The Hospitalist

Click Here to Read the Supplement.

Topics include:

• Overview of HE
• Early Identification and Management
• An Option for HE Management

Dr. William Ford, MD, SFHM

Regional Medical Director

Clinical Associate Professor

of Medicine

Abington, Jefferson Health

Philadelphia, PA

Click Here to Read the Supplement.
XIF.0129.USA.17

Click Here to Read the Supplement.

Topics include:

• Overview of HE
• Early Identification and Management
• An Option for HE Management

Dr. William Ford, MD, SFHM

Regional Medical Director

Clinical Associate Professor

of Medicine

Abington, Jefferson Health

Philadelphia, PA

Click Here to Read the Supplement.
XIF.0129.USA.17

Click Here to Read the Supplement.

Topics include:

• Overview of HE
• Early Identification and Management
• An Option for HE Management

Dr. William Ford, MD, SFHM

Regional Medical Director

Clinical Associate Professor

of Medicine

Abington, Jefferson Health

Philadelphia, PA

Click Here to Read the Supplement.
XIF.0129.USA.17

Title: Inpatient rehabilitation does not improve mobility after total knee arthroplasty versus a monitored home-based program.

Clinical Question: Does initial treatment in an inpatient rehabilitation facility offer greater improvements in mobility when added to a monitored home-based program after undergoing total knee arthroplasty?

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is common and postsurgical care varies. No randomized controlled trials have compared inpatient rehabilitation to monitored home-based programs.

Study Design: Multicenter, two intervention groups in parallel, randomized controlled trial with a third observational group.

Dr. Burns is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Inpatient rehabilitation does not improve mobility after total knee arthroplasty versus a monitored home-based program.

Clinical Question: Does initial treatment in an inpatient rehabilitation facility offer greater improvements in mobility when added to a monitored home-based program after undergoing total knee arthroplasty?

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is common and postsurgical care varies. No randomized controlled trials have compared inpatient rehabilitation to monitored home-based programs.

Study Design: Multicenter, two intervention groups in parallel, randomized controlled trial with a third observational group.

Dr. Burns is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Inpatient rehabilitation does not improve mobility after total knee arthroplasty versus a monitored home-based program.

Clinical Question: Does initial treatment in an inpatient rehabilitation facility offer greater improvements in mobility when added to a monitored home-based program after undergoing total knee arthroplasty?

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is common and postsurgical care varies. No randomized controlled trials have compared inpatient rehabilitation to monitored home-based programs.

Study Design: Multicenter, two intervention groups in parallel, randomized controlled trial with a third observational group.

Dr. Burns is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Frailty is an independent risk factor for short-term mortality in older patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure

Clinical Question: What is the effect of frailty on 30-day mortality in non–severely disabled older patients with acute decompensated heart failure?

Dr. Barrett is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Frailty is an independent risk factor for short-term mortality in older patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure

Clinical Question: What is the effect of frailty on 30-day mortality in non–severely disabled older patients with acute decompensated heart failure?

Dr. Barrett is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Frailty is an independent risk factor for short-term mortality in older patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure

Clinical Question: What is the effect of frailty on 30-day mortality in non–severely disabled older patients with acute decompensated heart failure?

Dr. Barrett is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Presenters

Samir Shah, MD, MSCE

Session summary

Antibiotic stewardship is more than narrowing coverage once susceptibilities are available. It also means conversion of antibiotics to oral therapy when clinically appropriate.

Previously, many childhood infections were treated with IV therapy due to severity or concern that oral absorption delayed or limited response. Multiple studies have shown that early conversion is not only safe, but safer than prolonging IV therapy. At HM 17, we had the opportunity to hear from Samir Shah, MD, about the current literature that supports safe transitions to oral therapy, including the “when” and the “how.”

Terminology for conversion to oral therapy should not state that it is “step-down” therapy, but rather switch therapy or sequential therapy. This conversion reduces likelihood of treatment complications, reduces length of hospital stay, reduces nursing and pharmacy time, decreases discomfort for the patient, and reduces cost.

