What is Rheumatology?

Need to see a Rheumatologist?

… and have no idea what that is?

Don’t worry! You are in good company. Many people have never heard of this growing field or its doctors until they find themselves needing one.

Rheumatology is a specialty within Internal Medicine and Pediatrics that diagnoses and treats autoimmune conditions and conditions of the joint, soft tissues and connective tissues.

A Rheumatologist has completed

Medical school (4 years)

An Internal Medicine or Pediatric Internship & Residency (3 years)

And a Rheumatology Fellowship (2-3 years)

Rheumatologists can be Board Certified in both Internal Medicine (or Pediatrics) and Rheumatology.

Although Rheumatologists are experts in joint diseases and often perform procedures such as joint injections, they are not Orthopedic Surgeons and do not perform surgery.

There is a very wide variety of conditions Rheumatologists care for and many may not feel comfortable treating all rheumatic conditions. Expertise comes from practice and exposure and some Rheumatologists may become “experts” in a select few of these conditions, with little experience in others.