Internal Medicine Residency Options

Written By: Rachael Kaine

The Completion of an Internal Medicine Residency

This field of medicine focuses on the diagnosis, treatment and care of adult patients that are experiencing a variety of conditions that start with basic health issues to complex and serious illnesses. Often, those who complete an internal medicine residency are referred to as a “doctor’s doctor”, because they are able to help other types of doctors figure out what is wrong based on signs, symptoms and test results. Everything from simple allergies and reactions to chronic illnesses and diseases can be seen and assessed by an internist. From common to rare, the most puzzling problems and situations can be taken to someone that has completed a Georgetown internal medicine residency and solved.

Careers After Completing an Internal Medicine Residency

Though there are many different career specialty paths that internists can follow, three of the most common and most necessary include hematology, allergy and immunology and pulmonary disease careers. Many of the internists that practice a specialty area divide their practices, focusing sometimes on the specialty area and other times on general internal medicine practice to serve the largest number of people possible.

Hematology: This specialty field focuses on patients that have blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system disorders. Conditions like anemias, congenital disorders and acquired disorders like coagulation and thrombosis as well as hematological malignancies are also the focus of this area of medicine.

Allergy and Immunology: For disorders related to the immune system, this is the type of specialist that should be consulted. While most internists see only adult patients, allergists can treat patients of all ages for conditions that are common as well as rare. Things like conjunctivitis, respiratory tract conditions like asthma, occupational lung diseases and even sinusitis are all capable of being diagnosed and treated. Adverse reactions to foods, drugs, stinging insects, abnormalities of the immune system and even skin related allergic conditions and reactions are all the focus of this type of doctor.

Pulmonary Disease: When it comes to focusing on, diagnosing and treating conditions that impact the respiratory system, specialists of this nature can be called upon to provide assistance. Pulmonologists are often used to treat and manage the more difficult and complicated conditions that general internal medicine residency graduates cannot figure out. The expertise that pulmonologists have can be an asset to the medical community because it means the difference between recognizing a common ailment and knowing how to treat one less common or prevalent.

Why You Need to Complete a Cardiology Fellowship

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Becoming an Expert After a Cardiology Fellowship

The study of cardiology deals with learning information about the most important organ within the body: the heart. Responsible for pumping blood and keeping your other organs, muscles and parts functioning properly, the heart needs to be as healthy as possible. Cardiologists work toward this ultimate goal, helping patients become and remain healthier, with properly functioning hearts. There is a great deal to learn both academically and through “on the job” experience, and so completing a Georgetown cardiology fellowship is essential to ensure that you are properly prepared to handle the cases of patients on your own. More information about this residency as well as others offered by this organization can be found by visiting http://www.medstarhealth.org/.

Fast Facts Learned During a Cardiology Fellowship

- A cardiology fellowship will prepare you for making important decisions that will impact the future lives of patients. Proper care is essential to being healthy, and the heart is the right place to start.

- Though the first pacemakers plugged into a wall socket, the medical community has come a long way since then. Pacemakers are used to control the rhythm of the heart’s beats via low energy electrical impulses. They are operated via internal sources, making it possible for patients that have them to lead normal and full lives, not stay close to a source of electricity.

- While not all patients are healthy enough overall to exercise, simply putting the body through a little extra exertion is the best way to promote heart health During your fellowship, you’ll learn techniques to get patients moving, what they are capable of doing, and how to help them through their journey.

- It’s not just regular people that have heart trouble and need the services of cardiologists, even celebrities sometimes need help. Open heart surgery to correct different problems has been utilized by Bill Clinton, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and even Barbara Walters.

- Cardiology fellowship graduates will have learned many medical facts and techniques that can be used to help patients, but one thing that must come from within is a genuine desire to help people. Taking care of people must be done completely; learning to listen to, respect and include patients in all aspects of their care is essential to success. Doctor/patient relationships rely on trust and honesty, and must be built and nurtured over time, especially when something as important as heart health is at stake.

