How to Become a General Physician: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Top Colleges, Skills, Scopes, Jobs, Salary 2023

All About Career as a General Physician

Out of the millions of candidates who desire to become doctors every year only 20% of the total candidates fulfill their dreams. The procedure to become a General Physician is very methodical and accurate, one has to spot on the subject combination in class 12th, eligibility criteria to appear for NEET, and also do an internship.

Find Out: MBBS Syllabus in Details

How to Become a General Physician: Subject Combination

Aspirant General Physicians should know that their choice of courses in class 12th will impact their MBBS Admission 2023 and MD Admission 2023. One must pursue Science subjects in their 12th class with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics.

How to Become a Doctor: Eligibility Criteria

If a candidate is appearing for NEET in order to become a general physican then they must check the NEET eligibility criteria, and if they want to appear for NEET-PG, they should look for NEET-PG Eligibility criteria.

• Candidates must have completed 17 years of age while taking admission in the undergraduate course.
• The upper age limit to appear for NEET is 25 years which has a reduction upto 5 years for SC/ST/OBC/EWS.
• In a foreign country Indian candidates who wish to pursue MBBS will also have to come into view for NEET.
• In a foreign country Citizens of India, Non-Resident of India, Persons with Indian origin will have to track the regulations framed by the state government.
• The NEET PG 2023 Eligibility Criteria is that the candidate is required to have an MBBS degree along with an internship to be completed on or before June 30, 2023.
• Indian citizens or foreign citizens who have completed MBBS from Medical Colleges abroad and have qualified the FMGE Screening Test can apply for NEET-PG 2023 too.

Check Out: MBBS Abroad 

Entrance Exam Required

NEET is required for the students who wish to become a general physician

• NEET is conducted by the National Testing Agency for all the candidates who want to pursue MBBS for the next 5 years. 
• NTA conducts this exam in offline mode, and candidates must have completed their 12th class with relevant subjects. 
• NEET is conducted in 11 special languages, and all other important information has been given below.
• NEET PG is conducted by National Board of Examination (NBE) for those who want to pursue MD after qualifying MBBS.
• NEET-PG is conducted online in the English language for a duration of 3 hrs 30 mins. 
• NEET PG Question Paper is divided into 3 parts i.e. Pre-Clinical, Para-Clinical, and Clinical.

Role of a General Physician 

General physicians are consultants who take care of patients. General physicians only see patients who are referred to them by other doctors.

Global Approach 

Whether the referral identified one health problem or many health problems, it should always be noted that a general physician's assessment is always comprehensive. This kind of global approach enables problems to be detected which might otherwise be missed.

Complex Care 

General physicians are specially trained to take care of patients with complex illnesses, in which the diagnosis may be difficult. The broad training of general physicians provides them expertise in diagnosis and treatment of problems affecting different organ systems in a patient. They are also trained to deal with the social and psychological impact of disease on patients.

Procedures

General physicians are trained to carry out a variety of medical procedures and run medical tests for the diagnosis of problems and management of patients with severe and complex illnesses.

Diagnosis 

General physicians use diagnostic tests logically, safely, and effectively to investigate problems.

Treatment 

General physicians are trained in the analysis of research reports and drug industry claims about new treatments. They have plenty of knowledge about complex interactions of medications given simultaneously to treat multiple illnesses in a patient. The general physician has special expertise in making treatment calls to help patients with complex and serious illnesses.

Pre- and Post-Operative assessment 

General physicians review patients before surgery. They advise surgeons about potential patient's risk status and can recommend appropriate measures to minimise the risk of the operation. They can also assist in postoperative care and ongoing medical complications.

Steps to Follow to Become a General Physician

There are some significant steps that can be followed to know how to become General Physician after 12th, the steps that can be followed are given below:

Make a Decision

Before candidates start pursuing their career in the medical field, they must be aware of the subjects they need to study for MBBS and MD, whether they have interest in those subjects and how they can prepare for NEET. General physicians are required to work with utter dedication and for long and odd hours, so one must be mentally prepared for such hectic schedules ahead.

Choose the Right Subjects

The first and the primary step is to choose the correct subject for class 12th  subjects, such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology. These are the greatest subject combinations to take up medicine as a career option. Candidates have to be very sure that these subjects do not disinterest them, only then they can do higher studies in the medical field.

