Doctor of medicine profession (MD)

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Types of health care providers

SCOPE OF PRACTICE

The practice of medicine includes the diagnosis, treatment, correction, advisement, or prescription for any human disease, ailment, injury, infirmity, deformity, pain or other condition, physical or mental, real or imaginary.

PRACTICE SETTINGS

MDs may be found within a wide range of practice settings, including private practices, group practices, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, teaching facilities, and public health organizations.

REGULATION OF THE PROFESSION

Medicine, like many other professions, is regulated at 2 different levels:

• Licensure is a process that takes place at the state level in accordance with specific state laws.
• Certification is established through national organizations with requirements for minimal professional practice standards being consistent nationally.

Licensure: All states require applicants for MD licensure to be graduates of an approved medical school and complete the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) Steps 1 - 3. Steps 1 and 2 are completed while in medical school and step 3 is completed after some medical training (usually between 12 - 18 months, depending on the state). People who obtained their medical degrees in other countries also must satisfy these requirements before practicing medicine in the United States.

With the inception of telemedicine, there has been concern as to how to handle state licensure issues when medicine is being shared between states through telecommunications. Laws and guidelines are being addressed.

Certification: MDs who wish to specialize must complete an additional 3 - 4 years of postgraduate work within their area of specialty, then pass board certification examinations. Doctors who claim to practice within one of the specialties should therefore be board-certified within that specific area of practice.

See also types of health care providers.

Review Date: 01/22/2007
Reviewed By: Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.