Physician vs. Clinician

Main Difference

The main difference between Physician and Clinician is that the Physician is a professional who practices medicine and Clinician is a a health care professional that works as a primary care giver of a patient in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, clinic, or patient’s home

• Physician

  A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a professional who practises medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining, or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment—known as specialities—or they may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities—known as general practice. Medical practice properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine.

  Both the role of the physician and the meaning of the word itself vary around the world. Degrees and other qualifications vary widely, but there are some common elements, such as medical ethics requiring that physicians show consideration, compassion, and benevolence for their patients.

• Clinician

  A clinician is a health care professional who works as a caregiver of a patient in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, clinic, or patient’s home. Clinicians work directly with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher. A clinician may diagnose, treat, and otherwise care for patients. For example, physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical pharmacists, speech-language pathologists (SLP), and speech-language pathology assistants (SLPA) are clinicians. Midwives can be considered clinicians, although some midwives may emphasize de-medicalizing giving birth. Many clinicians take comprehensive exams to be licensed and some complete graduate degrees (master’s or doctorates) in their field of expertise.

  A main function of a clinician is to manage a sick person in order to cure the effects of their illness.

  The clinician can also consider the impact of illness upon the patient and his family as well as other social factors.