Specialised doctors prevent, diagnose and treat diseases depending on their medical or surgical specialty.

Tasks

Tasks include -
(a) Conducting physical examinations of patients and interviewing them and their families to determine their health status;
(b) Considering medical information provided by a referring doctor or other health care provider;
(c) Ordering specialized diagnostic tests to determine the nature of disorders or illnesses;
(d) Prescribing, administering and monitoring patients' responses to treatments, medications, anaesthetics, psychotherapies, physical rehabilitation programmes and other preventive and curative measures;
(e) Performing surgery of a general or specialized nature;
(f) Managing complications before, during and after childbirth;
(g) Recording patients' medical information and exchanging information with other health professionals to ensure the provision of comprehensive care;
(h) Reporting births, deaths and notifiable diseases to government authorities to meet legal and professional requirements;
(i) Providing information to patients and families and communities about preventive measures, treatment and care for specific ailments;
(j) Performing autopsies to determine cause of death;
(k) Conducting research into specific human disorders and illnesses and preventive or curative methods and disseminating the findings such as through scientific reports;
(l) Planning and participating in programmes designed to prevent the occurrence and spread of specific diseases.