A medical specialist is someone who specializes in a particular field of medicine. In some jurisdictions they may also be known as physicians.

Medical specialists go through additional training, above and beyond medical school and internship in order to become very knowledgeable about a specific part of the human body. You can expect a specialist to have taken at least two to three years of extra training, above and beyond that of a general internist, in their specific field, and that they will continually research progress in their field. In the medical profession they often function as consultants, either for private practice or employed by a hospital. General practitioners will see the patients first, and if they are presented with a patient that they cannot cure, or if they cannot discern what is causing the illness the specialist is called in to examine the patient. The philosophy behind this approach is that the average patient will not need a specialist, so specialists do not usually see them first, but wait until specifically asked. This system has the benefit of not requiring general internists to have incredibly specific knowledge of all medical matters, an impossible feat, but allows them to delegate responsibility to those with more specific knowledge when the situation calls for it.

See also

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• Veterinary specialties

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