They can choose to specialise in a particular area of medicine for example cardiologists are physicians who specialise in diseases of the heart and endocrinologists look after people with diabetes and other glandular disorders. Physicians are not surgeons. Surgeons perform operations. Some physicians may do procedures to assist in finding out what is wrong with you but surgeons do major operations. Your physician may refer you to a surgeon for an operation once he has diagnosed your condition.
Physicians also handle the illnesses of infants, children and adolescents.
These physicians are called paediatricians. The Royal Australasian College of Physicians trains already qualified Doctors to become physicians. Physician training takes a minimum of six years. Your GP will decide if you need to see a physician and will provide a letter of referral to the appropriate specialist for your condition.