What is an internal medicine physician/Internist? The simple answer is, a doctor for adults. Conversely, the real and far more complicated description of internal medicine in my mind has two explanations. The first is what it takes to become a specialist in Internal Medicine. The next is the diverse roles these physicians take in the care of their patients. Once understood, the usefulness of Direct Patient Care to Internal Medicine Physicians and their patients becomes markedly clearer.
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine doctors are physicians who have completed four years of medical school to become a Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). At that point they made the choice to specialize in Internal Medicine. Conversely, some of their classmates chose to specialize in General Surgery, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, etc. An Internal Medicine Physician completes three years of residency. After residency, physicians make a choice to start seeing patients as an Internist or specialize further by completing sub-specialty training. Further, this can include training as a gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, etc. Internists or specialized Gastroenterologist, Endocrinologist, etc. train to care for adults, those over the age of 18.
Many Internal Medicine Physicians have interests that do not require sub specialty training. Particularly, their expertise comes through study and inquisitiveness. Furthermore, they develop a level of competence to effectively treat certain groups of patients and diagnosis. These interests can range from adolescent/teen or senior patients to treating things like ADHD, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Behavior Change and the like.
Direct Patient Care
This is where Direct Patient Care becomes very helpful and rewarding for the Internist in the treatment of patients. The health care system does not dictate the role of the physician. They no longer control the time it takes to evaluate and treat their individual patients. Through Direct patient Care, the thorough work up, counselling and treatment of the teenager, patient with an ADHD diagnosis, or patient who wants to improve their diet and lose weight are no longer limited. Significantly, the dictates of a health system that seems to value volume and numbers over the comprehensive and effective care of a patient are a thing of the past. Direct Patient Care with an Internal Medicine specialist is a compelling option for patients whose bodies don’t read textbooks or follow guidelines.
