Internal Medicine
Internal medicine is, essentially, health care for adults, responsible for the diagnosis and management of common, complex, and rare conditions and diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infection, and others.
Clinicians working in internal medicine require diverse knowledge and various skill sets. This includes medical management, procedures, and communication/relationship skills.
The following outlines important aspects to be developed and refined during training and practice, while questions and scenarios allow assessment of progress.
- clinical
presentations - conditions
and diseases - skills and
procedures - questions and
scenarios - additional
resources
Approach to Clinical Presentations
There are key signs and symptoms for which students should understand the clinical approach: history and physical exam, differential diagnosis, further investigations, and management plan:
- abdominal pain
- abnormal liver enzymes
- acute diarrhea
- chronic diarrhea
- nausea and vomiting
- ascites
- anemia
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- cough
- headache
- weakness
- proteinuria
- hematuria
- loss of consciousness
- fever
- shock
- thrombocytopenia
Conditions and Diseases
The following are conditions and diseases for which students should understand diagnosis and treatment.
cardiovascular respiratory renal
hematological
|
gastrointestinal endocrine
neurological dermatological infectious diseases connective tissue diseases |
other |
Skills and Procedures
There are many important skills and procedures required for successful practice in internal medicine. These include:
physical examcommunications skills
|
procedures
|
diagnostics
|
 |