Family Practice or Family Medicine is, in my opinion, the specialty of taking care of whole people and families, growing with them, taking care of all the members of the family from newborn or even preconception until senior citizens. Taking care of their medical, minor surgical, psychological needs and for women their  gynecological needs .  As a Family Physician I can generally take care of approximately 90% of the problems that people walk in the door with and the other 10% I know the best consultant to refer you to, as well as coordinating your care amongst the different consultants or specialists. This is more than being a "gatekeeper”. By taking care of the whole family for years and for generations it puts me in a unique position to be of maximal service to my patients. If you would like to know more about family practice I would refer you to the AAFP- Academy of Family Physicians. AAFP