How To Become An Internist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an internist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Abram Brummett Ph.D.

Contrary to what you might think, internists are not interns. They are physicians who specialize in internal medicine. Internal medicine refers to treating the body's internal organs, including the major organs and digestive tract.

Internists diagnose and treat patients suffering from diseases affecting the internal organs. Because they are specialized, internists are rarely the first doctors you meet. It's more likely that you visit a general practitioner who refers you based on her assessment.

Internists have their job cut out for them because internal medicine is a wide area. Thus, they use medications and surgeries as much as they observe and monitor patients.

To become an Internist, you need first to finish medical school and complete an internship program. You then chose to specialize in internal medicine. Some Internists get additional training and further narrow their specializations to endocrinology, cardiology, and gastroenterology.

What general advice would you give to an Internist?

Abram Brummett Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

One thing I am seeing my medical students have success with is delving into ethics issues that arise in the medical specialty that interests them. This work often comes up in their residency interviews, which may impact their future training opportunities and eventual salary. I am very proud of the ethics research our students are doing at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

ScoreInternistUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $223,415

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.9

Growth Rate 7%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 18.95%

Black or African American 5.34%

Hispanic or Latino 10.00%

Unknown 4.51%

White 61.03%

Gender

female 62.72%

male 37.28%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress Level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.4

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an internist

Explore internist education requirements

Most common internist degrees

Bachelor's

35.1 %

Doctorate

22.7 %

Certificate

15.9 %

Start to develop specific internist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	29.52%
Primary Care	12.71%
EMR	6.54%
Critical Care	5.79%
Private Practice	5.73%

Complete relevant internist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New internists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an internist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real internist resumes.

Research internist duties and responsibilities

Train and manage new interns/ volunteers assisting with the evidence-based hypertension management program.
Implement EMR solely in a huge practice.
Evaluate health education needs of patients and provide necessary training and instruction.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service

Prepare your internist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your internist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an internist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Internist Resume templates

Build a professional Internist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Internist resume.