LETTER
Adult (Not Internal) Medicine
Edgardo Zavala-Alarcon, MD, and
Mauricio Pineda-Roman, MD
1 June 1998 | Volume 128 Issue 11 | Page 958
TO THE EDITOR:
We certainly agree with the concepts expressed in Dr. Goldman's editorial [1]. Accordingly, we would like to suggest another self-explanatory name for the internist that emphasizes the character of the discipline and the fact that it is a defined specialty: adult care specialist. This name clearly identifies the internist as adult-focused, clinically oriented, and possessing the scientific and academic strengths that have been historically identified with our specialty. It also serves the marketing and educational purposes sought with a name change and correlates the specialty adult medicine with its practitioners.
A similar denomination was proposed by Kurtz and Goodman [2] in 1985. They suggested the term adult medicine specialist to clarify the confusion surrounding the original terminology of internist. In the current era of primary care emphasis, in which the public is aware of the role of primary care physicians, the change we suggest might be more easily accepted and understood by patients.
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Author and Article Information
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Maricopa Medical Center; Phoenix, AZ 85008
1. Goldman L. Adult (not internal) medicine [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 1997; 127:835-6.
2. Kurtz KJ, Goodman PH. The adult medicine specialist. Am J Med. 1985; 78:725-6.
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