Who Deals With Your Immune System

When your Immune system is down for the count and functioning improperly there is a team of specialists you can see to get your immune system back up and running. This team of people has worked really hard to be where they are and they are ready to help your immune system help you. When dealing with an infection, virus, bacteria, cancer, etc your immune system has special cells called White Blood Cells. There are different forms of white blood cells just like there are different specialists for one system! Eosinophils, Neutrophils, Basophils, and Monocytes, these cells originate from a myeloblast.

Allergists and Immunologists are the most common and the ones you will see for allergy problems or bacterial infections or viral infections. Rheumatologists deal with joint problems but do not perform surgeries. Osteoarthritis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic back pain, tendinitis, and lupus are the most commonly treated disorders by a Rheumatologist. These are not all the people who deal with your immune system but just a few examples.

One type of specialist I would like to focus on would be a Hematologist. They are a physician who specializes in red blood cells, blood forming tissues, bone marrow, white blood cells, platelets, blood vessels, lymph nodes, spleen, and the proteins involved in bleeding and clotting (hemostasis and thrombosis). They are medical doctors who apply this specialized knowledge to treat patients with blood conditions. A Hematologist’s primary responsibilities include testing and diagnosing patients, treating diseases such as Anemia, Hemophilia, and many others.

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They as well prescribe many medications and also give dietary advice. As part of a patient care team, hematologists work closely with surgeons, radiation oncologists, and other specialists to help patients understand their diagnosis, develop individualized treatment plans, coordinate aspects of care and provide surgical, chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic treatment.

Hematologists will need excellent communication skills to work with other healthcare professionals to give the best care for patients. Hematologists often work with patients face to face and need to explain medical processes in non-technical terms in order for them to understand diagnosis and treatment plans. Along with good communication skills they will also need to have excellent organizational skills, as they will handle multiple complex tasks in their work environment. They need to be able to work with multiple patient files while maintaining accuracy throughout the day. On top of that, they as well need to adapt quickly, as emergencies and unexpected medical conditions arise throughout their shifts. Additionally, they should be willing to respond to changing and updating ideas as researchers find new and innovative ways to treat patients. In this profession you will see unique patients and rare disorders, so they will need to find creative solutions to any challenge they encounter. While needing to have the knowledge of knowing how to do these very professionally they also need to have the ability to have empathy towards their patients with chronic illnesses.

To become a Hematologist you will have to go through years of schooling. In order to be a Hematologist, you will need to earn a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine, biology, anatomy or other science fields. As a Student must complete the MCAT to apply for medical school. The MCAT is the Medical College Admission Test that acts as a standardized exam for all prospective medical students in the U.S. and other countries. This exam assesses critical thinking, written analysis, problem-solving, and the knowledge of scientific topics.

Your typical medical school is a typical four-year program. In the first two years, students spend their time in the classroom and laboratory. The courses they will study include biochemistry, pharmacology, anatomy, psychology, medical laws and ethics. During this period of time, students will complete courses that teach them how to handle administrative tasks, such as keeping organized patient records and handling insurance paperwork. This will teach them the basics of examination and diagnosing a patient. At the end of these two years they will take and must pass the first portion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).

During the last two years of medical school, hematologists will begin their rotations, where they will gain hands-on practice in a supervised environment. During these rotations, they will diagnose and treat patients in various medical facilities, such as family practice, internal medicine clinic, obstetrics, pediatrics, gynecology, psychiatry, internal medicine, and surgery. The purpose of rotations is to not only expose students to various forms of medicine but also to determine their desired specialty in this case hematology. Once having reached the completion of their fourth year, hematologists will sit for the second part of the USMLE. This is a two-day exam requiring eligible students to show their ability to evaluate and diagnose patients at an on-site testing facility. Upon successful completion of their four-year graduate program, students will earn a medical degree.

Once they have their degree they will need to apply to residency programs in their field at a hospital. These programs will hold the following, interviews where students meet staff, interviews for the position, and learn more about the facility. Students rank the programs in a list in a preferred order. The residency programs do as well. The National Resident Matching Program uses an algorithm to match hematologists to residencies. You can start this process at some of the top medical schools in North Carolina, Duke University, East Carolina University, Wake Forest, and UNC-Chapel Hill.

For the training portion a hematologist depending on their specialty may undergo a residency in internal medicine, pathology or pediatric hematology. Residencies typically last three to five years. During residencies, hematologists will file their own paperwork, see their own patients and work with other doctors and nurses during treatments. After their first year of residency, interns complete the final portion of the USMLE.

Hematologists need to earn a medical license to practice. After completing a residency, they can submit their application materials to their state’s medical licensing board. The North Carolina requirements on the application are that the applicant must complete both the NC license application AND have a completed FCVS profile. Establishing an FCVS profile takes several months and requires contacting FCVS, an organization independent of the medical board. Once having their fellowship completed a hematologist will take the Hematology Certification Exam which covers the following:

• The hematopoietic system
• Hematologic neoplastic disorders
• Coagulation
• Hematopoietic cell transplantation
• Transfusion medicine

This exam tests a candidate’s knowledge in making a diagnosis, ordering and interpreting the results of tests, recommending treatment for patients, assessing risks and understanding the basic science of hematology and blood disorders.

A hematologist typically holds a full-time position. Their amount of experience and specialty can waive their salary. Other outside factors that could determine a hematologist’s salary include the size, location, and type of healthcare facility in which they work. In North Carolina, a hematologist salary can range from 180k-440k. The common salary in the United States is $226,770 per year. A related career to this is Oncology.

Hematologists are very important doctors and can help you with lots of conditions relating to the blood, bone marrow, lymphatic system, etc. If you have any trouble with any of those things you should research for a hematologist near you and go visit them to get help.