Prepare for NEET 2023

After appearing for class 12th candidate can appear for the NEET entrance examination and only after qualifying in NEET candidate would be able to start with their MBBS courses. After qualifying the NEET examination, every candidate would be given a particular college via counseling where they can start their bachelor course

Choose the Right College

If candidates are aiming to get admission in government colleges then they will have to score really high scores in NEET. If their score is less then they can go for any private medical Institution, which accepts their scores.

Pursue Internship

After finishing the 5 years course, every candidate has to do a one-year residential internship. Usually right after the course is complete, most candidates  are offered internships in their particular colleges.

How to Become a General Physician in India?

• Candidates who wish to know how to become a General Physician in India must start preparation from class 10th onwards.
• Every candidate who wants to become a General Physician must have science subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics in class 12th. 
• Candidates must prepare for NEET from class 11th in order to get high scores. Many institutes propose preparation and guidance for candidates who want to apply for NEET.
• After completion of class 12th, candidates will have to clear the entrance examination and complete a 5 years MBBS course. 
• The bachelor course is for 5 years in India and then will have to do an internship for 5 months.
• After MBBS, the General Physician will do an internship for a year and then can pursue advanced education to become MD and MS which is the chief degree in doctor.

Find Out: MBBS Vs MD

Courses to Become a General Physicians

The courses to become a general physician in India are a 5.5 years MBBS course, followed by a 2 years MD course, preferably MD in General Medicine. One can get various job scope after doing MBBS. 

MBBS 

MBBS, full form, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, is a 5.5-years duration course on medical science comprising a 1 year compulsory Internship that candidates need to do within these 5.5 years. 

Check Out: Courses After MBBS

MD

MD in General Medicine is a 2 years postgraduate course in medicine pursued after MBBS to become a general physician. The eligibility for MD is a MBBS degree with minimum aggregate marks as required by the institute offering MD admissions.

How to Become a General Physician Abroad

The top countries to become a general physician abroad are USA, UK, Canada and Australia. They offer MBBS course for a duration of 5-6 years, the eligibility to pursue MBBS abroad is passing of class 12th with biology as main subjects, clearing NEET with a valid score and passing NMAT test.

Eligibility

• Candidates must have pursued biology in the previous course they studied.
• Candidates will have to appear for the National Medical Admission test.
• Candidates clearing the NMAT will be summoned for further rounds of discussion and interviews for admission.
• Like Indian Medical Courses, all other medical courses abroad require an internship.
• Some of the internships that are accepted by medical colleges abroad are: World Internship, ELI Internship, Cross Cultural Solutions, Projects Abroad, Volunteering journeys.

Colleges offering MBBS Courses Abroad 

Colleges offering MD Courses Abroad 

Benefits of a Career as a General Physician

Being a General Physician is one of the most apparent professions and candidates have a variety of advantages of doing this job. If they have an adoration for science and medicine, then this profession may give all that they ask for in life. Here are some of the benefits given below:

High Pay

Physicians are one of the most well-paid professions in the world. According to a survey in 2018, the median salary of physicians increased up to 2.92% despite no or little increase in productivity.

Job Security

The job of a physician is very well secured as the number of patients increases day by day and hospitals have a lower number of physicians to treat them. Hence, the demand for physicians is only expected to increase and no chances of deployment is expected to occur.

Helping Others

Physicians derive satisfaction from helping others. The patients appreciate and respect the physicians who treat them, this gives them the motivation to work for the people and pursue a career as a general physician.

Career Progression

The career of a doctor has no end, finishing the MBBS is just the beginning. Then they will have to do an internship and then they will be recruited in some hospital as a permanent doctor. After becoming a doctor, they can also pursue a masters degree to become MS or MD. Then for the rest of their life they can treat a range of patients with various complexities and full of challenges.

Skills Required to Become a General Physician

Career as a General Physician: Top Recruiters

General physicians are employed in government and private hospitals. Most of them choose to open their own clinics and practice medicine. Some of the top recruiters of general physicians are mentioned below:

Salary of a General Physician

The average monthly salary of a general physician is INR 1,51,500 in the government sector and INR 56,000 in the private sector. With years of experience, a head physician can earn around INR 12,10,529 per annum.

Sector Wise Salary

Experience Wise Salary