Internist (Internist)
Information on this skill...
An internist is a medical specialist who specializes in preventing, detecting, diagnosing and treating internal diseases. The specialty in which an internist works is also called internal medicine. As an internist, you treat adolescents and adults, who may have different syndromes. Adolescence refers to the transition between childhood and full adulthood. The research areas of an internist are broad and can differ per internist, depending on the chosen specialization. Think, for example, of blood diseases, kidney diseases, infectious diseases, stomach, intestinal and liver diseases, cancer and allergic diseases. Depending on the internist, other names can also be used. Consider, for example, the names oncologist, specialist elderly physician or allergist. The name internist must therefore be seen as a fairly general because there are different internists who can also use different names. An internist is a medical specialist, however, an internist will not perform operations himself. An internist can advise during operations if necessary. In short, the work of an internist can best be described as treating internal diseases of the internal organs. As an internist, you usually work at the outpatient clinic. At the outpatient clinic, the internist examines and treats patients. This includes diagnosing and prescribing medication. The work of an internist also relates to providing information regarding the lifestyle of the patients. Because the work of an internist is very broad, an internist will work a lot with other medical specialists. Think of conducting consultations or making appointments that relate to patients.
An internist is therefore a medical specialist who specializes in the treatment of internal diseases. Internists, who work within general hospitals, often work within the entire field of internal medicine. Internists working within academic hospitals often specialize in certain conditions or areas of focus. It is therefore not the case that all internists perform the same work. The work depends on the internist and the hospital. The syndromes that an internist can treat include cancer, infectious diseases, blood diseases, kidney diseases and allergic diseases. The field of an internist is divided into several subfields, such as rheumatology, medical oncology, clinical geriatrics, allergology, cardiology, nephrology, hematology and gastroenterology. As described earlier, internists often work within the outpatient clinic. Within the outpatient clinic, you treat different patients, make diagnoses and prescribe medication. In addition, internists are closely involved with patients who are admitted to a certain department.
ACTIVITIES INTERNIST
One of the most important tasks of an internist is to establish the diagnosis. Diagnosing patients is a combination of having conversations with patients and performing physical examinations. The conversations with patients are important for an internist to get to know the history of the patients. These types of conversations are sometimes called anamnesis. During an anamnesis interview, patients can mention relevant circumstances, which can help the internist further with his diagnosis. Consider, for example, origin, age, weight, possible previous diseases, possible childhood diseases, possible addictions, allergies and the disease history of the family. On the basis of the anamnesis interview and the physical examination, the internist can draw up a differential diagnosis. A differential diagnosis is a scientific method to diagnose a disease. For this, it is important that the internist can determine at least two or more diseases that can explain the clinical picture. If at a later stage the real cause of the disease is found, the internist can come to a definitive diagnosis and draw up a treatment plan. Internists can conduct internal examination in a variety of ways. Consider, for example, the application of endoscopy examinations.
WHAT DOES AN INTERNIST DO:
- Examining patients;
- Diagnosing patients;
- Advising patients (information);
- Drawing up treatment plans;
- Consulting with other specialists;
- Performing medical procedures;
- Assisting patients.
WHAT DOES AN INTERNIST DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME AN INTERNIST
Training as an internist is only possible if you already have the university study of medicine. After studying medicine, the basic doctor will have to opt for the internal medicine course. The study of internal medicine will take a total of another six years. The first four years of the study internal medicine consists of an internship, during which you will work in various departments of internal medicine. After the four years, a specialization must be chosen, such as oncology or clinical geriatrics. The total training period to become an internist will therefore take at least twelve years. For more information, see also the Dutch internists association (NIV).
COMPANIES WHERE AN INTERNIST CAN BE EMPLOYED
An internist can work for different hospitals, such as a general hospital, specialist hospital or teaching hospital. The work of an internist can differ per hospital and internist because not all internists have the same specialization. As an internist, it can also be, depending on the education and experience, that you are active in other areas, such as providing information or giving education. Of course, an internist can also work as an entrepreneur.
COMPETENCES INTERNIST
As an internist, you must have many different competencies. One of the most difficult competencies of an internist is being able to conduct bad news conversations because this will occur regularly as an internist. In that respect, you will have to have good communication skills. Communication also relates to the collaboration with various internal and external colleagues. Think, for example, of nurses, dietitians, surgeons, physiotherapists and, for example, skin therapists. In addition, as an internist, you are a researcher and you will need to have general research skills. Generally important words are insight, listening, integrity, eagerness to learn, planning, organizing, laws and regulations, sensitivity, analytical, stress resistance and medical practice. Obviously, an internist has to deal with many different fixed professional competencies.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS AN INTERNIST
The labour market perspective of an internist is good, partly due to the long training period to become an internist. An internist will therefore have no difficulty in obtaining work. Most hospitals are eager for well-trained medical specialists. The career opportunities of an internist should be seen in further specializing in medical specialist or obtaining a PhD. Internists can grow in different ways within their career.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY INTERNIST
If an internist is employed, he will in many cases fall under the collective labour agreement for hospitals or the collective labour agreement for medical specialists, in which the employment conditions are regulated. The salary as an internist in paid employment will usually be between 6500 and 11000 gross per month, depending on age, years of service and further responsibilities. If an internist works as an independent entrepreneur in, for example, a partnership, the salary can be many times higher. During the training period, the salary as an internist will be significantly lower.
The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.
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