Internal medicine as the queen of medical sciences: an underestimated specialization in Poland.

827 of all, for many years specialization in internal medicine was treated as a springboard to a nar‐ row specialization. The vast majority of doctors educate themselves in internal medicine, which is a required step before further narrow specializa‐ tion. Secondly, the subspecialization is promoted by the system of contracting, and it is a require‐ ment to employ a specific specialist in a profiled department. Nowadays, almost every ward of internal medicine indicates a subspecialization in the name of a department, for example, a de‐ partment of endocrinology, diabetology, metabol‐ ic diseases, hypertension, gastroenterology, ne‐ phrology, rheumatology and internal medicine. Departments of cardiology and cardiologists sep‐ arated themselves from the vernacular internal medicine. Thirdly, the establishment of modular specialization in the future will cause a risk for a diminished number of internal medicine spe‐ cialists. Why the specialization module in inter‐ nal medicine is reluctantly chosen by graduates of medical faculties? Is this because of the level of difficulty of specialization? Another essential question is whether we generally need special‐ ists in internal medicine? Personally, I consid‐ er the specialization in internal medicine neces‐ sary. The ability of a wider look at a patient in‐ creases the chance of a precise diagnosis, and, as a consequence, implementation of effective casu‐ al treatment. In the modern world of medicine, a holistic approach to a patient is urgently need‐ ed. However, if specialty has the minimum sub‐ sistence level, it is necessary to create certain con‐ ditions of employment. During my classes with students, I often ask the question about being a specialist in their fu‐ ture plans. Very rarely they express the wish to be a specialist in internal medicine. It is interesting that many of them declare that they want to be pediatricians, not choosing precisely a pediatric We are facing the fact that the most represented specialty of medicine in Poland, namely, inter‐ nal medicine, experiences a deficit of active spe‐ cialists. There are several reasons for that. First FORUM FOR INTERNAL MEDICINE