Specialist Physicians (General Medicine)

ANZSCO ID 253311

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
670
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
79%
Female Share
27%
Average age
52

Summary

Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) investigate and diagnose internal human disorders and diseases, and administer treatment.

Tasks

  • Examines patients to determine the nature and extent of problems after referral from general medical practitioners and other medical specialists, and undertakes laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures.

  • Analyses test results and other medical information to make diagnoses.

  • Prescribes and administers drugs, as well as remedial and therapeutic treatment and procedures.

  • Records medical information and data.

  • Reports specified contagious and notifiable diseases to government health and immigration authorities.

  • May admit or refer patients to hospitals.

  • May consult other medical specialists.


Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Specialist Physicians, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 79% of people employed as Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 13 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 49 hours per week in their main job. This is 5 hours more than the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Health Care and Social Assistance
95.6%
2
Public Administration and Safety
1.4%
3
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
1.2%
4
Education and Training
0.5%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

27.2% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

25.3% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

19.8% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

10.5% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

10.4% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

2.2% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

1.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

3.0% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) All Jobs Average
NSW 27.2 31.6
VIC 25.3 25.6
QLD 19.8 20.0
SA 10.5 7.0
WA 10.4 10.8
TAS 2.2 2.0
NT 1.6 1.0
ACT 3.0 1.9


  • Around 73% of Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    South Australia has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
52
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
27%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) is 52 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 27% of the workforce. This is 21 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) All Jobs Average
15-19 0.0 5.0
20-24 0.4 9.3
25-34 4.6 22.9
35-44 26.4 22.0
45-54 27.0 21.6
55-59 12.3 9.0
60-64 9.3 6.0
65 and Over 19.9 4.2
Median Age 52 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Medical practitioners need to undertake a fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to become a Specialist Physician (General Medicine).

Registration with the Medical Board of Australia is required.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Specialist Physicians (General Medicine) All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 64.6 10.1
Bachelor degree 34.3 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 0.6 11.6
Certificate III/IV 0.0 21.1
Year 12 0.5 18.1
Year 11 0.0 4.8
Year 10 and below 0.0 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Specialist Physicians who are caring, compassionate, empathetic and work well in a team.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 68%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 68%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 66%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 63%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 61%

    Science

    Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

  • 61%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 61%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 61%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 59%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 57%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 57%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 57%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 55%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 55%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 54%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 52%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 50%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 48%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 46%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 43%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 90%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 88%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 86%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 80%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 69%

    Biology

    Plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, how they rely on and work with each other and the environment.

  • 63%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 62%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 59%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 49%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 46%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 45%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 45%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 44%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 44%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 38%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 35%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.

  • 33%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 30%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 29%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 26%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 77%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 73%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 71%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 71%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 70%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 64%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 63%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 57%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 55%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 52%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 50%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 50%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 50%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 48%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 45%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 45%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 43%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 43%

    Speed of recognition

    Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 41%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 37%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 83%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 80%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 80%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 77%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 76%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 71%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 67%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 66%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 65%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 63%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 62%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 62%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 60%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 60%

    Giving expert advice

    Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups.

  • 57%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 54%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 53%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 49%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 48%

    Estimating amounts, costs and resources

    Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

  • 40%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 86%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 57%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 38%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 38%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 29%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 95%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 90%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 90%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 90%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 86%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 71%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 100%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 99%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 98%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 97%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 96%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 96%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 96%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 95%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 93%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 92%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 92%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 92%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 92%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 90%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 84%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 82%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 82%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 81%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 78%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 73%

    Responsible for outcomes

    Take responsibility for the results of other people's work.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 29-1062.00 - Family and General Practitioners.


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