What is a Doctor of Internal Medicine, or Internist?

Internists are specialists in adult medicine and are major providers of primary care to adults in this country. They are especially well trained in the diagnosis of puzzling medical problems, in the ongoing care of complex and chronic illnesses, and in caring for patients with more than one disease. Internists also specialize in health promotion and disease prevention.

Simply put, doctors of internal medicine are Doctors for Adults. They can be called "internists," "general internists" and "doctors of internal medicine." (But don't mistake them with "interns," who are doctors in their first year of residency training.) Although internists may act as primary care physicians, they are not family physicians, family practitioners, or general practitioners, whose training is not solely concentrated on adults and may include surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics.

Internists routinely see patients with conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and chronic lung disease. An internist may consult with doctors in other fields of medicine, or may be called in to consult on a patient by another specialist.

To become an internist, a graduate of a four-year medical school must complete a residency in internal medicine, which usually lasts three years. Internists may then choose to subspecialize in a particular area of internal medicine, for example, cardiology. Subspecialty training, called fellowship, calls for two to three years of additional training.

The term "Internal Medicine" comes from the German term Innere Medizin, a discipline popularized in Germany in the late 1800s to describe physicians who combined the science of the laboratory with the care of patients. Many early 20th century American doctors studied medicine in Germany and brought this medical field to the United States. Thus, the name "internal medicine" was adopted. As with many words adopted from other languages, it unfortunately doesn't exactly fit an American meaning.

Internal Medicine 2008 Quick Links

For Attendees