An internist is a physician who treats diseases of the heart, blood, kidneys, joints, digestive, respiratory, and vascular systems of adolescent, adult, and elderly patients. These physicians provide long-term and comprehensive care in hospitals and offices. Because they undergo primary care training on internal medicine, these physicians also address disease prevention, wellness, substance abuse, and mental health.
Internal medicine subspecialties including the following:
- Advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology
- Cardiovascular disease
- Clinical cardiac electrophysiology
- Critical care medicine
- Endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatric medicine
- Hematology
- Hematology and oncology
- Infectious disease
- Internal medicine
- Interventional cardiology
- Nephrology
- Oncology
- Pediatric internal medicine
- Pulmonary disease
- Pulmonary disease and critical care medicine
- Rheumatology
- Sleep medicine
- Sports medicine
- Transplant hepatology
(definition from here)