Internal medicine is the medicine of internal organs i.e. the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, the brain, spinal column, muscles, nerves, and joints. A specialist deals with a wide range of conditions affecting these organs Sananga. Although some severe diseases hurt specific internal organs, but most of the common diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and arteriosclerosis etcetera may affect many internal organs of the body altogether.
Who Are Internists?
Professionals with internal medicine degree are known as internists, who are trained to recognize and manage a wide range of diseases, even chronic and multiple disorders. these internists commonly practice in hospitals where patients can be taken care of in case of acute illness or supervise their care. Some internists also have office-based practices with links with local hospitals.
University departments offer training for a postgraduate qualification in a specialty in internal medicine, a process which takes five years in most countries and also requires the individual to qualify an exam in many parts of the world.
Difference Between Internal Medicine And Family Medicine
Internal medicine is confused with family medicine, even though it differs from it in focus, training and patient-care activities. The two medical sciences grew out in different eras i.e. the 1900s and 1960s respectively. Internal medicine has its primary focus on adult patients even after the development of pediatrics as a separate specialty, while family medicine is a general practice of medicine.
Conceptually, family medicine is built around the family i.e. a social unit as opposed to specific patient population, organ systems or nature of an intervention (surgery). Family physicians are trained to deal with the entire spectrum of medical issues that might be faced by the members of a single family unit.
The confusion between the two medical sciences arises because a majority of patients seen by family physicians are adults, thus overlying with the patient population that is ideally focused on by internists. An increasing number of family physicians do not include neonatology, obstetrics or significant surgery or knowledge as part of their practice, which makes the patient care provided to adults appear similar to that provided by internists.
There are also significant differences in the clinical and training approach of internists and family physicians. The general course of both the sciences is three years. There are medicine subspecialties such as endocrinology, infectious diseases, rheumatology, and neurology. Trainees are also given adequate experience in dermatology, psychiatry, office gynecology, non-operative orthopedics, ophthalmology, palliative medicine, sleep medicine, rehabilitation medicine for adults and geriatrics.
Internists like Dr. Harinder Takyar is specialists in internal medicine since over 20 years, having a successful career. Most of the internists are office based due to their specialty and it removes the hospital barriers from their heads.