The good ones do more than that and thereās a lot out there, but sometimes harder to find.
That being said, itās hard to do much of anything when youāre allotted to a grand total of 5-15 minutes per encounter. Doubly so for complex patients.
Discussion
i agree
In some countries, such as Sweden, primary care physicians are seen as the most vital physicians in the healthcare system. They are the gatekeepers and are the ones involved in preventative care. They are generalists and jacks of all trades. They donāt just study one part of the body. They also have to understand how to interact with all kinds of people, and most importantly when to treat someone and what to investigate. The shitty ones order everything and ship their patients off to specialists. The good ones will tell you what you donāt need and come with a plan to prevent you from getting worst, and when they see something that worries them, then theyāll ship you off.
Fuck AI, thereās no replacing a primary care physician.
And they are šÆ not just pill pushers (Iām not in the states so I canāt relate to them there)
This is what I trained in. Itās awesome being a skilled all trades dude, but aināt easy to get there and requires lifelong learning. The compensation isnāt as great relative to specialists, because doing things to people is more billable (ie procedures, surgeries, etc.), but both are definitely needed.
I donāt get where that whole pill pusher thing comes from. Thatās nonsense from my experience.
I always felt profoundly accomplished when I could get people off unnecessary medications. Hellā¦I met one dude and I think he was on 14-18 first encounter. When I graduated from training had bro down to 2-3 š.
Exactly, and in Sweden GPs are paid more than specialists because it is much more difficult to decide when/or when not to perform a procedure. Also, convincing a patient to change their lifestyles/and or take medications so that they donāt get sicker and cost the system more money down the road is vital. In my mind, all physicians are important, but gps are the linchpin. Here in Canada they arenāt paid the most, but do well comparatively, especially if they work rurally and are involved in complex care.