2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16
A family doctor is a specialist who works in several fields at once and provides assistance to people of different ages. In Europe, medical staff with this specialization are called general practitioners. Such a term is quite justified, since family doctors are qualified in several medical fields.
Responsibilities
At the polyclinic, the family doctor conducts outpatient appointments. He is approached by people who do not know exactly what disease they have, but a he alth problem was detected at the initial stage. A family doctor differs from a therapist in that he can independently diagnose many diseases without leaving the 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 may perform a laryngoscopy to evaluateconditions of the larynx, otoscopy to check the eardrums 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 manage patients with the initial stages of diseases of the ear, throat, nose, and eyes. In particular, the family doctor has the opportunity to examine the fundus of the eye, 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 a surgeon, but also a familiar specialist, since a family doctor can perform basic treatment and apply plaster.
How to get a profession
First you need to complete a course in the speci alty General Medicine and Pediatrics. After receiving a diploma, you must complete a residency. To then retrain as a family doctor, you will need to undergo retraining in the Family Medicine profile.
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 only treat independently if medical therapy is required.
If any incomprehensible symptoms are detected, as well as if the help of other specialists is needed, the doctor writes out referrals for appropriate consultations. ATDepending on the situation, the patient is transferred to the care of doctors of other speci alties or remains with a family doctor who follows the prescriptions voiced by highly specialized 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
List of activities that are part of the daily duties of a family doctor:
- Establish or verify a diagnosis by questioning and observing the patient. It is also possible to prescribe analyzes and instrumental examinations.
- Regular follow-up of patients with medical care using standard or latest methods of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases.
- Formation of an individual program for the patient for the purpose 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 that not everyone knows about
A family doctor is a good alternative to highly specialized specialists for those patients who have discovered a pathology in the initial stages and seek help in a timely manner. Not everyone knows that a family doctor performs duties similar to a general practitioner. Consider the duties and powers that a family district doctor has:
- Receivingpatients in the clinic. This aspect must 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 public hospital can get an appointment with a generalist doctor.
- May come to the house. When calling a doctor from a private center, you must remember that the cost of his appointment at home will increase. If you have access to the relevant services for free, then you do not need to pay for a house call.
- Visits families with newborns. Usually the doctor walks around the site with the nurse.
- 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, the family doctor has the opportunity to examine and diagnose a patient of any age.
- Can prescribe narcotic analgesic by issuing a prescription.
- Makes dressings for patients after surgery.
- May issue or extend sick leave in the event of an illness requiring bed rest.
What you need to know before coming to your appointment
In most cases, the appointment is held in the department of family doctors, less often a specialist is called to the house. The preferred location for examining a patient and diagnosing diseases depends on the circumstances. Adults in most cases are prescribed outpatientreception in the clinic, since the full range of diagnostic measures can only be carried out in the hospital. Newborns are seen exclusively at home.
The competence of a family doctor is not enough to carry out therapeutic activities in a hospital setting. If the patient will be in the hospital around the clock, the condition check and the administration of prescribed drugs will be carried out by highly specialized specialists and junior medical staff. If the general practitioner finds that the patient needs emergency care, he immediately writes out a referral to an appointment with another specialist.
Subtleties of the profession
In case of acute pathologies, receiving and receiving appointments from the family doctor is not enough. Additionally, consultations of a surgeon, cardiologist, immunologist and even a nutritionist may be required. A family doctor is a generalist, but he cannot always make full use of his knowledge, since not every hospital has specialized equipment for diagnosing and treating various diseases. In some cases, the doctor cannot find a treatment that will help the patient. In this case, he is obliged to issue a referral for a consultation with a narrowly 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, one should not always trust only a narrow-profile doctor. A family doctor is a universal specialist who, with proper qualifications, can offeradvice and prescribe medications for treatment and maintenance of a stable condition. For example, with ischemia, people often require surgery, but it is advisable to have the patient monitored by a family doctor during the preparation for surgery and after it.
Conclusion
A family doctor is a specialist who is well versed in several medical profiles, thanks to which he can make a diagnosis even if other doctors fail to detect a problem for a long time. Diseases that can be diagnosed and treated without surgery are within the competence of the family doctor. You can turn to him both for headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure, and for inflammation of the mucous membrane, runny nose, problems with the gastrointestinal tract. A specialist can make a correct diagnosis to a person who feels chronic fatigue, complains of intermittent symptoms of malaise. It is important to pay attention to the experience of the specialist, as well as the speed of obtaining the result of the treatment.
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