General Internal Medicine Physician

Diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment for a wide range of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems. Provide care mainly for adults and adolescents, and are based primarily in an outpatient care setting.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Doctor; Gastroenterologist; General Internal Medicine Physician; General Internist; Internal Medicine Doctor; Internal Medicine Physician (IM Physician); Internist; Medical Doctor (MD); Physician; Primary Care Physician

Tasks

• Analyze records, reports, test results, or examination information to diagnose medical condition of patient.
• Treat internal disorders, such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, or problems of the lung, brain, kidney, or gastrointestinal tract.
• Prescribe or administer medication, therapy, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.
• Manage and treat common health problems, such as infections, influenza or pneumonia, as well as serious, chronic, and complex illnesses, in adolescents, adults, and the elderly.
• Provide and manage long-term, comprehensive medical care, including diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases, for adult patients in an office or hospital.
• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.
• Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.
• Make diagnoses when different illnesses occur together or in situations where the diagnosis may be obscure.
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioner when necessary.
• Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.
• Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.
• Provide consulting services to other doctors caring for patients with special or difficult problems.
• Advise surgeon of a patient's risk status and recommend appropriate intervention to minimize risk.
• Immunize patients to protect them from preventable diseases.
• Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, students, assistants, specialists, therapists, and other medical staff.

Knowledge

• Medicine and Dentistry
• Biology
• Therapy and Counseling
• Psychology
• Education and Training
• English Language
• Administration and Management
• Customer and Personal Service
• Computers and Electronics
• Mathematics
• Chemistry
• Personnel and Human Resources
• Public Safety and Security
• Administrative
• Economics and Accounting

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Writing
• Speaking
• Science
• Critical Thinking
• Active Learning
• Monitoring
• Learning Strategies

Abilities

• Problem Sensitivity
• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Inductive Reasoning
• Written Comprehension
• Deductive Reasoning
• Written Expression
• Information Ordering
• Category Flexibility
• Near Vision
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Flexibility of Closure
• Fluency of Ideas
• Perceptual Speed
• Selective Attention
• Originality
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Number Facility
• Memorization
• Far Vision