For a long time, graduates of internal medicine either joined a large hospital through physician recruitment or alternatively, opted for family practice jobs. There is no denying that family practice is an extremely rewarding field, contributing to the sustained good health of the general population as well as generating tremendous community goodwill for the physicians themselves.

Nevertheless, not all medicine graduates will find themselves excited about the prospect of a career in family practice. Their own inclination may be towards a management post or perhaps, they would prefer the challenge of working as part of team in a larger hospital setup instead of the day to day rhythm of a private practice.

Fortunately, these days there are several options to family practice jobs, one of the most popular of which is the job of a hospitalist. In fact, these days there is a tremendous amount of physician recruitment demand for hospitalists in all major hospitals.

If you are to opt for the position of a hospitalist, you will be directly in charge of the overall health and wellbeing of a patient from the time he or she checks in to the time they are discharged. It will be your duty to assess the exact needs of particular patients and co-ordinate between various other departments to ensure smooth and efficient treatment for their illnesses and conditions. As you can see, the hospitalist’s job requires excellent communication skills as well as management ability. Nevertheless, it is an excellent choice for those who have a knack for interpersonal relations.

Another option for those who prefer a career in the management side of things is to opt for a hospital administrative position. Hospital administrators are not directly in charge of everyday patient care. Rather, it is their job to take care of all the administrative tasks so as to ensure all the various departments of the hospital function smoothly. In other words, they are the ones who actually run the hospitals.

If you would like a career in hospital administration, you will need to go back to school to get a MBA or similar management degree in hospital management. However, it is an extremely rewarding field, both professionally as well as monetarily.

To conclude, it is not necessary that you should opt for a family practice job after graduating internal medicine. Take your time to explore all options before making a final decision. 

Internal medicine graduates or students need to give plenty of thought to the future direction of their careers. While any position in the medical and health care services is ultimately rewarding, choosing the vocation that suits your individual talents and character best ensures both a satisfying professional life as well as the best possible service to the community.

Two main directions that a graduate of internal medicine can expect to take is to either become a hospitalist at a big medical center or hospital or take up family practice jobs that cater to the general public.

The job of the hospitalist is a unique position that has come into being in the last decade or so. The position of the hospitalist was a natural progression of the increasing specialization of medical services. As the medical profession continued to grow more sophisticated, doctors started focusing on narrower and narrower sections of the body.

The increasing amount of specialization naturally meant that these days, in-patient care in a hospital is generally managed by a team of doctors instead of a single physician. However, the sheer number of health care professionals makes it necessary to have a single person who is in charge of coordinating the entire process so that everything goes off smoothly and the patient receives the best and most efficient care possible. This is the job of the hospitalist. He or she is in charge of everything connected with an inpatient’s care, from the time they are admitted into the hospital to the time they are discharged. Hospitals are actively going in for hospitalist physician recruitment and those going in for the profession are sure to be in high demand.

On the other hand, family physician jobs involve taking care of the general health and well-being of the community. All routine illnesses as well as regular health checkups for the entire family are the purview of the family physician. This is one of the oldest of physician jobs and those opting for family practice jobs can be assured of plenty of personal satisfaction and a high standing in the community.

To conclude, both hospitalist jobs as well as family practice is highly rewarding in their own ways. Your decision to choose one or the other should therefore primarily rest on your individual preferences. Regardless of your choice, you can be assured of ample physician recruitment opportunities.