General medicine is probably the widest branch of medicine. It is the art of analyzing the human body and making decisions based on visible symptoms, so as to understand what special treatment can be given for a specific disease!
The historical roots and origins of general medicine is pretty vast, where contributions from different regions, cultures, religions, creeds and castes, have been made significantly.
To be precise, it is today that we have so many specializations in the field of medical sciences. Previously, a doctor used to be the one, who could cure any disease. Believe it or not, that’s what the common mass and society used to think of a doctor! But things have now changed, and the study of medicine has been split into several subparts, to fuel each branch separately.
What is the role of general medicine and a general physician?
General medicine is the study of an individual patient, where all the body functionality is taken into consideration together, while doing assessment.
And, what is a general physician? A general physician is the one who practices general medicine.
To understand the role of a general physician one has to understand that the human body is made up of several multi-organ structures where each functions uniquely on its own, but one organ is very much dependent on the other, and the whole body gets affected if any such multi-organ structure fails to perform as they are supposed to perform!
Like say for example, if the liver doesn’t function well, then the kidneys are affected too. Once the kidneys are affected other organs follow up pretty soon!
Hence, a doctor in his first step to become a well recognised practitioner, should undergo a vivid and detailed understanding of the human body as a whole and one functioning entity. This understanding is what signifies the proper role of general medicine!
So, general medicine is the framework treatment, upon which the various specialised treatments are based on!
General physicians on the other hand are the expert practitioners who will identify the underlying cause of any health issue. Required treatment and medication will then be provided to the patient for temporary or long term cure!
Once the root of the problem is identified, the attention is now fixed on that particular part of the body for further diagnosis! This is when the treatment gets projected out from the vicinity of general medicine, and enters into the field of specialised diagnosis.
An example of this could be, suppose you have an infection in your intestinal tract.
Fever, body ache, loss of appetite, rashes, etc are some of the most common symptoms of such an infection.
But the general physician need to examine each and every part of your body minutely to understand what is causing such symptoms, as such symptoms are shared by many other diseases and infections! He just can’t readily say that you have an infection in your intestine!
So, the first thing that will be taken care of, is your fever, body ache and appetite, so as to calm you down, while the doctor keeps on carrying the treatment!
Once the problem is identified, the general physician will refer you to a gastroenterologist for special cure!
Hence to sum up you can say, general medicine is the first step towards solving a health issue, and building the patient’s case history from scratch!
Once the treatment onset is made, the health problem might get transferred to other specialised branches of medicine, for special treatment.
And the role of a general physician is to carry on the practice of general medicine and devise foundation treatment for any kind of illnesses!
How to identify the best general physician?
I always think of medicine industry as one of the most integral part of our human society and civilisation. Growing up in India, Kolkata, I have seen what the status of medical science is, in a developing country.
People out here are always baffled and confused when they have to deal with serious health issues, where successive cases of wrong treatments by well known doctors are quite common.
However, I recently came to know of some of the best general physicians in New Town Kolkata. This panel of doctors are currently stationed in New Town Clinic, and offer top-notch treatment in the city of Kolkata, India. If you are a calcuttan, or encounter any medical condition while in Kolkata, then don’t forget to pay a visit to the clinic!
In the meantime, not getting derailed, let’s come back to the topic and see the traits of a good general physician:
- The doctor should be well versed in various drugs and medicines, and should have a clear concept of the uses and adverse effects of a medicine / drug.
- The doctor does a thorough checkup of your body, and says words that make sense to you! Anytime if you feel you are confused, question the doctor. Because, remember, he is still a student, and he is still learning.
- The doctor seems confident in understanding your illness, and prescribing you the medicines!
- You have the full right to know what’s wrong with you, and if the doctor tries to skip a conversation regarding what the exact disease or illness is, then you should frown a little, and be assured that he is not the right doctor for you.
