Occupation · SOC 29-1215
Family Medicine Physicians
Diagnose, treat, and provide preventive care to individuals and families across the lifespan. May refer patients to specialists when needed for further diagnosis or treatment.
Median wage
$238,380
$81,330–$239,200
Projected growth
—
—
Annual openings
—
per year
Employed (US)
107,950
Job Zone 5
Typical preparation
Extensive preparation
Stackable credential programs
55 mapped
Core skills
Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningWritingSpeakingTime ManagementMonitoringActive Learning
Knowledge areas
Medicine and DentistryEnglish LanguageTherapy and CounselingPsychologyBiology
Technology & tools
Medical softwareBilling and invoicing softwareElectronic mail softwareInformation retrieval or search softwareSpreadsheet software
Representative tasks
Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.Order, perform, and interpret tests and analyze records, reports, and examination information to diagnose patients' condition.Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, students, assistants, specialists, therapists, and other medical staff.Refer patients to medical specialists or other practitioners when necessary.Coordinate work with nurses, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, pharmacists, psychologists, and other health care providers.Plan, implement, or administer health programs or standards in hospitals, businesses, or communities for prevention or treatment of injury or illness.Train residents, medical students, and other health care professionals.Prepare government or organizational reports which include birth, death, and disease statistics, workforce evaluations, or medical status of individuals.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Patient medical histories — collect and document under attending physician supervision in an outpatient family medicine clinic.Diagnostic test orders — initiate and record under direct supervision, following established clinical protocols in a residency training environment.Physical examination findings — perform and transcribe into electronic health records with guidance from supervising physicians on a general practice rotation.Prescribed treatment plans — administer basic medications and therapies under close oversight in accordance with attending-approved care protocols.Laboratory and imaging results — review and interpret with supervisor guidance to support preliminary diagnoses in a clinical training setting.Patient-facing explanations — deliver scripted procedural information and test result summaries under attending physician review in a supervised clinic.Preventive health counseling — provide basic dietary and hygiene guidance to patients using approved educational materials under direct supervision.Specialist referral criteria — recognize and flag patients requiring specialist care, preparing referral documentation with supervisor approval.Clinical documentation standards — apply EHR entry protocols and billing-relevant coding with oversight in a residency or early-career practice environment.Medical literature — read and summarize peer-reviewed sources to support evidence-based care decisions under the direction of supervising clinicians.
developing
Treatment and medication regimens — prescribe and adjust with reduced oversight for common acute and chronic conditions in an established family medicine practice.Diagnostic workups — order, perform, and interpret a full range of office-based tests independently for routine and moderately complex patient presentations.Longitudinal patient records — maintain accurate, complete medical histories and progress notes in an EHR system across a growing panel of patients.Care plan monitoring — reevaluate treatment effectiveness at follow-up visits and modify protocols for stable chronic disease patients with minimal consultation.Patient communication — explain diagnoses, test results, and treatment options clearly and empathetically in a community-based primary care setting.Preventive medicine counseling — advise patients on disease prevention, activity, and lifestyle modification using evidence-based guidelines in routine wellness visits.Clinical team coordination — direct daily tasks of nurses, medical assistants, and students to maintain patient flow and care quality in a busy outpatient clinic.Specialist referral decisions — evaluate complex or ambiguous presentations and initiate timely, well-documented referrals to appropriate specialists.Differential diagnosis reasoning — apply inductive and deductive reasoning to distinguish among multiple diagnoses in patients with overlapping symptom profiles.Time management under volume — prioritize competing patient care demands and administrative responsibilities efficiently within a high-volume practice schedule.
proficient
Complex multi-morbidity management — develop and oversee individualized, integrated care plans for patients with multiple chronic conditions across the full scope of family medicine.Advanced diagnostic interpretation — analyze nuanced laboratory panels, imaging reports, and clinical data autonomously to diagnose rare or atypical presentations.Non-routine treatment decisions — prescribe specialized therapies and manage complex pharmacological regimens for patients where standard protocols are insufficient.Patient safety and risk assessment — apply refined clinical judgment to identify high-risk patients, intervene proactively, and prevent adverse outcomes in a busy practice.Health behavior counseling — deliver sophisticated, individualized counseling on chronic disease prevention, mental health, and social determinants in a community health context.Interprofessional care coordination — direct and align contributions from nurses, therapists, specialists, and behavioral health providers to execute cohesive patient-centered care plans.Population health monitoring — track panel-level health metrics and systematically reevaluate care protocols to improve outcomes across an assigned patient population.Clinical documentation excellence — produce comprehensive, legally defensible, and coding-accurate EHR records that support continuity of care and quality reporting requirements.Medical knowledge application — integrate current biomedical science, pharmacology, and clinical guidelines autonomously to resolve complex, ambiguous clinical problems.Patient advocacy and referral stewardship — negotiate appropriate specialist access, coordinate transitions of care, and ensure follow-through on referrals for high-complexity patients.
