Internal Medicine

The term internal medicine refers specifically to the health care practice the specializes in diagnosing and treating serious adult diseases. Generally, someone who is studying internal medicine focuses one a one organ specialty. There are seventeen different sub specialties within internal medicine. These sub specialties include adolescent medicine, advanced heart failure, allergies and immunology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology. Internal medicine also includes the specialties of infectious diseases, pulmonary diseases, and medical oncology. Medical oncology is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of tumors. This often involves surgery, as well as chemotherapy and radiation. The field of infectious diseases focuses on the treatment of illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites. The sub field of internal medicine known as pulmonary disease deal with lung disease and abnormalities of the respiratory system. Symptoms of these abnormalities include, but are not limited to chest pain, coughing and the production of mucus and phlegm. Internal medicine also includes other sub specialties such as cardiovascular disease, critical care medicine, endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, hematology, nephrology, rheumatology and sleep medicine. The sub specialty nephrology deals with everything related to diseases of the kidneys or functions of the kidneys. Gastroenterology is a field that is dedicated to the study of the digestive system. Cardiovascular disease deals with diseases of the heart and arteries. Hematology focuses primarily on blood and diseases or disorders of the blood and the sub specialty of endocrinology in concerned with hormones and hormone regulation.

Internal medicine doctors are doctors that have studied to specialize in these adult diseases. Internal medicine doctors are called internists and have spent at least three years studying how to diagnose and treat adult diseases. Someone who wishes to become an internal medicine doctor must complete a four year undergraduate program, a medical graduate program, complete a year long internship and spend three years in a residency. Internal medicine doctors must also pass a licensing exam and become board certified by passing a written and an oral board certifying exam. Internal medicine doctors are primary care physicians that can see patients in offices, in hospitals and in clinics. Being employed as an internal medicine doctor requires you to be able to make difficult and confusing diagnosis and in many cases the patient you are caring for will contain more than on disease or disorder at the same time and you will be required to diagnose and treat both of them. An internal medicine doctor needs to be able to remain calm in high pressure, stressful situation. He/she needs to be knowledgeable and be someone who can solve puzzles and dilemmas quick and execute procedures accurately. Millions of people around the globe put their lives in the hands of these doctors everyday. Becoming an internal medicine doctor requires a lot of dedication and hard work, but it will also put you in an exciting and rewarding career that provides a lot of flexibility surrounding where you work and what specialty you work in.