Antibiotics such as levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally. Other commonly used IV medications such as ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, and cefazolin can be substituted with amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and cephalexin, which have similar penetration characteristics.

In general, unless there are serious complications, such as endocarditis and meningitis, most patients should be switched to oral therapy as soon as clinically warranted to complete therapy. For example, the incidence of meningitis in patients less than 1 month of age with UTI is 1%-2% and the incidence of meningitis in those 1-2 months of age is 0.3%-0.5%. Therefore, these patients can be treated with oral therapy earlier in their course when meningitis is not suspected. The likelihood of endocarditis in a pediatric patient without a known heart lesion is very low, even in patients with repeat positive blood cultures, unlike our adult colleagues who have much higher incidence of endocarditis in bacteremic patients.

Further studies are emerging to help reduce total length of therapy for many bacterial infections. For example, good evidence now exists that skin and soft tissue infections can now be treated safely with 5-day courses.

Key takeaways for HM

• Transition to oral therapy earlier in the hospital course is justified and much safer than IV therapy.

• Conversion to oral antibiotic therapy reduces the likelihood of treatment complications, length of hospital stay, nursing time, pharmacy time, discomfort to the patient, and costs.

• Do not use the term “step-down” when referencing a transition to oral therapy.

• Oral therapy is effective in most bacterial infections in children except for meningitis and endocarditis.

• Levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally and can be easily swapped for IV therapy.

Dr. Schwenk is a pediatric hospitalist at Norton Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville (Ky.), and a member of the Pediatrics Committee for SHM.

Presenters

Samir Shah, MD, MSCE

Session summary

Antibiotic stewardship is more than narrowing coverage once susceptibilities are available. It also means conversion of antibiotics to oral therapy when clinically appropriate.

Previously, many childhood infections were treated with IV therapy due to severity or concern that oral absorption delayed or limited response. Multiple studies have shown that early conversion is not only safe, but safer than prolonging IV therapy. At HM 17, we had the opportunity to hear from Samir Shah, MD, about the current literature that supports safe transitions to oral therapy, including the “when” and the “how.”

Terminology for conversion to oral therapy should not state that it is “step-down” therapy, but rather switch therapy or sequential therapy. This conversion reduces likelihood of treatment complications, reduces length of hospital stay, reduces nursing and pharmacy time, decreases discomfort for the patient, and reduces cost.

Antibiotics such as levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally. Other commonly used IV medications such as ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, and cefazolin can be substituted with amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and cephalexin, which have similar penetration characteristics.

In general, unless there are serious complications, such as endocarditis and meningitis, most patients should be switched to oral therapy as soon as clinically warranted to complete therapy. For example, the incidence of meningitis in patients less than 1 month of age with UTI is 1%-2% and the incidence of meningitis in those 1-2 months of age is 0.3%-0.5%. Therefore, these patients can be treated with oral therapy earlier in their course when meningitis is not suspected. The likelihood of endocarditis in a pediatric patient without a known heart lesion is very low, even in patients with repeat positive blood cultures, unlike our adult colleagues who have much higher incidence of endocarditis in bacteremic patients.

Further studies are emerging to help reduce total length of therapy for many bacterial infections. For example, good evidence now exists that skin and soft tissue infections can now be treated safely with 5-day courses.

Key takeaways for HM

• Transition to oral therapy earlier in the hospital course is justified and much safer than IV therapy.

• Conversion to oral antibiotic therapy reduces the likelihood of treatment complications, length of hospital stay, nursing time, pharmacy time, discomfort to the patient, and costs.

• Do not use the term “step-down” when referencing a transition to oral therapy.

• Oral therapy is effective in most bacterial infections in children except for meningitis and endocarditis.

• Levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally and can be easily swapped for IV therapy.

Dr. Schwenk is a pediatric hospitalist at Norton Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville (Ky.), and a member of the Pediatrics Committee for SHM.

Presenters

Samir Shah, MD, MSCE

Session summary

Antibiotic stewardship is more than narrowing coverage once susceptibilities are available. It also means conversion of antibiotics to oral therapy when clinically appropriate.

