How to become a generalist medical practitioner
Official title: Generalist medical practitioners
Also called: District medical doctor-therapist, Family medical practitioner, General practitioner, Medical doctor (general), Medical officer (general), Physician (general), Primary health care physician, Resident medical officer specializing in general practice
Generalist medical practitioners (including family and primary care doctors) diagnose, treat and prevent illness, disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments and maintain general health in humans through application of the principles and procedures of modern medicine. They do not limit their practice to certain disease categories or methods of treatment, and may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families and communities.
Main tasks
- Conducting physical examinations of patients and interviewing them and their families to determine their health status
- Ordering laboratory tests, X-rays and other diagnostic procedures and analysing findings to determine the nature of disorders or illnesses
- Providing continuing medical care for patients including prescribing, administering, counselling on and monitoring curative treatments and preventive measures
- Performing surgery and other clinical procedures
- Advising individuals, families and communities on health, nutrition and lifestyle which aid prevention or treatment of disease and disorders
- Providing referrals to patients and families for specialized care in hospitals, rehabilitation centres or other types of health care centres
- Identifying, managing and providing referrals for complications before, during and after childbirth
- Recording patients’ medical information and history and exchanging information with specialist practitioners and other health workers as required for continuing medical care
- Reporting births, deaths and notifiable diseases to government authorities to meet legal and professional requirements
- Conducting research in human health and medical services and disseminating the findings such as through scientific reports
Ways in
- University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 9 universities in Hong Kong
- Licence or registration: Registering body: Medical Council of Hong Kong. Law: Medical Registration Ordinance (醫生註冊條例), Cap. 161. Summary by Peernovo; check the body's current rules.
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$48,000 a month
- About 1,542,900 people in 2025, and about 1,639,100 projected by 2028. (+6.2%)
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a generalist medical practitioner?
Ways in include: Medicine & Dentistry degrees.
Do you need a degree to become a generalist medical practitioner?
Usually. 88% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a generalist medical practitioner?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026