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.

Latest Article: Web Doctor

If you have not heard of a Web doctor before, then you really should not be surprised, as most people are just like you and have not. However, it is very important and can be very valuable to learn about something such as a Web doctor, just in case the time ever comes where you need it. Basically a Web doctor is just like a regular doctor, only you find them and access them online....

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