What You'll Do

  • Treat internal disorders, such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, or problems of the lung, brain, kidney, or gastrointestinal tract.
  • Analyze records, reports, test results, or examination information to diagnose medical condition of patient.
  • Prescribe or administer medication, therapy, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.
  • Provide and manage long-term, comprehensive medical care, including diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases, for adult patients in an office or hospital.
  • Manage and treat common health problems, such as infections, influenza or pneumonia, as well as serious, chronic, and complex illnesses, in adolescents, adults, and the elderly.
  • Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.
  • Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.
  • Make diagnoses when different illnesses occur together or in situations where the diagnosis may be obscure.
  • Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.
  • Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.

Essential Skills

Reading Comprehension 4.12/5
Active Listening 4.12/5
Writing 4.0/5
Speaking 4.0/5
Science 4.0/5
Critical Thinking 4.0/5
Social Perceptiveness 4.0/5
Complex Problem Solving 4.0/5
Judgment and Decision Making 4.0/5
Active Learning 3.88/5
Monitoring 3.88/5
Service Orientation 3.75/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to sense whether the day to day rhythm and focus of this path line up with what energizes you.

Top passions

  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.

Common styles

Attention to Detail, Integrity, Dependability, Stress Tolerance, Concern for Others

Want a personal read on fit. Take the free assessment and see your exact compatibility with this career and many related roles.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Problem Sensitivity 4.38/5
Oral Comprehension 4.25/5
Oral Expression 4.25/5
Inductive Reasoning 4.25/5
Written Comprehension 4.12/5
Deductive Reasoning 4.12/5
Written Expression 4.0/5
Information Ordering 4.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Allscripts Professional EHR Billing software Brickell Research Brickell Medical Office ChartWare EMR e-MDs software e-MDs topsE&M Coder eClinicalWorks EHR software Email software Epic Systems Epocrates GE Healthcare Centricity EMR Greenway Health PrimeSuite Med Math MedcomSoft Record Medical reference software MEDITECH software MicroFocus GroupWise Microsoft Excel Microsoft Internet Explorer Microsoft Office software

Work Environment & Style

Common Styles for This Career

  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.62/5)
  • Integrity (High importance: 4.62/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.53/5)
  • Stress Tolerance (High importance: 4.53/5)
  • Concern for Others (High importance: 4.49/5)

Want to see how YOUR work style matches this career?

Take Free 15-Min Assessment →

How to Become One

This career requires extensive preparation, typically including a graduate degree (Master's or Doctoral) and several years of experience. Most professionals in this field have invested significant time in education and training.

Similar Careers to Explore

Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Doctor Endocrinologist Endocrinology Physician Gastroenterologist Gastroenterology Physician General Internal Medicine Doctor General Internal Medicine Physician General Internist Hematologist Hematology Physician Internal Medicine Doctor Internal Medicine Hospitalist Physician (IM Hospitalist Physician) Internal Medicine PCP (Internal Medicine Primary Care Physician) Internal Medicine Physician (IM Physician) Internist Medical Doctor (MD) Medical Hematologist Medical Oncologist Oncologist Oncology Physician Physician Primary Care Physician Pulmonologist Rheumatologist Rheumatology Physician Trauma Doctor