General Internal Medicine Physicians
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1216.00United States
Diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment for a wide range of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems. Provide care mainly for adults and adolescents, and are based primarily in an outpatient care setting.
- Median annual earnings
- $256,097
- Projected change
- +6.8%
- Typical education
- Doctoral degree or more
- Employment
- 76.59K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
100% of the workforce
Growing to 81.77K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What general internal medicine physicians do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Analyze records, reports, test results, or examination information to diagnose medical condition of patient.
- Treat internal disorders, such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, or problems of the lung, brain, kidney, or gastrointestinal tract.
- Prescribe or administer medication, therapy, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.
- Manage and treat common health problems, such as infections, influenza or pneumonia, as well as serious, chronic, and complex illnesses, in adolescents, adults, and the elderly.
- Provide and manage long-term, comprehensive medical care, including diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases, for adult patients in an office or hospital.
- Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.
- Make diagnoses when different illnesses occur together or in situations where the diagnosis may be obscure.
- Advise patients and community members concerning diet, activity, hygiene, and disease prevention.
- Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.
- Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioner when necessary.
- Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical history, reports, or examination results.
- Provide consulting services to other doctors caring for patients with special or difficult problems.
- Advise surgeon of a patient's risk status and recommend appropriate intervention to minimize risk.
- Immunize patients to protect them from preventable diseases.
- Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, students, assistants, specialists, therapists, and other medical staff.
- Prepare government or organizational reports on birth, death, and disease statistics, workforce evaluations, or the medical status of individuals.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $72,227
- 25th percentile
- $124,076
- 50th percentile
- $256,097
- 75th percentile
- $375,134
- 90th percentile
- $481,819
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $256,097 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+6.8%faster than average
202576,586 jobs
2035 projected81,771 jobs
5,185 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Doctoral degree or more
- 100%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Internal Medicine Physicians24,880 postings
- 02Locum Tenens Internal Medicine Physicians2,737 postings
- 03Outpatient Internal Medicine Physicians1,657 postings
- 04Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Physicians1,149 postings
- 05Internal Medicine Physician Assistants924 postings
- 06Critical Care Medicine Physicians341 postings
- 07Internal Medicine Hospitalists Physician330 postings
- 08Palliative Medicine Physicians237 postings
- 09Geriatric Physicians233 postings
- 10Nocturnists181 postings
- 11Hematologists/Oncologists153 postings
- 12Infectious Disease Physicians153 postings
- 13Pulmonology Physicians134 postings
- 14Gastroenterology Physicians/Gastroenterologists131 postings
- 15Dermatology Physicians/Dermatologists93 postings
- 16Hospitalists93 postings
- 17Medicine Physicians92 postings
- 18Urgent Care Physicians85 postings
- 19DO Physicians82 postings
- 20Locum Tenens Oncology Physicians69 postings
Top employers
- 01CompHealth3,266 postings
- 02Enterprise Medical Recruiting2,935 postings
- 03Hayman Daugherty Associates1,461 postings
- 04Integrity Healthcare1,078 postings
- 05The Inline Group1,024 postings
- 06Inspire Healthcare950 postings
- 07AMN Healthcare922 postings
- 08Weatherby Healthcare896 postings
- 09Britt Medical Search871 postings
- 10Physician Empire795 postings
- 11The Curare Group740 postings
- 12VISTA Staffing Solutions674 postings
- 13Surgical Information Systems647 postings
- 14Vohra Wound Physicians630 postings
- 15Health Plus Staffing542 postings
- 16United Staff Physicians464 postings
- 17Medicorp405 postings
- 18Provider Healthcare363 postings
- 19Archway Physician Recruitment354 postings
- 20Jackson Physician Search354 postings
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