any positive reasons to be an internal medicine physician

[makeitrain6969]

Just curious, are there any positive news or reasons why go into internaml medicine? I believe internal medicine is very important for our healthcare system and internalist really are the ones who truly practice medicine.

But when you talk about internal medicine, i hear nothing but bad news about it. For example: the pay is a lot less than those physicians who do procedures, shortage which leads to them working more hours and overwhelmed with too much patients, nurse practitioners and physician assistants playing the role as primary care for less pay, malpractice insurance rates are high, getting sued by attnys and patients, insurance companies not paying good for primary care physicians and etc...

There is a huge shortage of primary physicians (internal medicine)... are there any good things/news to specialize in internal medicine? Like is it less competative to get matched? Maybe increase in salary later on? And etc..

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[Phyozo]

Just curious, are there any positive news or reasons why go into internaml medicine? I believe internal medicine is very important for our healthcare system and internalist really are the ones who truly practice medicine.

But when you talk about internal medicine, i hear nothing but bad news about it. For example: the pay is a lot less than those physicians who do procedures, shortage which leads to them working more hours and overwhelmed with too much patients, nurse practitioners and physician assistants playing the role as primary care for less pay, malpractice insurance rates are high, getting sued by attnys and patients, insurance companies not paying good for primary care physicians and etc...

There is a huge shortage of primary physicians (internal medicine)... are there any good things/news to specialize in internal medicine? Like is it less competative to get matched? Maybe increase in salary later on? And etc..

No. There's absolutely no reason to do it. Try neurosurgery instead...I hear the pay is better.

 

[ArcGurren]

No. There's absolutely no reason to do it. Try neurosurgery instead...I hear the pay is better.

I'm so confused as to what the goal was of this thread. It's like going to a thread about pediatrics and saying "god, kids suck and you guys don't get paid enough, why would you ever do this".

 

[makeitrain6969]

I'm so confused as to what the goal was of this thread. It's like going to a thread about pediatrics and saying "god, kids suck and you guys don't get paid enough, why would you ever do this".

I guess what i am asking is why would anyone go into internal medicine these days? There is a shortage for a reason...like is there any positives getting into internal medicine.

 

[makeitrain6969]

No. There's absolutely no reason to do it. Try neurosurgery instead...I hear the pay is better.

Lol

 

[DrVanNostran]

I guess what i am asking is why would anyone go into internal medicine these days? There is a shortage for a reason...like is there any positives getting into internal medicine.

There are a wealth of positives. If you really don't see them, the field isn't for you.

 

[hematopoiesis]

I guess what i am asking is why would anyone go into internal medicine these days? There is a shortage for a reason...like is there any positives getting into internal medicine.

 

[makeitrain6969]

There are a wealth of positives. If you really don't see them, the field isn't for you.

Only positive i see is you really practice medicine and patient care...but there are so many down falls that come with it so i see why most med students move away from it.

 

[makeitrain6969]

Troll you are indeed.

 

[scotchtapetest]

Just curious, are there any positive news or reasons why go into internaml medicine? I believe internal medicine is very important for our healthcare system and internalist really are the ones who truly practice medicine.

But when you talk about internal medicine, i hear nothing but bad news about it. For example: the pay is a lot less than those physicians who do procedures, shortage which leads to them working more hours and overwhelmed with too much patients, nurse practitioners and physician assistants playing the role as primary care for less pay, malpractice insurance rates are high, getting sued by attnys and patients, insurance companies not paying good for primary care physicians and etc...

There is a huge shortage of primary physicians (internal medicine)... are there any good things/news to specialize in internal medicine? Like is it less competative to get matched? Maybe increase in salary later on? And etc..

Yea, because we all know there are no NPs/PAs in specialties.... in fact, I can argue that it is a lot easier to train a PA to be good at procedures than to train them to be a good internist/PCP which requires much more medical background/analytical thinking.... The operative word being "good".... and with regards to "long" hours for an internist go tell your story to surgeons and see what they tell you.... In fact the pay is fairly decent for the number of hours most internists work and the number of years they train as compared to general surgery (not perfect but still...)

Also, although it is less competitive on average, that doesn't mean that it is less competitive on case to case basis..... For instance, matching into a top 20 IM program is a lot more competitive than matching let's say radiology at a community joint....

