Internal medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis, managem
ent and nonsurgical treatment of unusual or serious diseases. According to some sources, an emphasis on internal structures is implied.In North America, specialists in internal medicine are commonly called, "internists". Elsewhere, especially in Commonwealth nations, such specialists are often called physicians. Because their patients are often seriously ill or require complex investigations, internists do much of their work in hospitals. Formerly, many internists were not subspecialized and would see any complex nonsurgical problem; this style of practice has become much less common.
In modern urban practice, most internists are subspecialists: that is, they generally limit their medical practice to problems of one organ system or to one particular area of medical knowledge. For example, gastroenterologists and nephrologists specialize respectively in diseases of the gut and the kidneys.
Internists have a lengthy clinical and scientific training in their areas of medical interest and have special expertise in the use of prescription drugs or other medical therapies (as opposed to surgery). While the name "internal medicine" may suggest that internists only treat problems of internal organs, this is not the case. Internists are trained to treat patients as whole people, not as mere organ systems.
