What Is the Future of Internal Medicine?
Authors: Robert H. Fletcher
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1993)

Editorials1 December 1993What Is the Future of Internal Medicine?Robert H. Fletcher, MD, Editor and Suzanne W. Fletcher, MD, EditorRobert H. Fletcher, MD, EditorSearch for more papers by this author and Suzanne W. Fletcher, MD, EditorSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-119-11-199312010-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Internal medicine faces unsettled times. Formerly the unchallenged leader of medicine, able to recruit the best students with promises of fulfilling patient care, intellectual challenge, and prestige, it now has an ambiguous image, unfilled residencies, and dissatisfaction in practice. Proposals for health care reform, most of which call for half of all physicians being generalists, may have more powerful and disruptive effects on internal medicine than on any other specialty. Either internal medicine will fundamentally alter itself to produce a far larger proportion of generalists than the present 30%, or the specialty as a whole will be forced to shrink ...References1. Rivo ML. Internal medicine and the journey to medical generalism. Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:146-52. Google Scholar2. Fletcher SW, Fletcher RH. On being a doctor (Editorial). Ann Intern Med. 1990; 113:820. Google Scholar3. Schroeder SA. The troubled profession: is medicine's glass half full or half empty? Ann Intern Med. 1992; 116:583-92. Google Scholar4. McMurray JE, Schwartz MD, Genero NP, Linzer M. The attractiveness of internal medicine: a qualitative analysis of the experiences of female and male medical students. Society of General Internal Medicine Task Force on Career Choice in Internal Medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:812-8. Google Scholar5. Federated Council for Internal Medicine. Generating more generalists: an agenda of renewal for internal medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:1125-9. Google Scholar6. Petersdorf RG, Goitein L. The future of internal medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:1130-7. Google Scholar7. Hardin G. Filters Against Folly. New York:Penguin Books; 1987. Google Scholar8. Fletcher RH, Fletcher SW. Internal medicine: whole or in pieces? (Editorial) Ann Intern Med. 1991; 115:978-9. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoGenerating More Generalists: An Agenda of Renewal for Internal MedicineThe Future of Internal Medicine Robert G. Petersdorf and Lara Goitein Metrics Cited ByQu’attendent les médecins généralistes de la médecine interne ? Résultats d’une enquête postale sur le secteur de la Loire et des départements limitrophesClinical focus and patient management in the XXI century within the context of the advances in medicineAccessing Heterogeneous Sources of Evidence to Answer Clinical QuestionsPhysicians’ reports of focused expertise in clinical practiceMedical Informatics for Medical Students: Not Just Because It's ThereThe promotion of generalism in medicine 1 December 1993Volume 119, Issue 11Page: 1144-1145KeywordsClinical epidemiologyComputersElderlyForecastingGenetic diseasesGenetic predispositionInformation technologyPatientsSub-specialty careTraditional medicine Issue Published: 1 December 1993 CopyrightCopyright © 1993 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...