advanced
Practice-wide clinical standards — establish and continuously refine evidence-based protocols, clinical pathways, and quality benchmarks across an entire family medicine organization.Physician and trainee development — design and lead mentorship programs, clinical education curricula, and competency assessments for residents, students, and junior physicians.Organizational care quality leadership — direct systematic quality improvement initiatives, analyze population health data, and drive measurable reductions in preventable morbidity.Strategic workforce coordination — oversee recruitment, credentialing, and role optimization for multidisciplinary clinical teams to align staffing with patient care demand.Health policy and community advocacy — represent the organization in health policy forums, community health coalitions, and public health initiatives at a regional or national level.Institutional diagnostic and treatment strategy — set organizational direction for diagnostic technology adoption, formulary management, and treatment innovation in primary care.Cross-system referral networks — build and govern formal partnerships with specialist groups, hospital systems, and behavioral health organizations to ensure seamless patient transitions.Research and scholarly leadership — lead or sponsor clinical research, quality scholarship, and evidence dissemination that advances family medicine practice standards.Patient experience and equity strategy — design practice-wide initiatives to eliminate health disparities, improve patient communication, and embed culturally competent care delivery.Executive team and board advisory — inform strategic decisions of hospital boards, health system executives, and public health agencies using authoritative clinical and operational expertise.
Also known as
687 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
General PhysicianPediatrician, Endocrinology (Air Force 44K3D)Clinical Nurse, Critical Care (Air Force 46N3E)Undersea Medical Officer (Navy 0107)Radiologist, Cardiothoracic Imaging (Air Force 44R4H)Pilot-Physician, General (Air Force 48V1W)Family Nurse Practitioner (Army 66P)Dermatologist, Dermatologic Surgery (Air Force 44S4A)General Medicine Officer (GMO) Flight Surgeon, Bomber (Air Force 48G4R)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Tanker (Air Force 48R4S)Pilot-Physician, Tanker (Air Force 48V4S)Pilot-Physician, C2ISREW (Air Force 48V3Z)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Space Medical Operations Experienced (Air Force 48A1X)Surgeon, Peripheral Vascular (Air Force 45S4E)Pediatrician (Air Force 44KX)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Tanker (Air Force 48A3S)General Surgeon (Army 61J)Gynecologic Surgeon and Obstetrician, Minimally-Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (MIGS) (Air Force 45G4F)General Medicine Officer (GMO) Flight Surgeon, C2ISREW (Air Force 48G3Z)Ophthalmologist (Air Force 45E4)Pediatrician, Infectious Diseases (Air Force 44K4K)Psychiatrist, Child Psychiatry (Air Force 44P4A)Ophthalmologist, Pathology (Air Force 45E3E)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Board eligible in emergency medicine (Air Force 48R4E)Surgeon, Thoracic (Air Force 45S1A)Pilot-Physician (Air Force 48VX)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Special Operations (Air Force 48R1Y)General Medicine Officer (GMO) Flight Surgeon, C2ISREW (Air Force 48G1Z)Psychiatrist (Air Force 44P4)Pilot-Physician, RPA (Air Force 48V3M)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Space Medical Operations Experienced (Air Force 48R1X)Physician Assistant, Emergency Medicine (Air Force 42G3E)Physician Assistant, Aeromedical (Air Force 42G1P)Dermatologist (Air Force 44S1)Internal Medicine Physician, Cardiology (Air Force 44M3B)Internal Medicine Physician, Geriatrics/Palliative Care Medicine (Air Force 44M4K)Urologist, Endourology/Robotics (Air Force 45U4D)Anesthesiologist (Navy 0118)Orthopedic Surgeon (Navy 0244)Podiatry (Army 67G)