Previously, many childhood infections were treated with IV therapy due to severity or concern that oral absorption delayed or limited response. Multiple studies have shown that early conversion is not only safe, but safer than prolonging IV therapy. At HM 17, we had the opportunity to hear from Samir Shah, MD, about the current literature that supports safe transitions to oral therapy, including the “when” and the “how.”

Terminology for conversion to oral therapy should not state that it is “step-down” therapy, but rather switch therapy or sequential therapy. This conversion reduces likelihood of treatment complications, reduces length of hospital stay, reduces nursing and pharmacy time, decreases discomfort for the patient, and reduces cost.

Antibiotics such as levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally. Other commonly used IV medications such as ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, and cefazolin can be substituted with amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and cephalexin, which have similar penetration characteristics.

In general, unless there are serious complications, such as endocarditis and meningitis, most patients should be switched to oral therapy as soon as clinically warranted to complete therapy. For example, the incidence of meningitis in patients less than 1 month of age with UTI is 1%-2% and the incidence of meningitis in those 1-2 months of age is 0.3%-0.5%. Therefore, these patients can be treated with oral therapy earlier in their course when meningitis is not suspected. The likelihood of endocarditis in a pediatric patient without a known heart lesion is very low, even in patients with repeat positive blood cultures, unlike our adult colleagues who have much higher incidence of endocarditis in bacteremic patients.

Further studies are emerging to help reduce total length of therapy for many bacterial infections. For example, good evidence now exists that skin and soft tissue infections can now be treated safely with 5-day courses.

Key takeaways for HM

• Transition to oral therapy earlier in the hospital course is justified and much safer than IV therapy.

• Conversion to oral antibiotic therapy reduces the likelihood of treatment complications, length of hospital stay, nursing time, pharmacy time, discomfort to the patient, and costs.

• Do not use the term “step-down” when referencing a transition to oral therapy.

• Oral therapy is effective in most bacterial infections in children except for meningitis and endocarditis.

• Levofloxacin, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, and metronidazole have excellent bioavailability when taken orally and can be easily swapped for IV therapy.

Dr. Schwenk is a pediatric hospitalist at Norton Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville (Ky.), and a member of the Pediatrics Committee for SHM.

Title: Short periods of concurrent benzodiazepine and opioid use increase overdose risk

Clinical Question: What is the impact of concurrent benzodiazepine use in chronic versus intermittent opioid use on risk for opioid overdose?

Dr. Barrett is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Short periods of concurrent benzodiazepine and opioid use increase overdose risk

Clinical Question: What is the impact of concurrent benzodiazepine use in chronic versus intermittent opioid use on risk for opioid overdose?

Dr. Barrett is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: Short periods of concurrent benzodiazepine and opioid use increase overdose risk

Clinical Question: What is the impact of concurrent benzodiazepine use in chronic versus intermittent opioid use on risk for opioid overdose?

Dr. Barrett is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Because of the health care policy work I have done over the years, I often get asked about what to expect from Capitol Hill and from federal policy makers in D.C. Since the surprise election results in November, the most common questions revolve around what impact the Trump administration is likely to have on the delivery system reform work done since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Alicia Ault/Frontline Medical News

Dr. Greeno is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and senior adviser for medical affairs at TeamHealth.

Because of the health care policy work I have done over the years, I often get asked about what to expect from Capitol Hill and from federal policy makers in D.C. Since the surprise election results in November, the most common questions revolve around what impact the Trump administration is likely to have on the delivery system reform work done since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Alicia Ault/Frontline Medical News

Dr. Greeno is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and senior adviser for medical affairs at TeamHealth.

Because of the health care policy work I have done over the years, I often get asked about what to expect from Capitol Hill and from federal policy makers in D.C. Since the surprise election results in November, the most common questions revolve around what impact the Trump administration is likely to have on the delivery system reform work done since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Alicia Ault/Frontline Medical News

Dr. Greeno is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine and senior adviser for medical affairs at TeamHealth.

