Global Health System

Global Health System

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Global Health System

Introduction

Healthcare is one of the most important sectors in community services. Healthcare services refer to the delivery, maintenance, and improvement of the health by preventing, diagnosing, treatment of diseases, injuries, illnesses, and various other mental and physical impairments. These healthcare services are provided by professionals in the area of healthcare all over the world (Shanafelt, et al., 2012). These professionals may be serving to all the patients of the community in general or maybe specialists in their fields like a pediatrician, nutritionists, ENT specialists, physiotherapists, psychotherapists, etc. General physicians have different qualification requirements and job duties in different countries of the world. Their salaries also vary according to the geographical region and duties. The following description entails the difference between the qualifications, job duties, and the salaries of general physicians working in the United States of America and Africa.

Discussion

Africa

Qualification

In Africa, if a person wants to become a doctor or a general physician, he or she should complete a five years degree in medicine. The requirements to enter in this program vary from country to country, but one of the common requirements in almost all the countries is GCSE. A person needs to have at least five GCSEs at a minimum of a grade A+ or A, with at least B grade in English or Maths.

Job Duties

In Africa, the job duties of a district family physician also vary from region to region. They strive to provide case studies and evidence for the development and improvement of the medical practices being carried on in the region. These medical practitioners also carry on different preventive measures like vaccination and setting up medical camps in order to provide a better quality of medical services to the people.

Salary

The salaries of general physicians vary all across the region in Africa. The lowest average monthly salary for a doctor ranges between $3,119 and $3187, whereas the highest salary range per month is $3,141 uptil $5161 (Hagopian, et al., 2004). The salaries of the doctors in the area of South Africa and Namibia are even better as they take home $3,402 and $3120 on a monthly basis, respectively.

United States of America

Qualification

To become a doctor in United States, a student must complete a four year M.D. degree program along with medical residency. These courses must be followed by a degree in biology or pre-medicine which also comprises of four years. It is mandatory as it enables medical students to get state licensure and start practicing their medical career.

Job Duties

Just like the rest of the world, doctors and physicians all over the United States of America also diagnose and treat various illnesses and injuries. They examine their patients along with taking the medical histories and then prescribe medicines according to their medical condition.

Salary

According to reliable sources, and multiple surveys and reports, the average salary of the medical practitioners in the United States are much higher as compared the average salary of a general physician in Africa. According to a report published by Medscape, the average salary of a physician is $294000 per annum (Rosenblatt, & Hart, 2000). However, these salaries vary according to the locality and the specialty of the physician.

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that the delivery of healthcare services does not vary much all over the world. No matter what the country is, the basic role or functions of a healthcare physician remain the same. In every country or the geographical region, the basic role that a physician has to play is the proper delivery and maintenance of the health in the given community. These physicians make sure that the people in the community are free from the physical and mental ailments and receive proper medical care when needed. These physicians also take preventive measures, in the form of vaccines so that the occurrence of diseases can be avoided. The qualifications required to become a physician also do not vary much. In almost all countries, a degree of five years is required in order to start a career as a physician. The only difference that lies in the physicians or medical practitioners of different types is in the salary. The salaries of physicians in the United States are much higher as compared to the salaries in the region of Africa.

References

Hagopian, A., Thompson, M. J., Fordyce, M., Johnson, K. E., & Hart, L. G. (2004). The migration of physicians from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States of America: measures of the African brain drain. Human resources for health, 2(1), 17.

Rosenblatt, R. A., & Hart, L. G. (2000). Physicians and rural America. Western Journal of Medicine, 173(5), 348.

Shanafelt, T. D., Boone, S., Tan, L., Dyrbye, L. N., Sotile, W., Satele, D., ... & Oreskovich, M. R. (2012). Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population. Archives of internal medicine, 172(18), 1377-1385.