I don't understand what is the desire on SDN to talk s*** about people's choices.... Some people just want to be internists, because they enjoy what internists do.... It's not all about the money, pal.... If you want to make money go to business school...

 

[jdh71]

I feel like if I have to explain, then you wouldn't understand.

Internal medicine itself is a great field, what makes it burdensome at times is what the "system" has decided to dump on the internist, like admitting pateints who have no serious hope of getting out any time soon due to social issues and being the bitch for other services, especially the surgical sub-specialists (let's be real these guys kind of turn in their "real doctor" card when decide to go that route) and GI. The general surgeons and cardiologists still seem have the decency to take care of their own patients these days. The out-patient clinic can be a huge pain in the ass, especially if you have a difficult patient population, and being the point man for everything and keeping all the little pieces together could be something that drives your nuts OR, like some of my friends from residency, was just the kind of control freak situation they were into (a lot). Once you kind of get your out-patient work-up algorithms straight, out-patient medicine is not a bad gig.

The pay is NOT bad. Hospitalists generally make over 200k, working 1/2 to 2/3 of a year (not bad), and the pay goes UP from there if you pick up more shifts, work some nights, or moonlight at other hospitals. Out-patient primary care makes around 150k, but that's working fairly straight forward 8-5 hours, usually without call if you're working strictly out-patinet.

The other good thing about internal medicine from my perspective is that it is the gateway to many other subspecialties which allow you to be an internist, but also a specialist in one area and thereby avoiding some of the aggravating things about general internal medicine.

 

[makeitrain6969]

Yea, because we all know there are no NPs/PAs in specialties.... in fact, I can argue that it is a lot easier to train a PA to be good at procedures than to train them to be a good internist/PCP which requires much more medical background/analytical thinking.... The operative word being "good".... and with regards to "long" hours for an internist go tell your story to surgeons and see what they tell you.... In fact the pay is fairly decent for the number of hours most internists work and the number of years they train as compared to general surgery (not perfect but still...)

Also, although it is less competitive on average, that doesn't mean that it is less competitive on case to case basis..... For instance, matching into a top 20 IM program is a lot more competitive than matching let's say radiology at a community joint....

I don't understand what is the desire on SDN to talk s*** about people's choices.... Some people just want to be internists, because they enjoy what internists do.... It's not all about the money, pal.... If you want to make money go to business school...

Thank you for your info...i agree, surgeons work more hours than internalist but the pay difference is also a lot. I love what internalist due, but i hear about primary care physicians losing their practice because they cant make ends meet. I know its not all about money, but you still need to make a profit somehow to keep your practice going and to take care of your family. Thats why a lot of med students dont go into internal medicine because of these reasons...why go into internalist when your school loan is probably over 120,000 and insurances pay so little for your service.

 

[makeitrain6969]

I feel like if I have to explain, then you wouldn't understand.

Internal medicine itself is a great field, what makes it burdensome at times is what the "system" has decided to dump on the internist, like admitting pateints who have no serious hope of getting out any time soon due to social issues and being the bitch for other services, especially the surgical sub-specialists (let's be real these guys kind of turn in their "real doctor" card when decide to go that route) and GI. The general surgeons and cardiologists still seem have the decency to take care of their own patients these days. The out-patient clinic can be a huge pain in the ass, especially if you have a difficult patient population, and being the point man for everything and keeping all the little pieces together could be something that drives your nuts OR, like some of my friends from residency, was just the kind of control freak situation they were into (a lot). Once you kind of get your out-patient work-up algorithms straight, out-patient medicine is not a bad gig.

The pay is NOT bad. Hospitalists generally make over 200k, working 1/2 to 2/3 of a year (not bad), and the pay goes UP from there if you pick up more shifts, work some nights, or moonlight at other hospitals. Out-patient primary care makes around 150k, but that's working fairly straight forward 8-5 hours, usually without call if you're working strictly out-patinet.

The other good thing about internal medicine from my perspective is that it is the gateway to many other subspecialties which allow you to be an internist, but also a specialist in one area and thereby avoiding some of the aggravating things about general internal medicine.

Thank you for a very informative answer and yes i understand everything you explained. I really love what internal medicine is all about. You are truly the doctor's doctor, you practice a broad form of medicine and i just like what they are capable of doing. I am just wondering why the shortage then?