NASHVILLE, TENN. – Pediatric endocrinologist Cassandra Brady, MD, caught the attention of her audience at Pediatric Hospital Medicine when she mentioned that children presenting with new-onset diabetes rarely spend more than 2 days at Vanderbilt University’s children’s hospital, even if they present in diabetic ketoacidosis.

In many places, children with new-onset diabetes spend quite a bit longer in the hospital – even if they are medically stable and feeling fine – for diabetes education.

That’s not the case at Vanderbilt, where Dr. Brady is an assistant professor. Once kids are stabilized, they and their parents undergo a 3-hour crash course – sometimes even in the PICU – on diabetes survival skills, and then they’re sent home with insulin. They learn the finer points about carbohydrate counting and tight glucose control at subsequent outpatient visits.

More and more payers are probably going to push for that model, Dr. Brady noted at the meeting, which was sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Academic Pediatric Association.

For those interested in making the transition to outpatient eduction, she explained in an interview exactly how Vanderbilt’s been doing it safely for years.

[email protected]

NASHVILLE, TENN. – Pediatric endocrinologist Cassandra Brady, MD, caught the attention of her audience at Pediatric Hospital Medicine when she mentioned that children presenting with new-onset diabetes rarely spend more than 2 days at Vanderbilt University’s children’s hospital, even if they present in diabetic ketoacidosis.

In many places, children with new-onset diabetes spend quite a bit longer in the hospital – even if they are medically stable and feeling fine – for diabetes education.

That’s not the case at Vanderbilt, where Dr. Brady is an assistant professor. Once kids are stabilized, they and their parents undergo a 3-hour crash course – sometimes even in the PICU – on diabetes survival skills, and then they’re sent home with insulin. They learn the finer points about carbohydrate counting and tight glucose control at subsequent outpatient visits.

More and more payers are probably going to push for that model, Dr. Brady noted at the meeting, which was sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Academic Pediatric Association.

For those interested in making the transition to outpatient eduction, she explained in an interview exactly how Vanderbilt’s been doing it safely for years.

[email protected]

NASHVILLE, TENN. – Pediatric endocrinologist Cassandra Brady, MD, caught the attention of her audience at Pediatric Hospital Medicine when she mentioned that children presenting with new-onset diabetes rarely spend more than 2 days at Vanderbilt University’s children’s hospital, even if they present in diabetic ketoacidosis.

In many places, children with new-onset diabetes spend quite a bit longer in the hospital – even if they are medically stable and feeling fine – for diabetes education.

That’s not the case at Vanderbilt, where Dr. Brady is an assistant professor. Once kids are stabilized, they and their parents undergo a 3-hour crash course – sometimes even in the PICU – on diabetes survival skills, and then they’re sent home with insulin. They learn the finer points about carbohydrate counting and tight glucose control at subsequent outpatient visits.

More and more payers are probably going to push for that model, Dr. Brady noted at the meeting, which was sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Academic Pediatric Association.

For those interested in making the transition to outpatient eduction, she explained in an interview exactly how Vanderbilt’s been doing it safely for years.

[email protected]

Editor’s Note: The Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) Physician in Training Committee launched a scholarship program in 2015 for medical students to help transform health care and revolutionize patient care. The program has been expanded for the 2017-2018 year, offering two options for students to receive funding and engage in scholarly work during their first, second, and third years of medical school. As a part of the program, recipients are required to write about their experience on a biweekly basis.

When I decided to leave the business world to pursue a career in medicine, I envisioned myself in a clinic or an operating room helping the people in my community with the knowledge and skills acquired in my medical training. The thought of becoming a researcher had never even crossed my mind.

I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, a city which has no major academic medical centers. Prior to entering medical school, I was enrolled in a postbaccalaureate program at Johns Hopkins University, where I took the basic science classes necessary to apply. I was quite surprised to learn that, even at this level of education, I was required to participate in a research project. This experience changed the way I envisioned my entire career as a physician.

