What is a physician and what does he do?

Answer 1

A physician is a doctor of medicine or (practitioner with a doctoral degree in the art and science of medicine and surgery) who can legally diagnose, make recommendations or perform surgical intervention, physical intervention, nutritional intervention, prescribe medications and all known types of treatment in any form and of all types, and is allowed to specifically claim to or tell a patient that a given regimen which he/she directly oversees can be used to diagnose (by all means of laboratory radiation and testing of body cells and fluids as well as direct examination and palpation); and to treat or mitigate all types of disease no matter the cause of the disease or type of modality or device being employed and may offer any and all things that he supervises directly to the public as a treatment or a cure or preventive strategy for or against a disease or infirmity, to include but not limited to the making or mixing of medications, mixtures etc for oral, parenteral, topical, ionizable, physical application and products used in this area and dispensed directly to patients or written with directions from the doctor, to be dispensed by a pharmacist in his stead, or by optician's, dental supply or durable medical supply stores, or manual or electrical prosthetic device or system, manufacturer or research center, so long as his/her license is in full effect. The holder of this cerificate is not limited by any law as to the type or extent of practice he /she maintains nor is it limited by law to any specialty, subspecialty, or any other limiting law which would only pertain to those holding a lesser license. It is the license which grants these privelgees based on the evaluation of each candidates specific documentation and not the degree per-se. Many other health care providers want to call themselves doctors for a variety of saleable reasons, to identify its the real thing ask for their certificate, if they dont have one then they are not real as far as the practice of true unrestricted medicine, just calling ones self doctor odr having a diploma saying doctor on it doesnt mean one has the same knowlege base as a certificated physician and surgeon. A certificated physician and surgeon sometimes called an RD for real doctor designates not just a degree but prolonged training and the passing of numerous entrance post graduate and certification examinations both in writing and practical technical examinations. It is clearly the most closely regulated of all professional categories. All other areas of healthcare have a limited or restricted scope of practice, according to provisions of the state and in most states, all other health care persons must be fully supervised by a doctor of medicine and he/she must sign off on treatment plans under his/her supervision and cosign individual patient records. Moreover he/she is medically and legally responsible for everything he/she does, or that he/she supervises being done under their supervision and under their license. Of course, all these privileges require the doctor to be knowledgeable and to maintain a state of adequate knowledge in all areas in which he works and he/she must continue that education by reading attending meetings and seminars so that his /her knowlege is adequate and beyond reproach in those areas he/she is using or prescribing which may be quite exhaustive. in California the only license which allows all these privileges is a Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery, allopathic or osteopathic, and the State of California also requires him or her to hold a valid and unrestricted license to practice also known as the "Physicians and Surgeons Certificate" issued by the California Board of Medical or Osteopathic Quality Assurance. The certificate he/she possesses must be "UNLIMITED", "a full and unrestricted license" in order to practice this art and science.

He or she is a clinical scientist who holds at least an MD or DO and often Bachelors, Masters and PhD or DSc degrees prior to becomming an MD, or DO but not instead of the MD or DO; the added degrees typically indicate areas of clinical interest, research or special interest of the individual.

Minimally, on average, he has completed the equivalent of about 11 or 12 years of college and specialized (or generalized practical training as in specialty of family practice training) plus residency. Residency though not a required item beyond the internship, is still highly recommended for most doctors. Residency lasts anywhere from 2 to 8 years depending on the program and type of specialty, the doctor is paid a low wage for internship, residency or fellowship advanced training, barely enough to cover expenses of living which is why the word "resident" is used sometimes they live at or in the hospitals participating day and night to gain all possible practical knowlege available where they work. Surveys typically show an average collegiate training period of 15 years, which is more than any other area of study known in our current educational system, or any system anywhere in the world. Indeed training often lasts a lifetime, as science moves ahead and advances continue more rapidly. The doctor must keep current in all areas of continued discourse, until he/she resigns, retires, or looses the license.

So, can you tell me again why it is so hard to qualify for medical school, and why a doctor gets paid more than average?