Specialty Information

Acute Internal Medicine (AIM) is concerned with the assessment, diagnosis and management of adults presenting to secondary care with acute medical illness. There is a broad spectrum of clinical work within the specialty and trainees will acquire competencies relevant to:

• the prompt practical management of acute presentation of medical illness
• the management of medical patients in an in-patient setting
• the development of new patient pathways to maximise safe, effective care in the community where feasible
• the provision of leadership skills within an acute medical unit
• the development of multi-professional systems to promote optimal patient care
• the care of patients requiring more intensive levels of care than would be generally managed in a medical ward. These competencies are generally acquired from experience within a critical care unit. 

All trainees will spend at least 4 months in:

• Intensive Care Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine

All trainees in AIM must develop a specialist skill. These generally fall into one of four categories:

• Procedural skill (eg: echocardiography)
• Additional qualification (eg: medical education)
• Speciality interest (eg: intensive care medicine)
• Research

If you train in AIM you will learn:

• Clinical skills: the immediate management, stabilisation and initial treatment of all general medical emergencies
• Education skills: there is a strong emphasis on becoming skilled in helping others learn
• Academic skills: there is lots of opportunity for audit, clinical or safety and service provision research
• Management and leadership skills: these are a emphasised in your AMU posts

Do Acute Internal Medicine if you:

• Like a wide variety of ‘hands on’ clinical work
• Enjoy the challenge of sick patients
• Want to get people home quickly and safely
• Fancy the flexibility of a sessional job in the future
• Would like to develop a special interest in – anything

For more information, visit the Society for Acute Medicine and takeAIM

Entry to Acute Internal Medicine

Entry into Acute Internal Medicine training is possible following successful completion of both a Foundation Programme and a Core Training Programme.

Core Training Programmes

There are two core training programmes in Acute Internal Medicine;

Internal Medical Training (IMT)

Acute Care Common Stem