 

[Hamhock]

to dump on the internist, like admitting pateints who have no serious hope of getting out any time soon due to social issues and being the bitch for GI..

Yeah - I would like to hear what IM guys who are not head to GI or already GI-trained think about this.

How did this happen? And why is it still tolerated?

Are there good reasons not to have GI admit their own patients like Cards, for example? Am I missing something?

HH

 

[fishsnack]

Thank you for your info...i agree, surgeons work more hours than internalist but the pay difference is also a lot. I love what internalist due, but i hear about primary care physicians losing their practice because they cant make ends meet. I know its not all about money, but you still need to make a profit somehow to keep your practice going and to take care of your family. Thats why a lot of med students dont go into internal medicine because of these reasons...why go into internalist when your school loan is probably over 120,000 and insurances pay so little for your service.

Internalist 😛

 

[jdh71]

Yeah - I would like to hear what IM guys who are not head to GI or already GI-trained think about this.

How did this happen? And why is it still tolerated?

Are there good reasons not to have GI admit their own patients like Cards, for example? Am I missing something?

HH

Scopes mean money, which means they have more leverage at the bargaining table. They do it because they can. And then after awhile, they get so ****ty any anything but scopes, that you probably wouldn't want them taking care of their own patients anyway.

The one caveat: hepatologists; those guys are still real doctors. Though anywhere busy enough to have a liver service, would likely become too overwhelmed with livers to run it themselves. The dirtbags we shall always have with us (and the occasional sweet lady with PBC).

 

[scotchtapetest]

Thank you for your info...i agree, surgeons work more hours than internalist but the pay difference is also a lot. I love what internalist due, but i hear about primary care physicians losing their practice because they cant make ends meet. I know its not all about money, but you still need to make a profit somehow to keep your practice going and to take care of your family. Thats why a lot of med students dont go into internal medicine because of these reasons...why go into internalist when your school loan is probably over 120,000 and insurances pay so little for your service.

1) It is Internist NOT Internalist and you should be interested/love what internists do not what they due..... Are you a US medical student? 😕

2) Still quite a few go into IM; Actually it is #1 specialty in the match based on the number of students matching for ALL categories of students except prior graduates of US MD in which case it's number 2 (i.e. most from US MD seniors, US DO, IMG and FMGs go IM).

3) The pay difference is not that much compared to general surgery where it averages around $300-350k but that's easily working double the hours of IM so $/hour is somewhat comparable especially when you also include stress and much, much, much better life style....

4) There are no internists in unemployment lines or collecting food stamps because of being internists... Just because they find a better offer/position somewhere else (e.g. hospital contract, hospitalist, research, etc.), it doesn't mean they can't make the ends meet or support their families. The people you hear about, either suck at being physicians or just like to b***. CT surgeons make s*** ton of money, but they always complain about their pay....

5) Also, there are gazillion subspecialties (cardio/GI/Heme-Onc/Renal/Id/etc) that require IM residency.

 

[makeitrain6969]

1) It is Internist NOT Internalist and you should be interested/love what internists do not what they due..... Are you a US medical student? 😕

2) Still quite a few go into IM; Actually it is #1 specialty in the match based on the number of students matching for ALL categories of students except prior graduates of US MD in which case it's number 2 (i.e. most from US MD seniors, US DO, IMG and FMGs go IM).

3) The pay difference is not that much compared to general surgery where it averages around $300-350k but that's easily working double the hours of IM so $/hour is somewhat comparable especially when you also include stress and much, much, much better life style....

4) There are no internists in unemployment lines or collecting food stamps because of being internists... Just because they find a better offer/position somewhere else (e.g. hospital contract, hospitalist, research, etc.), it doesn't mean they can't make the ends meet or support their families. The people you hear about, either suck at being physicians or just like to b***. CT surgeons make s*** ton of money, but they always complain about their pay....

5) Also, there are gazillion subspecialties (cardio/GI/Heme-Onc/Renal/Id/etc) that require IM residency.

Hahahaha i meant internist ...whoops...i really do love what internist do, so i guess that's why i wondering why we have a shortage going on. Are you an internist?

 

[newdude2009]

Internal medicine is great because who can handle just about anything that walks in the door. If you don't know what it is then you usually know who to call.

