Internists, or internal medicine physicians, take pride in servicing complex illness as well as simple or acute illnesses. Doctors of Internal Medicine are sometimes referred to as the "Doctor's doctor", because they are often called upon to act as consultants to other physicians to assist solving complicated diagnostic problems. Doctors in internal medicine must have completed four years of education at an accredited medical school after finishing their undgraduate program. They work as medical doctors at accredited teaching hospitals for at least three years before they become an internal medicine physician. Finally, internists must obtain a license to practice and may choose to obtain board certification in internal medicine.
Internal medicine physicians may act as primary care physicians or family physicians, but they are not family practitioners or general practitioners. Their medical training is highly specialized on adults and especially patients who are seeking physicians for caring for "the whole patient" and caring for patient's for their whole lifespan.
Internal Medicine physicians may complete additional training to subspecialize in highly specialized areas of internal medicine. In fact, Dr. Lisa Kim works closely with subspecialists and shares close friendships and affiliations with many of them. To find out more about specialist care, click here.