A medical specialty that is dedicated to complete health care to people of any age is called family medicine. It provides through health care for the individual and family of all age, sex and treats diseases of any kind. It emphasizes disease prevention and health promotion activities across the community. In order to become a family physician, one has to complete four years of study as a general physician. One has to undergo three year residency study in family medicine to become a family practice physician. Some of these programs train the physicians in obstetrics and gynecology. Most of these family training programs train the physicians in the urban or the rural tracks where most of the people are in need.
There are some specialization courses in family residency programs; some of them are sports medicine, geriatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, emergency care and hospitality. The pros of practicing family medicine are – it is a cool profession which is easy to learn and practice. If one is works hard he can expect the pay equal to internal medicine. It is easy to practice in rural areas. The disadvantages of family medicine are – There are only few sub specialties that one can choose. One can concentrate only on the primary care. The physicians feel they are being respected less than the other specialists. A survey states that most of the physicians are not happy with the salary being offered.
The specialization options that are available in family medicine are sports medicine, hospitalist, internal medicine, geriatrics and emergency medicine. The salary range varies from one location to the other. Physicians working in Texas are paid $150,000 while the family physicians in Los Angeles are paid an average of $160,000 and the physicians working in Miami and Washington are paid $170,000 and $ 157,000 respectively. One can expect a higher salary of about $330,00 in family medicine by taking a specialization in dual training program like the family practice psychiatry, concierge medicine, concierge doctoring and retainer practice.