Yes, we get dumped on alot but there is some glory to this. We take almost anybody. I sometimes think we're the Jesus of the Medical World. You know if 5 other services have turned you down you always have the welcoming arms of the internist who will not judge you and treat you to the best of his/her ability.

 

[makeitrain6969]

Internalist 😛

Lol internist

 

[makeitrain6969]

Internal medicine is great because who can handle just about anything that walks in the door. If you don't know what it is then you usually know who to call.

Yes, we get dumped on alot but there is some glory to this. We take almost anybody. I sometimes think we're the Jesus of the Medical World. You know if 5 other services have turned you down you always have the welcoming arms of the internist who will not judge you and treat you to the best of his/her ability.

Internal medicine physicians are the doctors doctor...that what i like about it, you can treat a variety of patients. Unlike when you specialize...like if you are a pain doctor, if the patient's bp is high, you say you need to see a primary care physician.

 

[scotchtapetest]

Hahahaha i meant internist ...whoops...i really do love what internist do, so i guess that's why i wondering why we have a shortage going on. Are you an internist?

No, as my user title suggests, I'm an Osteopathic Med. Student who is hoping to become an internist (I'll let you know Monday).... and I'm guessing from dodging my question, you are not a US med student!

The shortage is because people who have options don't want to live/work in Bumf**k, ND and that's how you get shortages.... There are very few IM spots that go unfilled after the scramble (if any) so it is certainly not due to lack of interest as there are literally hundreds of IMGs per IM spot during scramble who go unmatched every year....

 

[makeitrain6969]

No, as my user title suggests, I'm an Osteopathic Med. Student who is hoping to become an internist (I'll let you know Monday).... and I'm guessing from dodging my question, you are not a US med student!

The shortage is because people who have options don't want to live/work in Bumf**k, ND and that's how you get shortages.... There are very few IM spots that go unfilled after the scramble (if any) so it is certainly not due to lack of interest as there are literally hundreds of IMGs per IM spot during scramble who go unmatched every year....

Yes, i am MD student in the US. I'm in my second year...i really want to go into internal medicine but im wondering why most of my classmates dont want to be an internist. My friend who is in his fourth year is waiting to be matched as well, but in pathology.

 

[Robot Skeleton]

I guess I don't understand the OP's point...is he asking specifically about general medicine docs? Or is he asking why students apply for internal med residencies? I don't have the figures, but my understanding is that a significant portion of students at competitive internal med programs go on to sub-specialties, which represent entirely different career environments. Internal medicine is not an end-point for many students, but often a role they take up during training.

 

[D elegans]

Yes, i am MD student in the US. I'm in my second year...i really want to go into internal medicine but im wondering why most of my classmates dont want to be an internist. My friend who is in his fourth year is waiting to be matched as well, but in pathology.

IM doesn't have the sexy glow that some other specialties seem to have when you say that's what you're aiming for (ROAD, surgery, whatever). But if you think it's what you want to do, do it! Who cares what your classmates think? Do IM and be a real doctor.

 

[makeitrain6969]

I guess I don't understand the OP's point...is he asking specifically about general medicine docs? Or is he asking why students apply for internal med residencies? I don't have the figures, but my understanding is that a significant portion of students at competitive internal med programs go on to sub-specialties, which represent entirely different career environments. Internal medicine is not an end-point for many students, but often a role they take up during training.

General internal medicine

 

[makeitrain6969]

IM doesn't have the sexy glow that some other specialties seem to have when you say that's what you're aiming for (ROAD, surgery, whatever). But if you think it's what you want to do, do it! Who cares what your classmates think? Do IM and be a real doctor.

IM has the sexy glow for hot girls cause once you say i am a doctor...boooooyyyyy lol

 

[dd128]

IM doesn't have the sexy glow that some other specialties seem to have when you say that's what you're aiming for (ROAD, surgery, whatever). But if you think it's what you want to do, do it! Who cares what your classmates think? Do IM and be a real doctor.

I'd definitely agree that IM doctors are the real doctors

 

[DrVanNostran]

I like how this thread has given some life to this forum!

 

[happygolucky1]

. did you like "tales of the crypt" being told in the darkness? do radiology.
did you like "tales of the crypt" being told by your stepfather? do surgery.
Did you like "TOC" being told by your grandma? do IM.