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The Future General Internist
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
TO THE EDITOR:
Although I agree with the definition of the general internist in the recently published position paper [1], I was disappointed that the Task Force on Physician Supply rejects the option of a “subspecialist” fulfilling the role of a general internist. What disqualifies a board-certified internist who happens to have completed subspecialty training from practicing high-quality general internal medicine? The Task Force proposes a double standard: They encourage general internists without formal subspecialty training to become local experts in an organ-based area in their practice locale but do not allow the subspecialist to practice general internal medicine. The presumption is that traditional organ-based subspecialty training somehow revokes one's general internal medicine abilities. This is far from the truth.
Most subspecialists provide primary, comprehensive, continuing care, including preventive care, to a substantial segment of their patient population whose primary disease the subspecialist also cares for. Many times these patients have no other physician and can rely on their subspecialist for primary care. We all agree with the future need for more physicians practicing general internal medicine, but the large amount of high-quality general internal medicine practiced by subspecialists should not be excluded.
Robert N. Santella
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
- Copyright ©2004 by the American College of Physicians
