Physician

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Physician

The Doctor by Luke Fildes (detail)[1]
Occupation
Names	Physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor or simply doctor
Occupation type	Professional
Activity sectors	Medicine, health care
Description
Qualities	The ethics, art and science of medicine, analytical skills, critical thinking, Lifestyle and Food science
Education required	MBBS, MD, MDCM, or DO, Template:Doctor of Indian medicine
Fields of employment	Clinics, hospitals
Related jobs	General practitioner Family physician Surgeon Specialist physician

A physician or medical doctor is a person who uses medicine to treat illness and injuries to improve a patient's health.

In most countries, the basic medical degree qualifies a person to treat patients and prescribe appropriate treatment, including drugs. A physician may also do the simplest kinds of surgery.

1. ↑ In 1949, Fildes' painting The Doctor was used by the American Medical Association in a campaign against a proposal for nationalized medical care put forth by President Harry S. Truman. The image was used in posters and brochures along with the slogan, "Keep Politics Out of this Picture" implying that involvement of the government in medical care would negatively affect the quality of care. 65,000 Posters of The Doctor were displayed, which helped to raise public skepticism for the nationalized healthcare campaign.