What is Family Medicine and Family Doctor?

Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body.

The names of the specialty emphasize its holistic nature and/or its roots in the family. It is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. According to the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), the aim of family medicine is "promoting personal, comprehensive and continuing care for the individual in the context of the family and the community".

The specialty focuses on treating the whole person, acknowledging the effects of all outside influences, through all stages of life. Family physicians will see anyone with any problem, but are experts in common problems. 

Family physicians complete an undergraduate degree, medical school, and three more years of specialized medical residency training in family medicine. Their residency training includes rotations in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry, surgery, emergency medicine, and geriatrics, in addition to electives in a wide range of other disciplines.