Should an internal medicine doctor or an endocrinologist treat thyroids?

An endocrinologist is a board-certified internal medicine physician specially trained to treat complicated thyroid disorders, such as thyroid cancer, if that is what the patient needs, states the American College of Physicians. Some patients only need a general internist to diagnose and treat uncomplicated thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

Becoming an endocrinologist requires completing seven years of medical school, postgraduate training, earning board certification in internal medicine, then studying endocrine system tissues, organs and glands, including the thyroid, parathyroid, thymus and pituitary glands, for two to three more years. Endocrinologists conduct clinical research and treat a broad spectrum of human body disorders, including diabetes, infertility, metabolism and genetic dysfunction, notes the American College of Physicians.