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Doctor (General Physician)
Diagnoses and treats illnesses, manages overall patient health, and refers to specialists.
Did you know?
In ancient Egypt, doctors could specialise: the Greek historian Herodotus wrote that each one treated a single kind of illness, such as eyes or teeth.
How subjects help
- Biology: Link a patient's cough, fever and rash to the body system that is going wrong.
- Chemistry: Read blood test results like sugar and salt levels to spot what is out of balance.
- Physics: Listen through a stethoscope and understand how sound carries heartbeats and breathing.
- Mathematics: Work out a child's medicine dose from their weight so it is safe and strong enough.
A famous name
Hippocrates: Ancient Greek physician, often called the father of medicine; the Hippocratic Oath is named after him.
Try it yourself: Take your pulse like a nurse
- Put two fingers (not your thumb) on the inside of your wrist, below your thumb, until you feel a beat.
- Count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4. That is your resting heart rate per minute.
- If you can, do 20 star jumps, then count again straight away.
- Check every minute until it is back to where it started. How long did it take?
Nurses, doctors and paramedics take a pulse all day: it is one of the quickest ways to tell how a body is coping.
Also try: Train steady hands like a surgeon.
Known for it in
USA, Germany, Australia, Canada, UK