Family and General Practitioner Job Description, Duties, and Responsibilities

This post provides detailed information on the family and general practitioner job description, including the key tasks, duties, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements you may be expected to fulfill to be hired for the family and general practitioner role by most recruiters/employers.

What does a Family and General Practitioner Do?

Family and general practitioners are family doctors or physicians who actually diagnose, attend to patients, and help avoid ailments and injuries which commonly occur among the vast population of people.

The family and general practitioner job description normally entails referring patients to specialists for further diagnosis and/or treatment when a patient requires specific types of treatment.

The family physician is usually the first point of contact for patients whenever they fall sick or sustain any form of injury.

He/she first carries out a test or diagnosis of the patient’s condition and then decides how to attend to him/her (to know if the patient needs to be referred to a specialist).

The involvement of a general practitioner in the treatment of a patient normally arises in simpler health issues.

Their role therefore involves prescribing treatments to patients and/or directing them on how to go about self-care routines.

In the case of patients that have ongoing health issues, the general practitioner assists them in their ongoing care.

Family doctors generally help patients in maintaining their medical prescriptions; they may need to reassess a patient’s condition to support earlier diagnosis if the need arises.

Family and General Practitioners Job Description Example/Template
Family and general practitioners carry out diverse functions in making sure that patients are taken proper care for at all times, and that they are (if the need arises) referred to a specialist that will effectively treat them.

The job description below is a typical example of the kind of tasks, duties, and responsibilities commonly assigned to persons who work as a family and general practitioner in most health organizations, centers, or even independently:

• Provide advice to patients and members of a particular locality on issues related to hygiene and prevention of diseases
• Give explanation on medical processes, prescribed treatment(s), and results to patients
• Plan and carry out health-related programs in health centers and the community at large so as to inform people on issues like prevention of ailments and treatment of injuries
• Collect and keep records of information that have to do with patients, such as medical history and medical results
• Ensure proper monitoring of patients’ health condition and their response to treatment
• Refer patients to specialists in the case of severe or acute ailments to help in treating them
• Coordinate work with nurses, pharmacists, psychologists and other health care providers
• Assist in the delivery of babies
• Carry out surgery on patients to repair and improve the functioning of injured body parts of patients.

Requirements – Skills, Abilities, and Knowledge – for Family and General Practitioner Role

When hiring for the role of family and general practitioner, most employers will expect you to meet the following requirements to qualify for an interview appointment:

• Must possess good communication skill. This is necessary so that the doctor can fully and clearly understand the condition of his/her patient
• Must be able to work with little or no supervision at all times
• Must be able to show understanding and patience while dealing with patients
• Possess excellent interpersonal skills. That is to say that the family physician must be easily approachable and friendly at all times
• Must have excellent decision-making and problem-solving abilities
• Must have good coordination and organizational abilities
• Good time management skills are a must have
• Good reasoning ability is also required
• Must be someone that pays attention to details at all times
• Possess the ability to work long hours
• A degree in medicine is a basic prerequisite
• Must have completed family medicine internship and residency
• Must possess all the necessary medical licenses and certification needed to work in a particular locality.
• A minimum of 5 years work experience as a general practitioner.

Conclusion

You will find the sample work description for the family and general practitioner position provided in this post useful if you are an employer hiring for the role.

You will be able to produce a great description for the position in your organization easily and clearly too by making use of the content of this post, and that will increase your chances of getting the best-qualified candidates to apply for the job.

Individuals interested in a career in the field of medicine (as a general practitioner) will also find this post helpful in learning about the duties and responsibilities that describe the position and roles of a family and general practitioner.