WHY DID YOU CHOOSE INTERNAL MEDICINE

Internal Medicine physicians are considered and like to be considered as intellectuals, the thinkers, the problem solvers or the debunkers of clinical complexity - so the reply to why you decided on a residency in Internal Medicine residency or a career as an Internist, should reflect some aptitude to that effect. They like to have the time to meditate on the patients problems and not be rushed over all the time - which is quiet the opposite of the Emergency medicine personality.


Here are some sample scripts scrubbed off the Internet - use those to channelize your own thoughts :



"What I really ended up enjoying most about internal medicine was that it required a strong grasp of pathophysiology. Granted, every field requires a certain mastery of pathophysiology, but I felt that internal medicine was the most intellectually demanding in this respect, whether you're caring for a patient with heart failure, renal insufficiency, or portal hypertension. Additionally, internal medicine is a particularly academic field and the amount of teaching and the level of discussion that occurs during the course of a typical day were very appealing to me. Finally, as much as I enjoyed my surgery rotation, I'd rather spend the majority of my day with patients who are not under general anesthesia. There is a huge variety of very different pathways you can take within internal medicine- from interventional cardiology to primary care"

Source: Tyler Berzin, MD


- "I derive most of my pleasure in medicine from my interactions with patients in the clinic setting. I have never really felt at home in busy hospitals or Intensive Care Units, and I definitely am not called to the surgical side of the profession."

Source: David Besley, MD


- "I chose internal medicine because I liked the clinical complexity. I like the patient with five medical problems and 15 medications to figure out. I like the psychosocial complexity of trying to figure out the interaction between the disease and the underlying psychosocial issues. I like the complexity of trying to figure out how to manage patients in the in-patient and get them back to the out-patient and back to the in-patient, and make all that smooth without error"

Source: Robert Centor, MD

- "I chose internal medicine for a variety of reasons. I feel that one of the distinguishing characteristics of internal medicine as a discipline is its breadth and versatility. Internists combine the attributes of a caring clinician, master diagnostician, expert in a variety of procedures, and medical consultant to other specialties. The scope of practice involves treating patients in the clinic, hospital ward, intensive care unit, in a hospice, and in a patient's own home or a nursing home. I enjoy seeing patients in these practice settings. Long-term relationships with patients are also a core feature of practice that I likewise find very rewarding"

Source: Steven Durning, MD


Note: Please Do not memorize this verbatim - hundreds of candidates are reading this blog - rather, use them as templates to plug in your reasons, passions and goals