Medicine

This article is about the science. For drugs, see Medication.

Modern drug ampoules

Medicine is the science that treats and prevents diseases in humans. Medical workers treat injuries, infections, and sickness. Medicine also helps people with disease prevention and the best ways to not get sick from bacteria or viruses. Medical doctors also help unhealthy (bad habits, overweight, underweight) people return to a healthy condition.

People who practice medicine are most often called medical doctors or physicians. Often doctors work closely with nurses and many other types of health care workers.

Many doctors specialize in one kind of medical work. For example, pediatrics is the medical specialty about the health of children.

Clinical practice

In the Western world, scientists rely on modern medicine, while in developing countries, they rely on traditional medicine.

Medicine and surgery

In the broadest meaning of 'medicine', there are many different specialties. However, within medical circles, there are two broad categories: "Medicine" and "Surgery."

• "Medicine" doctors do not do surgery. To be a medical specialist, most doctors have to train in Internal medicine first.
  • Examples of medical specialists include cardiologists, pulmonologists, and obstetricians.
• "Surgery" doctors (surgeons) do surgery. To be a surgical specialist, most surgeons have to train in "General Surgery" first.
  • Examples of surgical specialists include orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and trauma surgeons.

There are some medical specialties that do not fit into either of these categories, like radiology, pathology, and anesthesia training for these is different to training to become a surgeon, like becoming a doctor of medicine in physiology is with their training, though non-specialist things between them do overlap.

Medical specialities

Main article: Medical specialty

See also: List of medical specialities

Doctors that have focused on a specific field of medicine are called specialists. This means they have learned more about certain types of medical care. For example:

• A dermatologist is a doctor who knows more about the skin and diseases of the skin.
• A psychiatrist is a doctor who knows about thought, mood, and mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia.
• An orthopedic surgeon is a doctor who knows about bones and joints, and fixes them when they are broken or diseased.

A primary care doctor, sometimes called a General practitioner (GP) specialise in referrals, and treat a lot of different medical conditions, mostly common ones.

Medical specialities include, but are not limited to:

• Psychiatry
• Surgery
• in some countries, for example the UK, a public health doctor

There are over 50 different medical specialties or job titles within the NHS.

Common medical specialties

Main article: List of medical specialities

Specialty	What They Do
Anesthesiology	Give pain medicines, especially anesthesia to put patients to sleep before surgery
Bariatrics	Treat patients who are obese
Cardiology	Treat problems with the heart and the cardiovascular system
Dermatology	Treat skin disorders, skin cancer, and other problems with the skin
Emergency medicine	Treat medical emergencies and patients who come into the emergency room
Endocrinology	Specialize in the endocrine system (which helps control hormones)
Gastroenterology (GI)	Specialize in the gastrointestinal tract and problems with it
Gerontology	Treat elderly people; specialize in understanding the way people's bodies change when they get older and how medical treatments might have to be different for them
Gynecology	Treat and try to prevent problems with women's reproductive systems
Neurology	Deal with problems in the nervous system – the brain, nerves, and spinal cord
Obstetrics	Help women give birth
Oncology	Treat cancer. Different kinds of oncologists specialize in treating different kinds of cancer.
Pediatrics	Treat children with all kinds of illnesses; specialize in knowing how children's bodies are different from adults, and how medical treatments may be different for them
Psychiatry	Treat mental illnesses; try to help people deal with stressful situations
Pulmonology	Treat problems with the lungs, like asthma or emphysema
Radiology	Take and read X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and other body scans; give radiation therapy for some cancers

General practitioners

Main article: Primary care doctor

Primary care doctors learn about all of the different subjects of medicine and how to treat a wide range of patients and their health care needs. These doctors are called primary care doctors or primary care physicians, (PCPs), or generalists, or general practitioners (GP). In the United States, these kind of doctors are sometimes called family practitioners or family medicine doctors. There are other doctors who are also primary care doctors. Pediatricians are primary care doctors, but only for children. Internists are primary care doctors for adults. Some gynecologists do primary care, but for women only.

