A physician (also called doctor in some places) is a person who practices medicine. See that article for more information on what physicians do in their practices; this article focuses on physician training and regulation.

In the United States, the term physician is traditional and commonly used. In Britain & Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, the term doctor is more common (and in formal/legal contexts, medical practitioner as well), as physician refers to specialists in internal medicine.

Because of the extensive training requirements, physicians are traditionally considered to be members of a learned profession.