About Internal Medicine Residency
Becoming a doctor is a huge commitment. There are the four years of undergraduate, then four more years of medical school, followed by at least three years of residency in your chosen specialty. Internal medicine is a far-reaching branch of medicine that diagnosis and treats adult diseases without using surgical procedures. Because it is so open-ended, internal medicine requires extra training.
What is a Residency?
In the process of becoming any sort of doctor, you will have to work three or more years in a residency program geared towards your specialty.
- The first year is the internship year, also called first-year residency.
- The following years are post-graduate year two (PGY-2), and so on.
The goal of the residency is to give you the training and practical knowledge to join the field of internal medicine. Not only are you doing the work at the hospital within your residency, but you also need to be spending your off-time researching treatments and medicines.
What is an Internal Medical Doctor?
An internal medicine doctor, or internist, works within a clinic, hospital, or nursing home. Within the specification of internal medicine there are 13 potential areas they can focus on. Those potential areas are:
- Adolescent Medicine: Adolescents and young adults
- Allergy and Immunology: Wide field covering skin disorders, respiratory disease (i.e. asthma), and other problems with the immune system
- Cardiology: Issues with the heart and circulation of blood throughout the body
- Endocrinology: Gland disorders such as diabetes
- Gastroenterology: Problems in the digestive tract
- Hematology: Disorders of the blood
- Infectious Disease: Infections all around the body
- Nephrology: Specific focus on kidney disorders
- Oncology: Cancer treatment and prevention
- Pulmonology: Treatment and diagnosis of problems in the lungs
- Rheumatology: Joints, muscles, and bones
- Sports Medicine: Care and health of athletes and active people
- Geriatrics: Care and treatment of the elderly
It is a challenging, but if you make it through, you will have a rewarding career helping others. And you will also be looking at an average salary of $180,000 a year.