In many countries they send people to specialists. They send people for specialist care, which the specialist takes and calls a "referral" to them. General practitioners also refer people to hospitals or other medical services. Also they refer for urgent care. They send people to see specialists for urgent care for treatment from a specialist, when it is an emergency or when the problem is too complex (complicated). Primary care doctors respond to medical emergencies (such as delivering a baby).

Specialists

Main article: Medical specialty

For a shorter list, or the field of medicine article, see Medicine § list, and Field of medicine.

Other doctors are called 'specialists'. This means they have learned more about certain types of medical care. For example:

• A dermatologist is a doctor who knows more about the skin and diseases of the skin.
• A psychiatrist is a doctor who knows about thought, mood, and mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia.
• An orthopedic surgeon is a doctor who knows about bones and joints, and fixes them when they are broken or diseased.

A primary card doctor, sometimes called a General practitioner (GP) specialise in referrals, and treat a lot of different medical conditions, mostly common ones.

Training

In the U.S., all specialties must pass all three steps of the national medical board examinations. Steps I and II happen during medical school. Step III happens during intern year, where a person works as a student at a hospital.

After a person passes these exams, they then have to pass more exams that are specifically about their specialty. These tests are both written and oral.

A doctor is board-certified in their specialty after:

• They finish their residency
• They have been working as a doctor for at least one year
• They have passed all of their exams

There are only a few training spots per specialty each year, so some specialties can be very competitive. Some medical students do not get to train in the specialty they want. Other specialties do not have nearly enough doctors. This can happen because not enough doctors apply for training spots; because more training spots are needed; or because many people fail out of their training program.

Medical training

Medical training, unlike surgical training, requires three years of residency training after medical school. Doctors can then do a one- to two-year fellowship in their subspecialty. In general, medical residents work less hours than surgical residents.

In the broadest meaning of 'medicine', there are many different specialties. However, within medical circles, there are two broad categories: "Medicine" and "Surgery."

• "Medicine" doctors do not do surgery. To be a medical specialist, most doctors have to train in Internal medicine first.
  • Examples of medical specialists include cardiologists, pulmonologists, and obstetricians.
• "Surgery" doctors (surgeons) do surgery. To be a surgical specialist, most surgeons have to train in "General Surgery" first.
  • Examples of surgical specialists include orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and trauma surgeons.

There are some medical specialties that do not fit into either of these categories, like radiology, pathology, and anesthesia

Medical training, unlike surgical training, requires three years of residency training after medical school. Doctors can then do a one- to two-year fellowship in their subspecialty. In general, medical residents work less hours than surgical residents.

Surgical training

This patient's neurosurgeon may have up to ten years of extra training after she graduated from medical school

Surgical training requires at least five years of residency after medical school. Sub-specialties of surgery often require seven or more years. In addition, fellowships can last another one to three years. Because fellowships can be competitive, many trainees spend another two years on research. Because of this, for some people, their surgical training will not finish until more than a decade after medical school.

Surgical training can be very difficult and can take a lot of time. An average surgical resident works 75 hours per week.

Some subspecialties of surgery, like neurosurgery, require even longer hours. Residents training in these specialties often work 80 hours a week. Officially, these specialties only allow their residents to work up to 88 hours per week. However, many surgical programs still require residents to work more than 88 hours a week.

Attempts to limit the amount of hours that surgical residents work have been difficult, because:

• Many patients need surgery
• There are not enough people who are willing to enter into surgery as a career)
• Doctors need to perform long surgeries, and still give care to all patients before and after surgery
• Surgeons always need to be available in the Operating Room (OR), where surgeries happen, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and the Emergency Room (ER), all where they are needed.

Related pages

• Health
  • Health care
  • Public health
• Medical school