A physician, medical practitioner or medical doctor who practices medicine, and is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and injury. This is accomplished through a detailed knowledge of anatomy, physiology, diseases and treatment — the science of medicine — and its applied practice — the art or craft of medicine.
Etymology
The word physician shares a common etymology with words such as physics & metaphysics, physical, physique, and physiognomy.
There are many other words that have a meaning similar to, but not exactly the same as, physician.
The word physician f?s?? (physis) and its derived adjective physikos, meaning "nature" and "natural". From this, amongst other derivatives came the Vulgar Latin physicus, which meant a medical practitioner. After the Norman Conquest, the word entered Middle English via Old French fisicien, as early as 1100. Originally, physician meant a practitioner of physic (pronounced with a hard C). This archaic noun had entered Middle English by 1300 (via Old French fisique). Physic meant the art or science of treatment with drugs or medications (as opposed to surgery), and was later used both as a verb and also to describe the medications themselves.
In English, there have been many synonyms for physician, both old and new, with some semantic variation. The noun phrase medical practitioner is perhaps the most widely understood and neutral synonym. Medical practitioner is lengthy but inclusive: it covers both medical specialists and general practitioners (family physician, family practitioner), and historically would include physicians (in the narrow sense), surgeons or apothecaries. In England, apothecaries historically included those who now would be called general practitioners and pharmacists.
The term doctor (medical doctor) is older and shorter (see doctor of medicine), but can be confused with holders of other academic doctorates. Doctor (gen.: doctoris) means teacher in Latin and is an agentive noun derived from the verb docere ('teach').[4] In French, médecin (doctor, physician) is a contraction of docteur médecin, a direct equivalent of doctor of medicine. In current French idiom, the term toubib, is now a synonym, derived from Arabic ???? (tabib, physician).
Physician as any medical practitioner
In North America, the title physician is now widely used in the broad sense, and applies to any legally qualified and licensed practitioner of medicine. In the United States and Canada, the term physician is used to describe those holding the degrees of Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). It is also used to describe the holders of medical degrees from other countries when practicing in North America (in the UK and other Commonwealth countries, such degrees are typically MB BS, MB BChir etc which are equivalent to the US MD degree). The American Medical Association, established in 1847, uses physician in this broad sense to describe all its members.
Internationally, there are variations in the D.O. degree and osteopaths are recognized as physicians in 48 countries. Osteopathic education includes teaching manipulative medicine. [5] In a few jurisdictions, physician may also refer to holders of the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND or NMD)[6] and also Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) [3]. However, it should be noted that only those with medical degrees from schools listed in the WHO Directory of Medical Schools or the FAIMER International Medical Education Directory [7] are permitted to apply for medical licensure.[8]
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are not described as physicians; the American College of Nurse Practitioners do not describe themselves this way. They are classified as allied healthcare professionals. Some nurse practitioners may perform work similar to that of some physicians, especially in primary care, but of a lesser scope. Physician Assistants are classed as advance practice clinicians.
Physician and Surgeon
Around the world, the combined term "Physician and Surgeon" is a venerable way to describe either a general practitioner, or else any medical practitioner irrespective of specialty.[9][1] This usage still shows the older, narrower meaning of physician and preserves the old difference between a physician, as a practitioner of physic, and a surgeon. The term may be used by state medical boards in the United States of America, and by equivalent bodies in provinces of Canada, to describe any medical practitioner.
Social role of physicians
Physicians are traditionally considered to be members of a learned profession, because of the extensive training requirements, and also because of the occupation's special ethical and legal duties. Physicians are often members, or fellows of professional organizations such as the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom.
The practice of medicine has ancient associations with religion and magic; see article on History of medicine.
Physicians commonly enjoy high social status, often combined with expectations of a high and stable income and job security. However, medical practitioners often work long and inflexible hours, with shifts at unsociable times, and may earn less than other professionals whose education is of comparable length.
Education and training
All medical practitioners
In all developed countries, entry-level medical education programs are tertiary-level courses, undertaken at a medical school attached to a university. Depending on jurisdiction and university, entry may follow directly from secondary school or require pre-requisite undergraduate education. The former commonly take five or six years to complete. Programs that require previous undergraduate education (typically a three or four year degree, often in Science) are usually four or five years in length. Hence, gaining a basic medical degree may typically take from five to eight years, depending on jurisdiction and university.
Following completion of entry-level training, newly graduated medical practitioners are often required to undertake a period of supervised practice before full registration is granted, typically one or two years. This may be referred to as "internship" or "conditional registration".
Medical practitioners hold a medical degree specific to the university from which they graduated. This degree qualifies the medical practitioner to become licensed or registered under the laws of that particular country, and sometimes of several countries, subject to requirements for internship or conditional registration.
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