I am now a fourth year medical student and a pioneer of the “new curriculum” at Weill Cornell Medical College. In contrast to the traditional medical school curriculum, Cornell carved out 6 months of protected research time for all medical students by condensing the preclinical curriculum from 2 years to 1.5 years. I learned how much I enjoyed research at Johns Hopkins, which is one of the main reasons I applied here.

Despite my interest in research, I still struggled with the ultimate career question: What kind of doctor do I want to be?

After completing my medicine clerkship, I remember feeling intellectually stimulated in a way I hadn’t experienced in the previous years. While this may have had to do with the subject matter, I attribute much of this feeling to my clerkship director whose passion for medicine and teaching was contagious. I ultimately chose Ernie Esquivel, MD, to be my research mentor because of how much he impacted my education.

Cole Hirschfeld is originally from Phoenix, Ariz. He received undergraduate degrees in finance and entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona and went on to work in the finance industry for 2 years before deciding to change careers and attend medical school. He is now a fourth year medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College and plans to apply for residency in internal medicine.

Editor’s Note: The Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) Physician in Training Committee launched a scholarship program in 2015 for medical students to help transform health care and revolutionize patient care. The program has been expanded for the 2017-2018 year, offering two options for students to receive funding and engage in scholarly work during their first, second, and third years of medical school. As a part of the program, recipients are required to write about their experience on a biweekly basis.

When I decided to leave the business world to pursue a career in medicine, I envisioned myself in a clinic or an operating room helping the people in my community with the knowledge and skills acquired in my medical training. The thought of becoming a researcher had never even crossed my mind.

I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, a city which has no major academic medical centers. Prior to entering medical school, I was enrolled in a postbaccalaureate program at Johns Hopkins University, where I took the basic science classes necessary to apply. I was quite surprised to learn that, even at this level of education, I was required to participate in a research project. This experience changed the way I envisioned my entire career as a physician.

I am now a fourth year medical student and a pioneer of the “new curriculum” at Weill Cornell Medical College. In contrast to the traditional medical school curriculum, Cornell carved out 6 months of protected research time for all medical students by condensing the preclinical curriculum from 2 years to 1.5 years. I learned how much I enjoyed research at Johns Hopkins, which is one of the main reasons I applied here.

Despite my interest in research, I still struggled with the ultimate career question: What kind of doctor do I want to be?

After completing my medicine clerkship, I remember feeling intellectually stimulated in a way I hadn’t experienced in the previous years. While this may have had to do with the subject matter, I attribute much of this feeling to my clerkship director whose passion for medicine and teaching was contagious. I ultimately chose Ernie Esquivel, MD, to be my research mentor because of how much he impacted my education.

Cole Hirschfeld is originally from Phoenix, Ariz. He received undergraduate degrees in finance and entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona and went on to work in the finance industry for 2 years before deciding to change careers and attend medical school. He is now a fourth year medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College and plans to apply for residency in internal medicine.

Editor’s Note: The Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) Physician in Training Committee launched a scholarship program in 2015 for medical students to help transform health care and revolutionize patient care. The program has been expanded for the 2017-2018 year, offering two options for students to receive funding and engage in scholarly work during their first, second, and third years of medical school. As a part of the program, recipients are required to write about their experience on a biweekly basis.

When I decided to leave the business world to pursue a career in medicine, I envisioned myself in a clinic or an operating room helping the people in my community with the knowledge and skills acquired in my medical training. The thought of becoming a researcher had never even crossed my mind.

I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, a city which has no major academic medical centers. Prior to entering medical school, I was enrolled in a postbaccalaureate program at Johns Hopkins University, where I took the basic science classes necessary to apply. I was quite surprised to learn that, even at this level of education, I was required to participate in a research project. This experience changed the way I envisioned my entire career as a physician.

I am now a fourth year medical student and a pioneer of the “new curriculum” at Weill Cornell Medical College. In contrast to the traditional medical school curriculum, Cornell carved out 6 months of protected research time for all medical students by condensing the preclinical curriculum from 2 years to 1.5 years. I learned how much I enjoyed research at Johns Hopkins, which is one of the main reasons I applied here.

