December 2010

Medical Student Perspectives: What are the Differences between Internal Medicine and Family Medicine?

When I tell my peers I want to practice primary care medicine, most of them assume I mean that I will be training in a family medicine residency. I inevitably have to clarify and say that "no, I just plan to practice general internal medicine, for adults". That there is this ambiguity even among medical students, who are at the peak of their exposure to the differences among fields, concerns me, and so, I thought I would attempt to clarify the differences between family medicine and internal medicine in philosophy, education, and practice.

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My Kind of Medicine: Real Lives of Practicing Internists: Christopher Mays, MD

As a teenager, Dr. Christopher Mays had long blond hair that hung to the middle of his back, little academic ambition, and notions of becoming a rock star or professional athlete. But by the time he graduated from high school, that boy was long gone, replaced by a reflective, deeply faithful, and purposeful young man who dreamed of doing something useful with his life. That something turned out to be internal medicine.

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Internal Medicine Interest Group of the Month: Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences

Like many internal medicine interest groups (IMIGs) within medical schools around the country, "Club Med" at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) strives to provide scholarly activities, professional guidance and leadership opportunities to students considering future careers in internal medicine.

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Winning Abstracts from the 2010 Medical Student Abstract Competition: Clozapine Induced Fatal Hepatic Failure

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Clozapine has been shown to cause hepatitis/ hepatic impairment in those with underlying liver disease, however, hepatic failure is not reported in the drug monograph as a consequence of clozapine therapy.

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Subspecialty Careers: Highlights about Careers in Internal Medicine: Infectious Disease

Infectious disease medicine requires an understanding of the microbiology, prevention, and management of disorders caused by viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections. This understanding includes the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents, vaccines, and other immunobiological agents.

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In the Clinic: Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can vary from a mild outpatient illness to a more severe disease requiring admission to a hospital or even an intensive care unit (ICU). Along with influenza, CAP is the eighth leading cause of death in persons older than age 65 in the United States and is the leading cause of death from infectious diseases.

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In the Clinic is a monthly feature in Annals of Internal Medicine that focuses on practical management of patients with common clinical conditions. It offers evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions about screening, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, and patient education and provides physicians with tools to improve the quality of care. Many internal medicine clerkship directors recommend this series of articles for students on the internal medicine ambulatory rotation.

Did You Know that ACP's Council of Student Members is looking for new representatives?

If you are active in your local chapter, get involved nationally by running for a seat on the ACP Council of Student Members (CSM). The CSM is responsible for planning programs for the annual meeting for medical students and providing a student perspective on current issues impacting the field of internal medicine.

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Advocacy Update: Tell Us What You Think

Help Us Find the Best Name for ACP's Grassroots Advocacy Program

ACP's year-round grassroots advocates e-mail, call and meet with their members of Congress on issues of importance to medical students, internists and their patients. ACP gives them the tools necessary to develop and maintain the relationships. Will you help us by answering a few simple questions that can help us find the best name for the program?

Click here to take the survey.

 

Ask the Program Director

IMpact is developing a new feature that will focus on providing medical students practical advice to help them navigate the process of obtaining a residency position in internal medicine. Issues to be covered include CV development, writing a personal statement, the Match process, residency program interviews, and more. At this time, we are collecting questions and issues that medical students would like addressed by program directors, program coordinators, clerkship directors and chief residents. We will then recruit volunteers to answer those questions in a series of monthly columns that will be included in upcoming newsletter editions.

MKSAP for Students 4 Questions

MKSAP questions are now available on the ACP Medical Students landing page! A new question can be found every week by visiting the medical students' homepage at www.acponline.org/medical_students/.