Sadly, I'm writing this post during my last week on Outpatient Endocrinology, and it's going to be tough to say goodbye. I chose it as one of my electives bc it was my favorite subject during med school & so far I’ve absolutely loved the rotation too. Endocrinologists are the experts on hormones that regulate growth and development, metabolism, reproduction, sleep and mood. About 2/3rd of the “bread and butter” (common) cases we seen in clinic include thyroid disease and metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. The remaining 1/3 include pituitary, adrenal and bone disorders and sex hormone imbalances. We’ve also evaluated and treated a variety of tumors and cancers involving the pituitary gland, adrenal gland and thyroid. I’ve seen some pretty interesting cases so far too:
— Hypogonadism
— Primary and Secondary Hyperparathyroidism
— Diabetes Melitis (type 1, 1.5, and 2)
— Hyperthyroid
— Hypothyroid
— Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
— Grave’s disease
— Multi-nodular goiters
— Papillary thyroid carcinoma
— Pituitary adenomas
— Hypopituitarism
— CAH
— Cushings
— Addisons
— SIADH
— Osteoporosis
To become an Endocrinologist, you have to do an Internal Medicine residency (3 years) and then complete a fellowship (2-3 years). As I’ve seen it, you have to love being a diagnostician and looking for the root cause of dysfunction. Some things to consider: great work-life balance, regular hours, not very intense or high volume of patients, limited procedures (Ultrasound/Fine Needle Aspirations of thyroid), requires a lot of patience for insurances approval, more cerebral/lots of clinical reasoning, lots of opportunities for teaching, motivational interviewing, establishing a trusting patient relationship, practicing preventative medicine, empowering your patients, and most patients see a vast improvement in their life. So, would you consider becoming an Endocrinologist??
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