By Arina Smith
Internal medicine is an umbrella division with a general focus on diagnosing, treating, and preventing a broad spectrum of diseases in patients (adult).
Undergoing clinical rotations in the internal medicine department will commonly involve taking patient history thoroughly and physical examination of multiple organ systems, all by employing innovative diagnostic tools.
This article will provide you with a deeper insight into why Caribbean medical school rotations include internal medicine as part of the course curriculum.
Internal medicine makes room for better decision-making relies and clinical reasoning based on evidence.
This is crucial for providing a complete assessment of the level of relationship between the patient and physician.
Internal medicine residency training program can take a minimum of3-years to complete.
Once you have completed the clinical rotations period at a Caribbean medical school, you will gain the eligibility to earn national board certification.
How can you actually use this?
When being a resident here in the Caribbean, you will be trained in a wide variety of subspecialty medical areas ꟷ cardiology, pulmonology and critical care, gastroenterology, rheumatology, hematology, oncology, nephrology, infectious diseases.
So, on completion of the clinical rotation program, you can continue practicing in any of the above-mentioned medical genres, thanks to the immense scope that internal medicine has in store for you!
What will you typically during clinical rotations focused on internal medicine?
Well, to begin with, your primary goal will be to provide care for your patients.
You will have to acquire a ton of clinical skills, which can range from managing acute illnesses to chronic conditions.
The best part?
On a daily basis you will engage in conducting:
- Comprehensive physical examination, mainly as observation;
- Detailed history taking;
- Palpationand percussion;
Not to mention, the task of confirming diagnoses, using various tests, such as:
- Laboratory tests
- Echocardiography (ECG)
- Pulmonary function tests
- Ultrasound
- Biopsies
That’s not all…
Internal medicine rotations also expect you to be good with providing physical therapy, as well as managing patients with minor interventional procedures or those undergoing treatments such as medications.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea and start thinking of these as a tiresome procedure.
Look: as a subspecialty-trained resident, you will have the option to explore as many medical departments as you feel like.
Of course, you need to execute extensive procedures with precision, including central venous catheter insertions, coronary angiographies, or endoscopies (e.g., bronchoscopy ERCP) and catheter-based protocols.
But don’t let this scare you!
Your professional journey relying on internal medicine is likely to be based on the practice setting.
So, take your time and choose what is best for you!
If you are still unsure about the career path that you should follow right after you have graduated from medical school, then reach out to us for further guidance.
Caribbean medical colleges host world-class mentors in internal medicine, who would be happy to help support you throughout your professional journey.
Sign up for a course now!
