The aim of residency training is to promote aptitude and clinical proficiency in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of companion animals with internal medicine diseases. The training programmes and broad-based ECVIM-CA examinations ensures that a specialist in internal medicine has sound knowledge of basic sciences (anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, pathology) of the internal organs in health and disease.
Internal medicine specialists have broad training in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology/hepatology, haematology (including clinical immunology), nephrology, neurology (including behaviour problems), oncology, and pulmonology.
Examples of cases typically managed by an internal medicine specialist include animals presenting with anorexia, polyphagia, polydipsia/polyuria, vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, dyspnoea, decreased endurance, obesity, anaemia, icterus, urinary incontinence, pyrexia, episodic weakness or seizures.