Despite my interest in research, I still struggled with the ultimate career question: What kind of doctor do I want to be?

After completing my medicine clerkship, I remember feeling intellectually stimulated in a way I hadn’t experienced in the previous years. While this may have had to do with the subject matter, I attribute much of this feeling to my clerkship director whose passion for medicine and teaching was contagious. I ultimately chose Ernie Esquivel, MD, to be my research mentor because of how much he impacted my education.

Cole Hirschfeld is originally from Phoenix, Ariz. He received undergraduate degrees in finance and entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona and went on to work in the finance industry for 2 years before deciding to change careers and attend medical school. He is now a fourth year medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College and plans to apply for residency in internal medicine.

Title: C. diff infection common in emergency department patients, even without risk factors.

Clinical Question: Should all emergency department (ED) patients with diarrhea, without vomiting, get tested for Clostridium difficile?

Background: C. difficile infection has been described in low-risk patients in retrospective studies, but the prevalence in a prospective cohort has not been evaluated.

Dr. Ayoubieh is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: C. diff infection common in emergency department patients, even without risk factors.

Clinical Question: Should all emergency department (ED) patients with diarrhea, without vomiting, get tested for Clostridium difficile?

Background: C. difficile infection has been described in low-risk patients in retrospective studies, but the prevalence in a prospective cohort has not been evaluated.

Dr. Ayoubieh is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Title: C. diff infection common in emergency department patients, even without risk factors.

Clinical Question: Should all emergency department (ED) patients with diarrhea, without vomiting, get tested for Clostridium difficile?

Background: C. difficile infection has been described in low-risk patients in retrospective studies, but the prevalence in a prospective cohort has not been evaluated.

Dr. Ayoubieh is assistant professor in the division of hospital medicine at the University of New Mexico.

Editor’s Note: The Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) Physician in Training Committee launched a scholarship program in 2015 for medical students to help transform healthcare and revolutionize patient care. The program has been expanded for the 2017-18 year, offering two options for students to receive funding and engage in scholarly work during their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years of medical school. As a part of the program, recipients are required to write about their experience on a biweekly basis.

Quality improvement in clinical practice has recently become very important to me. What use is clinical knowledge if it cannot be appropriately used to benefit patients in a clinical setting?

Anton Garazha is a medical student at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Ill. He received his B.S. in Biology from Loyola University in Chicago in 2015 and his Master of Biomedical Science from Rosalind Franklin University in 2016. Anton is very interested in community outreach and quality improvement, and in his spare time tutors students in science-based subjects.

Editor’s Note: The Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) Physician in Training Committee launched a scholarship program in 2015 for medical students to help transform healthcare and revolutionize patient care. The program has been expanded for the 2017-18 year, offering two options for students to receive funding and engage in scholarly work during their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years of medical school. As a part of the program, recipients are required to write about their experience on a biweekly basis.

Quality improvement in clinical practice has recently become very important to me. What use is clinical knowledge if it cannot be appropriately used to benefit patients in a clinical setting?

Anton Garazha is a medical student at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Ill. He received his B.S. in Biology from Loyola University in Chicago in 2015 and his Master of Biomedical Science from Rosalind Franklin University in 2016. Anton is very interested in community outreach and quality improvement, and in his spare time tutors students in science-based subjects.

Editor’s Note: The Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM’s) Physician in Training Committee launched a scholarship program in 2015 for medical students to help transform healthcare and revolutionize patient care. The program has been expanded for the 2017-18 year, offering two options for students to receive funding and engage in scholarly work during their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years of medical school. As a part of the program, recipients are required to write about their experience on a biweekly basis.

Quality improvement in clinical practice has recently become very important to me. What use is clinical knowledge if it cannot be appropriately used to benefit patients in a clinical setting?

Anton Garazha is a medical student at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Ill. He received his B.S. in Biology from Loyola University in Chicago in 2015 and his Master of Biomedical Science from Rosalind Franklin University in 2016. Anton is very interested in community outreach and quality improvement, and in his spare time tutors students in science-based subjects.