Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code ISC

Preventive Medicine Physicians

Apply knowledge of general preventive medicine and public health issues to promote health care to groups or individuals, and aid in the prevention or reduction of risk of disease, injury, disability, or death. May practice population-based medicine or diagnose and treat patients in the context of clinical health promotion and disease prevention.

Also called: Occupational Medicine Physician, Physician, Public Health Officer, Public Health Physician, Occupational Physician, Preventive Medicine Physician, Primary Clinician.

O*NET 29-1229.05

At a glance

US median annual pay: $265,930; Middle half earn $102,930 to $378,770. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training; 74% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Direct or manage prevention programs in specialty areas such as aerospace, occupational, infectious disease, and environmental medicine.
Document or review comprehensive patients' histories with an emphasis on occupation or environmental risks.
Identify groups at risk for specific preventable diseases or injuries.
Perform epidemiological investigations of acute and chronic diseases.
Supervise or coordinate the work of physicians, nurses, statisticians, or other professional staff members.
Design or use surveillance tools, such as screening, lab reports, and vital records, to identify health risks.
Direct public health education programs dealing with topics such as preventable diseases, injuries, nutrition, food service sanitation, water supply safety, sewage and waste disposal, insect control, and immunizations.
Evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed risk reduction measures or other interventions.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.4 / 5
Active Listening4.3 / 5
Speaking4.3 / 5
Critical Thinking4.3 / 5
Writing4.1 / 5
Monitoring4.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry4.7 / 5
Biology4.4 / 5
English Language4.3 / 5
Education and Training4.0 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.9 / 5
Psychology3.8 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic40
Investigative95
Artistic15
Social74
Enterprising23
Conventional40

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

general practitioner · DE Arzt für Allgemeinmedizin/Ärztin für Allgemeinmedizin · FR médecin généraliste
specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Generalist medical practitioners (2211)197,900 employed
Specialist medical practitioners and consultants (2212)154,900 employed
Other health professionals n.e.c. (2259)111,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test