Family Physician / General Practictioner

General practitioners and family physicians diagnose and treat the diseases, physiological disorders and injuries of patients. Will provide primary contact and continuous care toward the management of patient health. Will be working in a rural clinic.

Duties
General practitioners and family physicians perform some or all of the following duties:
• Examine patients and take their histories, order laboratory tests, X-rays and other diagnostic procedures and consult with other medical practitioners to evaluate physical and mental health
• Prescribe and administer medications and treatments
• Provide emergency care
• Provide acute care management
• Inoculate and vaccinate patients
• Advise patients and their families on health care, including health promotion, disease, illness and accident prevention
• Provide counseling and support to patients and their families on a wide range of health and lifestyle issues
• Perform patient advocacy
• Co-ordinate or manage primary patient care
• Provide continuous care to patients
• Supervise home care services
• Report births, deaths, and contagious and other diseases to governmental authorities.
• Supervises physician extender which includes weekly chart audits
REQUIREMENTS
Skills
General practitioners and family physicians need the following skills and abilities:

Interpersonal skills include:
• be able to relate well to a wide range of people and gain their confidence,
• ability to work independently and as a member of a team,
• good problem-solving and decision-making skills,
• emotional stability, maturity, integrity, reliability, realistic self appraisal,
• ability to cope with stressful situations.

Communication skills include:
• good listening and observational skills,
• good verbal and written communication skills.

Technical skills include:
• physical stamina and manual dexterity,
• knowledge of computers.

Interests include:
• an interest in life sciences,
• an interest in the health and well-being of people and sensitivity to their individual needs,
• an interest in continuous learning

Employment Requirements
• Graduation from an approved medical school and two to three years of family medicine residency training are required. It is mandatory to be licensed and registered.

Terms & Conditions
General practitioners and family physicians may work long and irregular hours, and are often under stress. The majority of general practitioners and family physicians work full-time.