American Gastroenterological Association

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is a medical association of gastroenterologists. About 17,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization.

Overview

The American Gastroenterological Association is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to include 17,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization.

The AGA, a 501(c)(6) organization, administers all membership and public policy activities, while the AGA Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization, runs the organization’s practice, research, and educational programs.

On a monthly basis, the AGA Institute publishes two journals, Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

The organization's annual meeting is Digestive Disease Week, which is held each May and is the largest international gathering of physicians, researchers and academics in the fields of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endoscopy and Gastrointestinal surgery.

St. Louis

St. Louis (/seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ or /sənt ˈluːɪs/) is a city and port in the U.S. state of Missouri. The city developed along the western bank of the Mississippi River, which forms Missouri's border with Illinois. In 2010, St. Louis had a population of 319,294; a 2014 estimate put the population at 317,419, making it the 60th-most populous U.S. city and the second-largest city in the state in terms of city proper population. The St. Louis metropolitan area includes the city as well as nearby areas in Missouri and Illinois; with an estimated population of 2,905,893, it is the largest in Missouri and one of the largest in the United States. St. Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau and named after Louis IX of France. Claimed first by the French, who settled mostly east of the Mississippi River, the region in which the city stands was ceded to Spain following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War. Its territory east of the Mississippi was ceded to the Kingdom of Great Britain, the victor. The area of present-day Missouri was part of Spanish Louisiana from 1762 until 1803.

Medical school

A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians and surgeons. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MBChB, BMBS), Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). Many medical schools offer additional degrees, such as a Doctor of Philosophy, Master's degree, a physician assistant program, or other post-secondary education.

Medical schools can also employ medical researchers and operate hospitals. Around the world, criteria, structure, teaching methodology, and nature of medical programs offered at medical schools vary considerably. Medical schools are often highly competitive, using standardized entrance examinations, as well as grade point average and leadership roles, to narrow the selection criteria for candidates. In most countries, the study of medicine is completed as an undergraduate degree not requiring prerequisite undergraduate coursework. However, an increasing number of places are emerging for graduate entrants who have completed an undergraduate degree including some required courses. In the United States and Canada, almost all medical degrees are second entry degrees, and require several years of previous study at the university level.

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis University (SLU, /ˈsluː/) is a private research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg, SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River and the second-oldest Jesuit university in the nation. It is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. SLU's athletic teams compete in NCAA's Division I and the Atlantic 10 Conference. It has a current enrollment of 13,505 students, including 8,687 undergraduate students and 4,818 graduate students, representing all 50 states and more than 70 foreign countries. Its average class size is 23.8 and the student-faculty ratio is 12:1.

For over 30 years the university has maintained a campus in Madrid, Spain. The Madrid campus was the first freestanding campus operated by an American university in Europe and the first American institution to be recognized by Spain's higher education authority as an official foreign university. The campus has 675 students, a faculty of 110, an average class size of 15 and a student-faculty ratio of 7:1.

Internal medicine

Internal medicine or general medicine (in Commonwealth nations) is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists, or physicians (without a modifier) in Commonwealth nations. Internists are skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes. Internists care for hospitalized and ambulatory patients and may play a major role in teaching and research.

Because internal medicine patients are often seriously ill or require complex investigations, internists do much of their work in hospitals. Internists often have subspecialty interests in diseases affecting particular organs or organ systems.

Internal medicine is also a specialty within clinical pharmacy and veterinary medicine.

History

Historically, some of the oldest traces of internal medicine can be traced from Ancient India and Ancient China. Earliest texts about internal medicine are the Ayurvedic anthologies of Charaka.