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| Your back was hurting so you called your family physician. Then it was your husband’s cough, and again your family physician helped. Now little Susie says her ears hurt. Sounds like it’s time to call again. Your family physician is the one person who provides care for your entire family. In the busy lives we lead today, your family physician’s role is the one constant. That’s because family physicians are trained to take care of your entire family, from small children to teens, in addition to you and your spouse. Regardless of age or sex, they are trained to take care of the whole person throughout their entire life. Family physicians are board certified in family medicine. Their medical training is focused on treating you throughout all of your life stages and offering preventative care to help ensure good health. Keeping your medical history related to allergies, vaccines, surgery, and reactions to medications is an important part of what they do. They also help detect and treat ailments by watching over your overall health. Ideally, they serve as your first point of contact in your health care. Today, 70,000 practicing family physicians in the United States provide a large amount of the care that you and I receive. In fact, nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians annually. Back in 1969, the family medicine specialty was created to increase the “generalist” function in medicine, which experienced some decline after World War II. During the four decades since, the family practice specialty has helped provide personal medical care to people of all socioeconomic levels. In order to become a family physician, one follows a road similar to others’ journeys in the medical field. Family physicians complete undergraduate school, medical school, and three years of specialized medical residency training in family medicine. In order to remain board certified, family physicians take written examinations at regular intervals depending on their certification criteria. Since family physicians care for your entire family, they complete comprehensive training that covers all ages in a wide variety of areas. For example, they study internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and neurology, and surgery. After their training, they’re eligible to take the American Board of Family Medicine’s certification examination. In addition, these individuals also receive instruction in other areas such as emergency medicine, geriatrics, radiology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, and urology. You may have noticed that some family physicians (and other physicians, as well) are designated “MD,” while others list “DO” after their names. That’s because family medicine physicians may have a Medical Doctor (MD) degree or an Osteopathic Doctor (DO) degree. Both MD’s and DO’s may use drugs and surgery for treatment. However, DO’s emphasize the body’s musculoskeletal system, preventative medicine, and holistic patient care. Both MD’s and DO’s usually practice by themselves or in small-group private practices. Sometimes they work as employees of hospitals. If you have small children, you might wonder if a pediatrician instead of a family physician is the best fit for your family. Experts agree that it’s a question best left up to the parents. What’s most important is finding a physician that makes both you and your child feel comfortable. Both types of physicians focus on preventative care. Similar to family physicians, pediatricians also complete four years of medical school followed by three years of specialty training in the care of people from birth to age 21. If you are seeking a family physician to care for your children, be sure to ask about their age policy. Some physicians see only a certain number of kids or don’t see children younger than a certain age. Should you find yourself looking for a family physician, it’s hard to go wrong with a personal referral. Maybe you can ask a family member or friend who they like to see. Or perhaps a co-worker knows of a great doctor near your office. Once you have the names of a few doctors to consider, call their offices to get more information. According to familydoctor.org, some things that you might want to ask when researching your family physician include: Do they accept your insurance? What are the office hours? What hospital does the doctor use? Once you find a doctor who meets your needs, it’s also advisable to schedule a get-to-know-you appointment so that you can meet and talk with him or her before you need their expertise. Make sure you’re comfortable talking to the doctor during the appointment. For example, does the doctor answer all your questions? Does the doctor explain his answers well? Do you feel rushed? It can take a while to build a rapport with a new doctor, so keep that in mind after your first consultation. In my opinion, one of the most valuable attributes about having a family physician is developing a history with the same expert over the years. Sure, there might be periods that go by when you only see your doctor for a checkup. But how lucky you would be to be so healthy. But then there might be times when you seek solid medical advice for an ailment that won’t go away. My family physician was the first person I went to when I thought my knee needed something more than an ice wrap. After his exam, he referred me to an orthopedic surgeon that he knew and trusted. I was so relieved to have a great referral and an action plan; it made a big difference in my surgery and recovery. Your family physician plays an important role: To help guide you and your family through a healthy life by providing sound preventative care. Sources for this story included: the American Academy of Family Physicians, familydoctor.org, Loyola University Medical Education Network, mayoclinic.com, and the United States Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics. |
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