| 1. What does a family physician (FP) do? |
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A well-trained family physician is able to deal with eighty percent of health problems that affect the human being, whether the person is
a child, adult, male or female.
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| 2. How do family and general medicine differ? |
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General practitioners start practicing after obtaining their medical degree. FP's, receive four years of structured training after their medical degree. Family medicine is recognized as a specialty by the Lebanese government. This recognition permits FP's to receive higher remuneration for their services by the National Health Service in Lebanon and better salaries.
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| 3. What are the job opportunities for an FP? |
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There is a high need for FP's in the Arab countries; for example,
lately one Arab country had an opening for 50 FP's. In Lebanon, a demand for FP's by insurance companies and non-governmental organizations
has been recently noted. The main drive behind these recruitments is cost-effectiveness.
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| 4. What are the problems that face FP's? |
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FP's in a fee-for-service system are not properly recognized by other specialists. The big supply of physicians is leading to unhealthy competition. Several parties are taking advantage of this situation and do not pay physicians, in general, and FP's, in particular, a decent wage.
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| 5. Is family medicine an easy specialty? |
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Family medicine is a hard specialty. An FP needs to be well acquainted with hundreds of medications and medical conditions. This requires hard work and long hours of continuous medical education.
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