How do internal medicine and family medicine differ?

Internal medicine is dedicated to treating adults and their ailments, specifically those who are 18 or older. Internists receive extensive training in various areas of adult care, including intensive or critical care settings, psychiatry, dermatology, palliative medicine, geriatrics, rehabilitation, and other medical fields. Family medicine, on the other hand, provides similar treatment but also includes care for children. Unlike pediatricians who focus solely on children, family medicine practitioners can treat both children and adults. While they can provide expert treatment for many common and rare ailments, they may refer patients to other specialists for particularly rare or complicated conditions.