A person trained and licensed to practice medicine.
A professional person qualified by education and authorized by law (usually by having obtained a license) to practice medicine.
A registered doctor who is not a surgeon.
A health professional who has the degree of doctor of medicine, or M.D. The term may also be used to refer to an osteopathic physician, a health professional who has the degree of doctor of osteopathy, or D.O. Many physicians are general practitioners (GPs), today more often called family- practice physicians, who provide medical care to people of any age and of either sex, treating all aspects of a patient’s care; they are primary health care providers who act as a patient’s “first port of call.” If the condition warrants it, a patient will be referred to a specialist, a physician with advanced training and experience in certain areas of medical care, such as a pediatrician, who specializes in treating children, or a neonatologist, who specializes in treating newborns.
A person qualified by a doctor’s degree in medicine (allopathy, homeopathy, or osteopathy). To practice, a physician must also be licensed by the state. Note that “physician” is the generic term; a surgeon is also a physician, but a physician is not necessarily a surgeon.
A person licensed to practice medicine; a doctor of medicine. Physicians must successfully complete a rigorous course of instruction and training, including 4 years of graduate medical education. After graduating from medical school, all states require that a physician complete at least one year of postgraduate training in order to become eligible for licensure. Doctors who specialize in various fields (such as pediatrics, family medicine, or dermatology) receive additional postdoctoral residency training.
A registered medical practitioner who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disease by other than surgical means. In the USA the term is applied to any authorized medical practitioner.
A person who has successfully completed the prescribed course of studies in medicine in a medical school officially recognized by the country in which it is located, and who has acquired the requisite qualifications for licensure in the practice of medicine.
A medical doctor; a person who has earned a medical degree.