SHM asked Academic Hospitalist Academy course co-directors Jeffrey Glasheen, MD, SFHM, and Bradley Sharpe, MD, SFHM, why academic hospitalists should attend this year’s academy.
Question: What has you personally excited about this year’s Academic Hospitalist Academy?
Dr. Sharpe: I’ll be honest—it is one of my favorite weeks of the year. It is a tremendous opportunity to engage with academic hospitalists and help them develop the core skills they need to be successful.
Dr. Glasheen: For me, it’s about the energy, the talent, and the excitement that the attendees bring to the course. It ends up being a tremendously energizing week for me personally. To see the talent in the room begin to find outlets for success is truly invigorating.
Q: If you were talking one on one with an academic hospitalist, what would you say to encourage them to attend?
Dr. Sharpe: Based on previous attendees, these four days could truly change your life. We are confident you will leave with newfound energy and enthusiasm and key building blocks to help you be successful when you go back home. Don’t miss it.
Dr. Glasheen: There is a magical transformation that happens every year. Very talented individuals enter the program. Nearly uniformly, they are struggling with the same issues around mentorship, sense of purpose, direction, and resources for success. They all want to be successful but sense there is something that is missing, and within the course of four days, they find it.
Q: What have you heard from previous AHA attendees?
Dr. Sharpe: Here are a couple of emails I received: “I can’t say enough about the AHA. It was possibly the most important 3 days of my young career. Thank you both for the knowledge and guidance.” “I have fond memories of the whole AHA conference. The great Jeff Wiese!!! But most of all, the small group sessions were extremely helpful.”
Dr. Glasheen: To a person, they all say the meeting is “transformational.” They gain skills in teaching, confidence in evaluating learners, methods for scholarly success, and a roadmap for navigating the tricky world on academic medicine. But beyond that, they gain a peer network. They leave tied in with 80 other national colleagues that are struggling with the same issues. This network becomes their home away from home—people they can turn to with a question, catch up with at a national meeting, and look to as exemplars in the field.
