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General Practice
General practice is an old term for a medical practice in
which all types of medical problems are seen. General
practice involves knowledge of surgery, internal
medicine (the study of the organs inside the body and
diseases of these organs), pediatrics (the study of the
care and development of children), and obstetrics.
Obstetrics is the science that deals with the care of
women and their fetuses (developing babies) during
pregnancy and childbirth, and during the events that
come before and soon after birth.
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General practice has been replaced by family practice because the training of family
practitioners is broader. In addition, training opportunities in general practice after
graduation from medical school became limited and there was no way to become board
certified in general practice, unlike in family practice. Board certification means that one
has been recognized by a board of peers (other doctors in one's area of study) that
he/she has met the rigorous standards necessary to practice in a specific field of study.
Someone who specializes in general practice is known as a general practitioner. General
practice comes from the Latin word "genus" meaning "household," and the Greek word
"praktikos" meaning "practice." Put the two words together and you have "class practice,"
where class refers to a group.
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