Applicants are often confused by the job titles of primary care physicians in the Gulf States. General Practitioners, as specialists in primary medical care, are titled family physicians with job titles of Consultant or Specialist in Family Medicine depending upon hospital or clinic and level of experience.

The title general practitioner is reserved for non specialist medical officers and should not be confused with the role of family physician whilst applying for jobs in this region.

For more information, read A Guide to Global Medical Job Titles for Doctor Job Applicants

Family physicians in the Middle East are usually employed in hospital family medicine departments or polyclinics where they work with other specialists providing medical services to out patients. 

Internists, ENT Surgeons, Paediatricians and Dermatologists may practice within the same clinic providing  instant specialist referral support.

The work is office based and consists of a series of out patient consultations,  booked and walk in. There are no on call duties or home visits but office hours can be long. Telemedicine consultations are often included. 

Enhanced specialist skills are rarely sought or encouraged.

In the Middle East, it is unusual to find the fee for service model of family medicine / general practice remuneration which is prevalent in Canada, USA and Australia. 

Most family physicians are employed and receive a salary, paid monthly at a level determined by level of experience. In the private sector, this may be supplemented with an incentive scheme which is performance based and permits retention of a defined percentage of the revenue generated from the practice. 

Each jurisdiction in the Middle East has its own professional regulatory authority for the registration and licensing of family physicians. The criteria for registration vary to some degree, but all require a DataFlow Report. This is a report confirming primary source verification of qualifications, professional practice experience and professional regulation. 

Read how to obtain a Dataflow Report: A Guide to the DataFlow Report for Doctors Aiming to Practise in the Middle East Gulf States.

All regulatory authorities have a list of accepeted specialist qualifications in family medicine which must be obtained after completion of a residency program.

Some regulators require applicants to take an examination. 

To be eligible for a family physician consultant position you must have one of the qualifications listed below and a minimum of 1-5 years independent practice experience as a general practitioner or family physician following completion of structured postgraduate training or residency program and board certification, fellowship or certificate of completion of training. 

The precise minimum experience requirement varies according to the credentialing requirements of the medical regulatory authority and the privileging requirements of the hiring facility.

Approved Qualifications:

• UK: MRCGP and CCT
• Ireland: MICGP
• Canada: CFPC
• USA: American Board of Family Medicine
• Australia: FRACGP
• South Africa: FCFM
• Germany: Facharzt
• France: DES
• Italy: Italian Board of General Practice
• Spain: Spanish Board of General Practice
• Portugal: Portuguese Board of General Practice 
• Sweden: Swedish Board of General Practice
• Norway: Norwegian Board of General Practice
• Denmark: Danish Board of General Practice