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Why Family Medicine?

Family practice is the medical specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for individuals and families. It integrates the biological, clinical and behavioral sciences, while its scope encompasses all ages, sexes, each organ system and every disease entity. Family medicine is a three-dimensional specialty that incorporates the elements of knowledge, skill and process.  While knowledge and skill may be shared with other specialties, the family practice process is unique.  At the center of our specialty lies the patient-physician relationship, with patients viewed in the context of their families.  It is the extent to which this relationship is valued, developed, nurtured and maintained that distinguishes family practice from all other specialties.

For more information about choosing a career in family medicine, visit http://fmignet.aafp.org

What do family physicians do?
  • Care for people of both genders and all ages
  • Diagnose and treat 90 percent of all patient problems, including biological and mental health concerns
  • Treat conditions of all organ systems rather than limiting their practice to specific organ systems
  • Treat the whole patient by taking into account all the medical, social and mental health concerns of the individual
  • Practice disease prevention and health maintenance in addition to treating illness
Why are family physicians important?

Treatment by family physicians results in:
  • Quality of care equal to specialty care
  • High patient satisfaction
  • More cost-effective use of hospitals, testing, procedures, and expensive technology
Reasons to be a family physician:
  • You will make many long standing relationships with patients and families who will present challenges, interesting thoughts/ideas, inspiration, and lessons about what is truly important in life
  • You will go to work every day never knowing what might happen
  • You have the opportunity to watch patients change and develop over time
  • You make a difference in the lives of others by "being there" for patients in need
Why Family Medicine?
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