Why I Decided to Become an Internist

In order to answer the question of why I pursued a career in internal medicine, I must first provide insight into why I chose to practice medicine altogether. I grew up in a small town outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, named Peachland, a rural town comprised of farmland, beautiful vegetation, and hard-working country folks. Growing up in a farming community meant poor access to medical care and increased health disparities. I remember growing up and feeling like I was surrounded by sick people. I was not convinced that being sick and palliating chronic diseases was the only option for getting through life, and I made it my personal duty to disprove this unfortunate reality. As I watched family members and others in the community juggle multiple doctor’s visits and daily medications, I was skeptical that aging required diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and excessive weight gain. I moved to Charlotte at the age of five and soared through my academic training. I really enjoyed learning, and I was naturally talented in reading, writing, and the sciences. By high school I decided to pursue a career as a physician in order to keep the community that I grew up in healthy. I fed my curiosity and nurtured my dream by becoming active in medical societies, shadowing physicians, and interviewing people in the medical field about their experiences.

Prior to applying to medical school, my convictions and deep-seated philosophies on quality of life and wellness continued to mature. I became passionate about learning how to care for adult patients as they aged and acquired disease. I wanted to be the type of doctor that treated the whole patient and not just a system or organ. I knew that all parts of a human are connected and influenced each other. The mind has an impact on the body and vice versa, so I did not want to leave any component related to health unnoticed. I felt that it was essential to really “know” my patients in order to provide them with the best care. I wanted to create a long-term relationship that harbored continuity and consistent communication, and most importantly, I wanted to be the “my doctor” that I would hear older members of the community talk about.

Internal medicine is the branch of medicine that focuses on treating adult patients in both the office and hospital settings. Internists can treat adolescents with adult problems as well, such as gastric reflux, obesity, and diabetes, and most internists have a cut off age for adolescents somewhere between 14-16 years old. Internal medicine requires a firm knowledge of adult general primary care, chronic diseases, prevention, cancer screening, and medical ethics. Internal medicine comprises approximately 13 subspecialties including gastroenterology, hematology, endocrinology, and cardiology; it is typically the largest specialty in any given medical training program or hospital. Internal medicine provides the greatest variety for career options. Internists can work in academic settings as attending physicians, or professors to medical students and residents, or they can work in the field as primary care physicians or hospitalists.

Throughout medical school, I paid close attention to the areas of medicine that I did not like. This was a great exercise because it was easy. I learned very quickly that I did not like cutting people open, being rushed in a chaotic emergency room, or seeing sick children. I was not a fan of the delivery room, the operating room, the pathology slide room, or the way too dark (I just want to fall asleep) radiology room. I liked adult patients because they could communicate their problems and then work with me to form a plan for their success. In medical school, I gravitated toward the internal medicine rotations, and I started seeking mentors within the specialty. I modeled the internists’ thought patterns and behaviors. I especially idolized the internal medicine residents because they were extraordinarily smart, confident, and methodological. The internal medicine residents were known for presenting their patients to their attending physicians without notes. Their medical presentations were eloquent with a detailed history, and they remembered every minute detail down to the specific laboratory data or even the patient’s pet’s name. The internists knew so much about their patients, and I wanted to be just like them. As I searched for my niche in medicine, internal medicine provided the perfect fit. It paralleled my personal convictions, my values, and the type of legacy that I wanted to leave.

Internal medicine provides an amazing career option. It has the intellectual stimulation along with the opportunity to grow daily and learn from patients. Internists get the privilege of creating lifelong relationships with their patients and becoming champions in their patients’ healthcare journey. I am very satisfied with my decision to become an internist, and I love helping others create a healthy and happy quality of life.