A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment—known as specialities—or they may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities—known as general practice. Medical practice properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine.
Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult to generalize, these treatments range from outright quackery, like homeopathy, to widely accepted practices like certain forms of psychotherapy. The ideology and methods of naturopathy are based on vitalism and folk medicine rather than evidence-based medicine, although practitioners may use techniques supported by evidence.
In the medical profession, a general practitioner (GP) or family physician is a physician who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education to patients of all ages. GPs' duties are not confined to specific fields of medicine, and they have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues. They are trained to treat patients to levels of complexity that vary between countries. The term "primary care physician" is more usually used in the US. In Asian countries like India, this term has been replaced mainly by Medical Officers, Registered Medical Practitioner etc.
A Physician Assistant or Physician Associate (PA) is a type of healthcare professional. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes between smaller jurisdictions such as states or provinces. Depending on location, PAs practice semi-autonomously under the supervision of a physician, or autonomously performing a subset of medical services classically provided by physicians.
Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary care physician, is named a family physician. It is often referred to as general practice and a practitioner as a general practitioner. Historically, their role was once performed by any doctor with qualifications from a medical school and who works in the community. However, since the 1950s, family medicine / general practice has become a specialty in its own right, with specific training requirements tailored to each country. The names of the specialty emphasize its holistic nature and/or its roots in the family. It is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. According to the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the aim of family medicine is "promoting personal, comprehensive and continuing care for the individual in the context of the family and the community". The issues of values underlying this practice are usually known as primary care ethics.
A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe medications and treatment plans. NP training covers basic disease prevention, coordination of care, and health promotion, but does not provide the depth of expertise needed to recognize more complex conditions.
JAMA Internal Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. It was established in 1908 as the Archives of Internal Medicine and obtained its current title in 2013. It covers all aspects of internal medicine, including cardiovascular disease, geriatrics, infectious disease, gastroenterology, endocrinology, allergy, and immunology. The editor in chief is Rita F. Redberg.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including licensing, education, training, research and clinical standards. It is the largest of the medical royal colleges, with over 50,000 members. The RCGP was founded in 1952 in London, England and is a registered charity. Its motto is Cum Scientia Caritas – "Compassion [empowered] with Knowledge."
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is the professional body for general practitioners (GPs) in Australia. The RACGP is responsible for maintaining standards for quality clinical practice, education and training, and research in Australian general practice. The RACGP represents over 40,000 members across metropolitan, urban, rural and remote Australia.
Annals of Internal Medicine is an academic medical journal published by the American College of Physicians (ACP). It is one of the most widely cited and influential specialty medical journals in the world. Annals publishes content relevant to the field of internal medicine and related sub-specialties. Annals publishes a wide variety of original research, review articles, practice guidelines, and commentary relevant to clinical practice, health care delivery, public health, health care policy, medical education, ethics, and research methodology. In addition, the journal publishes personal narratives that convey the feeling and the art of medicine. Selected articles in the journal are freely available; these include patient-oriented content and Clinical Guidelines.
The British Journal of General Practice is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal for general practitioners and primary care researchers.
Doctors in Unite is a trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. It was formerly known as the Medical Practitioners' Union (MPU) before its affiliation with Unite.
The Australian Family Physician is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. It was established in 1956 as the Annals of General Practice, obtaining its current name in 1971. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Index Medicus/MEDLINE/PubMed and the Science Citation Index Expanded. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2015 impact factor of 0.759.
The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering both child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry providing an interdisciplinary perspective to the multidisciplinary field of child and adolescent mental health, though publication of high-quality empirical research, clinically-relevant studies and highly cited research reviews and practitioner review articles.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Sport Sciences. The journal's editor is Bruce Reider, MD. It has been in publication since 1972 and is currently published by SAGE Publications in association with American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery is a peer-reviewed medical journal that covers the field of veterinary medicine as applied to domestic cats. The editors-in-chief are A. H. Sparkes and M. Scherk, both of the International Society of Feline Medicine. The journal is published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the International Society of Feline Medicine and the American Association of Feline Practitioners.
Child Maltreatment is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of psychology, family studies and social work. It has been in publication since 1996 and is currently published by SAGE Publications in association with American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Vincent J. Palusci, MD, MS became editor in chief in 2021.
The Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners is a monthly peer-reviewed nursing journal covering the practice of nurse practitioners. It is the official journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. The journal was established in 1989 as the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, obtaining its current name in 2013.
The Academy of Family Physicians of India (AFPI) is a professional academic society, registered as a non-profit organization in India. AFPI has been founded with the aim of promoting family medicine and primary healthcare. Family medicine is the practicing speciality and academic discipline of majority Indian doctors. Although there were GP associations such as IMA CGP and FFPAI have been existing for several decades, there was no forum for spearheading development of academic family medicine in India. AFPI is an equivalent organization to American Academy of Family Physicians, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal Australian College of General Practice for India.
The British Journal of Hospital Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal principally aimed at hospital-based healthcare professionals. It was established in 1966 as Hospital Medicine, changing name to British Journal of Hospital Medicine from 1968 to 1997. In 1998, it changed back to Hospital Medicine, and returned to British Journal of Hospital Medicine in 2006. It is currently published by Mark Allen Publishing. The editor-in-chief is Rob Miller.
