Gastroenterology – Discover if it’s the Field of Study for You

Gastroenterology is a part of the internal medicine specialty that addresses issues that affect your gastrointestinal or GI tract. In addition, this field of study also deals with areas such as your esophagus, stomach and more. If this interests you, then you may want to work in this profession. Before moving forward, explore a few points you should keep in mind if you’re interested in pursuing this area as a career choice.

Education

If you are serious about entering the field of gastroenterology, then you’ll need to be prepared to complete all college undergraduate courses, at least four years of medical school and then three years as a resident. In addition, you will need to have training upon graduation as well as pass a test in order to become board certified in this area. Most times, new doctors in the specialty will work specifically on adults. During this time he or she will work particularly to help address certain problems the patient is having with his or her GI tract.

What They Do

Working in gastroenterology means you’re the doctor that comes to mind when people are having painful heartburn, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers and more. Sometimes the issues may start small and a patient may just need to see their family practitioner or primary care physician to get treatment. And fortunately, many people are diagnosed and treated without need for any further inspection. Yet, for some, the pain can persist and that may result in them needing to be referred to someone in the internal medicine arena. If this physician is you, then you will be responsible for examining the patient through various procedures, such as using a special tool called an endoscope to view inside the patient’s body. These areas of examination include the small and large bowels, esophagus or stomach. Furthermore, you may also need to do a biopsy of the liver to see if the liver is the cause of the pain. Once the root of the problem is found, then you would contact a surgeon and work closely with him or her to figure out which medical procedure would be best to have performed. However, you will not be doing the surgery since people in your field do not usually operate on patients.

Potential Earnings

After you’ve worked in the field for a while, you would probably open up your own practice or partner with a few other physicians in an office. In addition, if you don’t decide to open your own place, you could get a job with a hospital. And of course like most jobs, the more patients you see, the more money you could make. A person in this field can earn approximately $200,000 and up, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pros and Cons

There are numerous benefits to working in this field. One of the main points is that people in gastroenterology can do work that mixes treating and diagnosing patients with the ability to perform certain procedures. Also, the pay is really good, so this is also a benefit. On the other hand, there are always the common issues most physicians face, including healthcare and billing headaches as well as extensive hours.