose, eyes. In particular, the family doctor has the opportunity to examine the fundus, to decipher the electrocardiogram and the results of other instrumental studies. If a person has received a wound, a sprain, a simple fracture, you can contact not only the emergency room or the surgeon, but also a familiar specialist, as a family doctor can perform basic treatment and apply gypsum.
How to get a profession
First you need to complete a course in the specialty of medical care and pediatrics. After receiving the diploma, you must go through residency. To then retrain into a family doctor, you will need to undergo retraining on the profile of "Family Medicine".
How a family doctor works
Medical training of this specialist allows timely diagnosis of diseases related to the profile of therapy, cardiology, dermatology, ophthalmology, neurology. A family doctor can independently conduct treatment only if drug therapy is required.
If any incomprehensible symptoms are found, as well as if necessary, the help of other specialists, the doctor writes out directions for appropriate consultations. Depending on the situation, the patient is transferred to the management of doctors of other specialties or remains with the family doctor, who follows the instructions voiced by narrow-profile specialists. If, as a result of the diagnosis, it was found that the patient should be referred for inpatient treatment, the family doctor has the right to draw up an appropriate document.
Daily practice
The list of activities that are included in the daily duties of the family doctor:
- Establishment or verification of the diagnosis by interviewing and monitoring the patient. Assignment of analyzes and instrumental examinations is also possible.
- Regular monitoring of patients with medical care using standard or latest methods of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases.
- The formation of an individual program for the patient with the goal of rehabilitation for certain pathologies.
- Prescribing a course of treatment, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of therapy, combination with diagnostic and rehabilitation procedures.
- Formation of expert opinions.
Powers Not Everyone Knows About
A family doctor is a good alternative to narrow-profile specialists for those patients who have discovered pathology in the initial stages and promptly sought help. Not everyone knows that a family doctor performs duties similar to a therapist. Consider the duties and powers that a family doctor has:
- He is receiving patients in the clinic. This aspect needs to be taken into account by people who believe that family doctors are employees of private medical centers. Any person assigned to the site of a specific specialist working in a state hospital can get an appointment with a general doctor.
- May come to the house. When calling a doctor from a private center, it must be remembered that the cost of taking him at home will increase. If the corresponding services are available to you free of charge, then you do not need to pay for a call to your home.
- Visits families in which newborns have recently appeared. Usually the doctor goes around the site with the nurse.
- It can examine the whole family at once, prescribing treatment not only for adults, but also for children, elderly relatives. Despite the fact that many doctors separately specialize in childhood or senile diseases, a family doctor has the opportunity to examine and diagnose a patient of any age.
- May prescribe a narcotic analgesic by issuing an appropriate prescription.
- Makes dressings for patients after surgery.
- May issue or extend sick leave in case of detection of a disease in which bed rest is provided.
What you need to know before you make an appointment
In most cases, admission is carried out in the department of family doctors, less often a specialist is called home. The place that is more preferable for examining the patient and diagnosing diseases depends on the circumstances. In most cases, adults are prescribed an outpatient appointment at the clinic, since the full range of diagnostic measures can only be performed in a hospital. Newborns are examined exclusively at home.
The competence of a family doctor is not enough to conduct therapeutic activity in an inpatient setting. If the patient is in the hospital around the clock, narrow-profile specialists and junior medical staff will check the condition and administer the prescribed drugs. If the general practitioner discovers that the patient needs emergency care, he immediately writes out a referral to another specialist.
The subtleties of the profession
In acute pathologies, the reception and prescription of a family doctor is not enough. Additionally, you may need to consult a surgeon, cardiologist, immunologist and even a nutritionist. A family doctor is a general specialist, but he cannot always fully use his knowledge, since not every hospital has specialized equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. In some cases, the doctor is unable to find a treatment that will help the patient. In this case, he is obliged to issue a referral for consultation of a specialized specialist or hospitalization.
Not all acute and chronic diseases need to be treated in a hospital setting. Even with arterial hypertension and other dangerous diseases, you should not always trust only a narrowly specialized doctor. A family doctor is a universal specialist who, with proper qualifications, can offer advice and prescribe medications to treat and maintain a stable state. For example, with ischemia, people often need surgery, but at the stage of preparing for and after surgery, it is advisable to observe the patient with a family doctor.
Conclusion
A family doctor is a specialist who is well versed in several medical profiles, so he can make a diagnosis even if other doctors have not been able to detect the problem for a long time. Diseases that can be diagnosed and treated without surgery are the responsibility of the family doctor. It can be addressed both with headache, dizziness, high blood pressure, and with inflammation of the mucosa, runny nose, and problems with the gastrointestinal tract. A specialist can make the correct diagnosis to a person who feels chronic fatigue, complains of recurring symptoms of malaise. It is important to pay attention to the experience of a specialist, as well as the speed of obtaining the result of treatment.