Opinion: ‘Internist’ is a confusing, outdated term. It’s time for a new name
"Internist" is a confusing, outdated term. It's time to embrace "internal medicine physician," with all its diversity and subspecialties.
When my children were young, they repeatedly asked, “Dad, what does ‘internal medicine’ mean?” The term “internal medicine” is not intuitive to what we do as internal medicine physicians and continues to be an enigma to so many.
Defining the role of internal medicine within the health care system has been a challenge since the field began in the late 1800s in Germany. That’s when a group of “inner medizine” physicians started applying medically related scientific knowledge of the care of their patients, which differed significantly from the way medicine was practiced at the time. Sir William Osler introduced this approach to patient care in America, and with it came the name “internal medicine.” It’s a confusing name that contributes to a lack of popular understanding about the range of clinical activities, types of practice settings, and professional responsibilities that the specialty of internal medicine encompasses.
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