A medical doctor is commonly referred as a physician in the United
States. It is seen that unlike United States, the other countries
prefer to use the term doctor instead of Physician. A medical doctor is
one who practices medicine. In other words he is a qualified doctor,
who has been trained to carry out a medical check up of a patient,
declare the diagnosis of an ailment, and prescribe appropriate remedial
measures to the patient.
Any qualified medical doctor
having the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or any equivalent degree is
commonly referred as physician in the United States. In the United
States, the term physician is used in broader terms and the American
Medical Association refers this word for all its members.
Beyond
North America, the word physician is still used in narrower sense,
which implies an expert in internal medicine or one of its many
sub-specialties. In other words it tries to differentiate between a
physician and surgeon.
Earlier there stood a difference
between physician and surgeon, which can be understood from the fact
that there were two charters for physician and surgeon. Henry VIII
issued a charter to the Royal College of Physicians (London) in 1518
while in 1540; the Company of Barber/Surgeons (ancestor of the Royal
College of Surgeons) got its own charter.
Physician, in
narrow terms would be referred as a professional expert in internal
medicine in the United States and the application of this narrower
meaning is still relevant in countries like New Zealand, Japan,
Republic of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, South Africa, India, Indonesia,
Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and other countries where the term
medical doctor or medical practitioner is mostly used instead of
physician.
It is to be remembered that those who have the
degree of Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine (D.C.) or Doctor of
Naturopathic Medicine (N.D.) degrees are not issued any licenses from
any official government department in US. Hence they do not come under
the purview of Physician and Surgeon according to United States medical
boards. A Medical doctor holding degree of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree is considered a licensed
Physician and Surgeon across all the 50 states in the USA and he can
practice the full scope of medicine.
There are physicians
who practice general medicine while others opt for specialized areas of
medicine like geriatric medicine, endocrinology, gynecology, orthopedic
surgery, pathology, plastic surgery, psychiatry, radiology, urology,
and vascular surgery, oncology, infectious diseases, neurology,
obstetrics, cardiology, gastroenterology and general surgery.
There
has been a steady demand of physicians across the world, thanks! to the
emergence of new health care units. In addition to the traditional
areas, the medical doctor can explore other areas of jobs like
rehabilitation, which covers aspects like physical therapy,
occupational therapy, and speech pathology. The medical doctor uses his
skill and knowledge to bring the life of a person to a normal
track.
A medical doctor can take the route of regular
employment by working at clinics or hospitals or associating with
social welfare organizations or simply starting his independent
practice.
Medical doctor not only help the patient to
recover but also helps to bring smile on the face of closed relatives
and friends of the patient.