Endocrinology An Endangered Species

Endocrinology and metabolism, once a chosen subspecialty, has fallen on hard times. To understand the difficulties that confront this traditional subspecialty of internal medicine, its problems must also be viewed in the context of the overall problems facing internal medicine. There is considerable concern over the lack of interest among medical students for careers in internal medicine, and within internal medicine, and the lack of interest among residents for careers as subspecialists in endocrinology and metabolism and other noninvasive specialties. In the past, the best and the brightest of the senior medical students selected internal medicine for their graduate medical education. Although program directors of the most sought-after programs may not have noticed, most other program directors have observed a dramatic decline in the academic credentials of those students applying for residency positions in internal medicine.