Family medicine FAMILY MEDICINE IN THE UNITED STATES

Family medicine FAMILY MEDICINE IN THE UNITED STATES v. HISTORY v. EDUCATION AND TRAINING v. SHORTAGE OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS v. CURRENT PRACTICE

Family medicine (FM), formerly Family Practice (FP), is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages; the specialist is named a family physician, family doctor, or formerly family practitioner.

History Following World War II, two events shaped the advent of family medicine. First, medical specialties and subspecialties increased in popularity, having an adverse effect on the number of physicians in general practice.

History Many of these doctors wanted to see a residency program added to their training; this would not only give them additional training, knowledge, and prestige, but would allow for board certification, which was increasingly required to gain hospital privileges.

History In 1969, family medicine (then known as family practice) was recognized as a distinct specialty in the U. S.

Education and training Family physicians complete an undergraduate degree, medical school, and three more years of specialized medical residency training in family medicine.

Education and training Their residency training includes rotations in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry, and geriatrics.

Shortage of family physicians While many sources cite a shortage of family physicians (and also other primary care providers, i. e. internists, pediatricians, and general practitioners), the per capita supply of primary care physicians has actually increased about 1 percent per year since 1998.

Current practice Most family physicians in the US practice in solo or small-group private practices or as hospital employees in practices of similar sizes owned by hospitals.

Current practice However, the specialty is broad and allows for a variety of career options including education, emergency medicine or urgent care, inpatient medicine, international or wilderness medicine, public health, sports medicine, and research. Others choose to practice as consultants to various medical institutions, including insurance companies.

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