internist

A:What internists do better than other types of physicians is to make difficult diagnoses. But internal medicine is more than that. Internal Medicine is the prevention, diagnosis, prognostication and prescriptive treatment (or referral for other treatment) of diseases of the blood (fluids, electrolytes, nutrients, immunoglobins, hormones, and cells) and visceral organs of the thorax, abdomen and pelvis in adults. What are the visceral organs? When cleaning a fish, after you carve off the outer, edible, fleshy bony somatic body, you have blood and guts (visceral body) left to throw out. WHAT IT'S NOT (other specialties) IM is what's left after removing pediatrics, OB/GYN, psychiatry and surgery (general, ortho, neuro, thoracic, ENT, ophthalmologic, vascular, etc.) from the total. Formerly part of IM, but now branched off into their own domains, are neurology, rheumatology, and dermatology, IM SUBSPECIALTIES These include oncology, hematology, immunology, infectious diseases, endocrinology, nephrology, gastroenterology, cardiology, and pulmonary medicine.

A:First of all, an internist is NOT someone who specializes in the inside of the body. An internist is a diagnostician. They often have little patient contact, they are sometimes called the "Doctor's doctor" because they are consulted when the primary care physician is stumped. Internist's often specialize in adults but may work with adolescents and children (usually not infants) An internist's job is to figure out unclear or mystery disease (structural or micro-biological cause) diagnoses when the symptoms are confusing, conflicting or non-existent. Internist are most likely to rigorously utilize a differential diagnoses. On the show "House M.D." Dr. House is more or less an internist. P.S. The first response is referring to an INTERN, two very different things

A:You can see either. An endocrinologist is more for complex problems and cancer. I have seen both and find the family doctor more open to new ideas, where the endocrinolgist is more set in their ways and will not vary off the course. I wanted to use Armour thyroid, but endo refused because it came from pigs. I switched to a family doctor to treat my hypothyroidism and got on Armour. It was the best move I made and 95% of my symptoms are gone. I guess what really matters is if you can find a doctor who will work in a partnership with you.

A:An internist is actually a medical specialist in internal medicine -- where a family doctor takes a humanistic approach to medicine, the internist takes an organ systems approach toward medicine -- they have an in-depth study in the different organ systems of the body, their normal and pathological functions, and different illnesses affecting each of the systems. To become an internist you'll have to have a bachelor degree (in anything) but you'll need one year of college biology, one year of college general chemistry, one year of college organic chemistry, and one year of college physics. After that, you'll have to go to medical school. The first two years are called "basic sciences" years -- you'll study things like pharmacology (medications), anatomy (what the body is), physiology (how the body works), microbiology (organisms . . . ) and all of that fun stuff. In the second two years, you'll do a series of "clerkships." In these training sessions, you'll learn with a practicing physician, the ropes -- you'll see basic diagnostic techniques -- and will probably assist in performing some tests. You'll get to choose some of your clerkships, but some will be mandatory, too. After that, you'll apply to a residency program. Depending upon your specialty (family medicine, internal medicine, radiology, surgery. . . ) your residency can last from 3 to 7 years (internal medicine is 3). After that, you can have a sub-specialty (interventional radiology, cardiology, endocrinology. . . ) which is usually 1-2 years. The residency and the fellowships are both paid experiences, although they're not HIGHLY paid (usually in the range of 30,000 a year). You'll learn how to be a doctor in your residency. It's a LOT of work -- but, the pay is well worth it (150,000/year plus productivity) or higher . . in some areas. The hours are long, the work is stressful, and if you're cut out, it'll be the ride of a lifetime. Good luck!

A:I too have been to my fair share of dr.'s that don't give a crap about the patients only the dollars. Some are good dr.'s they just lack the bedside manner that most of us feel is necessary to be comfortable with them. I just think that it should be required to graduate med school. It is your right to find someone that you can be comfortable with. It is a matter of trial and error!! Unfortunately it ends up costing us bundle in office visits!!