What an Emergency Medicine Residency Will Prepare You For

Written By: Rachael Kaine

Choosing an Emergency Medicine Residency

The medical field is filled with opportunities to learn and help others, but no field is as rewarding as the emergency medicine branch. Whereas hospital buildings are filled each day with scheduled patients that have specific needs and questions that they need to have answered, someone that needs emergency care is a whole different story. An emergency medicine residency is meant to prepare health care providers for the unknown, giving them a chance to help people that may come in on a moment’s notice. A Georgetown emergency medicine residency will prepare you to make spur of the moment decisions while working in a high energy, fast paced and constantly evolving environment. This residency will allow you, over the course of roughly three years, to learn new skills, develop intuition and learn to best use skills and abilities to save lives.

What is Covered During an Emergency Medicine Residency?

Comprised of learning in on the job situations as well as by studying past cases and patients, an emergency medicine residency will prepare you for just about anything that comes through the doors of a hospital or emergency room. Though many things are covered throughout the course of training, some of the most important include:

Making a Diagnosis: In many emergency cases, a quick diagnosis can mean the difference between life or death, and at the very least, between immediate pain relief and prolonged uncertainty and suffering. Patients utilize emergency care and providers to find out exactly what is wrong, and you will need to be able to assess situations quickly.

Variety of Patients: The most unique thing about a career in emergency medicine is that no two days will ever be the same, and it is impossible to prepare for the day ahead. Sure, you can be ready and willing to give help, but there is no way to predict what kinds of situations you’ll be faced with when walking through the door. A typical day may include everything from evaluating patients for bodily pain to correcting and managing the after effects of a heart attack.

Preparing for Long Hours: Though emergency medical care providers work long hours, they also have dedicated time off. The residency experience will provide you with the opportunity to become accustomed to working up to 12 hours at a time, which can give you an opportunity to pursue other interests, both related to the medical field and otherwise.

Dealing with Challenges: An emergency medicine provider will be forced to make decisions, and in many cases this will be done before anyone else has the opportunity to work with the patient, aside from the EMTs. This means beginning care, deciding what must be done, and even performing different procedures on an as needed basis.

Family Medicine Residency: The First Step Toward Helping People

Written By: Rachael Kaine

What Comes After a Family Medicine Residency?

You know the drill when it comes to medical school - years of college spent studying and taking tests, followed by on-the-job experience and more studying in real-life situations and opportunities before graduating and being permitted to practice medicine. Many people choose to become nurses and therapists, but even more decide to go on and become specialists with a focus on a specific area. There are even opportunities to continue studying before striking out on your own, focusing on a sub-specialty area, but before this, there is an opportunity to complete a family medicine residency and focus your attention on the care of people of all ages with many different ailments and medical needs.

Completing a Franklin family medicine residency is no different than many other residency programs across the country, but it will provide you with the skills and abilities to be able to provide quality, comprehensive care in many different situations. This is a highly regulated program type with an established board of leadership, and is a branch of medicine that is (and should be) highly respected and revered.

The Scope of a Family Medicine Residency

Unlike medical care that happens with specialists or emergency room employees, family medicine relies on a patient/doctor relationship that is built and cultivated over time. By knowing and understanding the needs of patients, family medicine doctors are able to provide a different kind of care - on a personal level. By staying with the same doctor from childhood into adulthood, there will be no need to explain old ailments and care situations, and there will be no fear or distrust on the end of the patient; the longer this relationship has lasted, the more likely patients are to be open and honest with their care providers.

This residency will give you the opportunity to study and practice in many different areas like pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, internal medicine and even psychiatry, making you well rounded and able to approach situations from different angles and with different ideas. Not only do family medicine doctors provide treatment and diagnose conditions, they also must provide preventive care like immunizations, check-ups, screenings and lifestyle counseling.

Though some medical conditions may require patients to see specialists, often family doctors are the ones that coordinate this shared care, ensuring that all parties involved are up to date and aware of everything that is going on. In many cases, family doctors are the ones responsible for the “in between” care and monitoring of patients that are suffering from conditions like heart disease, diabetes and even cancer when they cannot see their specialists. This type of care and personalized attention to cases will help patients feel more confident in their lifestyles and the status of their overall health.