RIV brings competition, collaboration to HM19

A few years ago, participants in the Research, Innovations and Clinical Vignettes (RIV) competition at the annual conference presented a project based on a novel concept: A longitudinal ultrasound training program with portfolios and assessments for hospitalists.

In a way, the poster predicted a future trend, said Benji Mathews, MD, SFHM, chair of this year’s RIV competition, which will be held Monday and Tuesday. “That program itself had trained over 50 people by the time of the poster,” Dr. Mathews said. “Since that time, it has trained an additional 100 more. That program has been a rubric for some of the national and regional clinical ultrasound courses. Now the Society of Hospital Medicine has similar regional centers in bedside ultrasound” training.

It is common, Dr. Mathews said, for research, ideas, and programs displayed in the innovations portion of the RIV to become widespread in the field over the next 5-10 years. “I think the influence of this RIV program extends not only to me personally but beyond the conference and to my larger community. You’re seeing implications for the field of hospital medicine, not just today and in the past year. You’re seeing the future.”

The RIV event schedule includes:

• Research and Innovations Poster Competition – Monday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Prince George’s Exhibit Hall
• Best of Research and Innovations in 2019 – Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Potomac ABCD
• Oral Presentations on the Top 15 Advances in Research and Innovations – Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; 2:50 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.; and 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Baltimore 3-5
• Clinical Vignettes Poster Competition – Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Prince George’s Exhibit Hall.

The “Research” portion highlights work done with sound methodology that has the potential to be applied regionally, nationally, and even internationally, Dr. Mathews said.

“Clinical Vignettes” are interesting case studies that often involve unraveling a clinical mystery and leaving the medical team with a lesson that can be applied more broadly.

 

“I love that a hospitalist at one side of the country can help provide pearls on a case, an innovation, or a research idea that can help improve diagnosis for a patient at the other side of the country,” Dr. Mathews said.

The winners of the live competition are chosen based on both content and presentation style, while abstracts chosen for oral presentation are the “cream of the cream of the crop,” rated by volunteer judges who are blinded to the names and institutions of the researchers, and then given a final review by the category chairs and Dr. Mathews himself. All chairs take into account the judges’ comments and make an attempt to balance for topic (such as pediatric vs. adult) and the types of presenting centers (such as rural vs. academic centers).

A total of 1,093 posters are scheduled to be shown at the meeting – about 300 in the Research category, about 200 in Innovations, and nearly 700 in Clinical Vignettes. It’s the first time the number of posters has surpassed 1,000, Dr. Mathews said. They were chosen from 1,659 submitted abstracts, which surpasses the 1,540 submissions last year but is down slightly from 2016 and 2017, when there were 1,678 and 1,712 submissions, respectively.

Dr. Mathews noted there were more submissions this year than ever before in the Innovations category – 262, up from the previous record of 235 in 2015. He also said the raw scores – those given by the blinded judges – of the accepted submissions have been rising every year and that the trend has continued this year.

He said he hopes to further boost the RIV’s profile on social media – to “continue the conversation” on platforms such as Twitter, particularly during the judging rounds.

Again this year, the work presented will raise important questions and issues in the field. One study looks at how doctors from other countries who work in rural centers have affected care in those areas. Another presents data – actually collected in work done at last year’s annual meeting – that calls into question the usefulness of evaluating inferior vena cava ultrasounds in a quantitative fashion, rather than qualitatively.

Another looks at the value in outcome measures that has stemmed from the use of telemedicine. And another assesses the prevalence of diagnostic error in a previous admission as the cause for readmissions.

While the event is billed as a competition, Dr. Mathews said the RIV is not, at its heart, a competitive event.

“It’s not all about winning,” he said. “One of my goals as the chair is to make sure it’s an atmosphere where people can engage and collaborate with each other.”

As a volunteer judge for many years and lead of the Innovations category for many years, Dr. Mathews’s fondness for the event is clear. “The best part of the conference is the RIV.”

A few years ago, participants in the Research, Innovations and Clinical Vignettes (RIV) competition at the annual conference presented a project based on a novel concept: A longitudinal ultrasound training program with portfolios and assessments for hospitalists.

In a way, the poster predicted a future trend, said Benji Mathews, MD, SFHM, chair of this year’s RIV competition, which will be held Monday and Tuesday. “That program itself had trained over 50 people by the time of the poster,” Dr. Mathews said. “Since that time, it has trained an additional 100 more. That program has been a rubric for some of the national and regional clinical ultrasound courses. Now the Society of Hospital Medicine has similar regional centers in bedside ultrasound” training.

It is common, Dr. Mathews said, for research, ideas, and programs displayed in the innovations portion of the RIV to become widespread in the field over the next 5-10 years. “I think the influence of this RIV program extends not only to me personally but beyond the conference and to my larger community. You’re seeing implications for the field of hospital medicine, not just today and in the past year. You’re seeing the future.”

The RIV event schedule includes:

• Research and Innovations Poster Competition – Monday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Prince George’s Exhibit Hall
• Best of Research and Innovations in 2019 – Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Potomac ABCD
• Oral Presentations on the Top 15 Advances in Research and Innovations – Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; 2:50 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.; and 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Baltimore 3-5
• Clinical Vignettes Poster Competition – Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Prince George’s Exhibit Hall.

The “Research” portion highlights work done with sound methodology that has the potential to be applied regionally, nationally, and even internationally, Dr. Mathews said.

“Clinical Vignettes” are interesting case studies that often involve unraveling a clinical mystery and leaving the medical team with a lesson that can be applied more broadly.

 

“I love that a hospitalist at one side of the country can help provide pearls on a case, an innovation, or a research idea that can help improve diagnosis for a patient at the other side of the country,” Dr. Mathews said.

The winners of the live competition are chosen based on both content and presentation style, while abstracts chosen for oral presentation are the “cream of the cream of the crop,” rated by volunteer judges who are blinded to the names and institutions of the researchers, and then given a final review by the category chairs and Dr. Mathews himself. All chairs take into account the judges’ comments and make an attempt to balance for topic (such as pediatric vs. adult) and the types of presenting centers (such as rural vs. academic centers).

A total of 1,093 posters are scheduled to be shown at the meeting – about 300 in the Research category, about 200 in Innovations, and nearly 700 in Clinical Vignettes. It’s the first time the number of posters has surpassed 1,000, Dr. Mathews said. They were chosen from 1,659 submitted abstracts, which surpasses the 1,540 submissions last year but is down slightly from 2016 and 2017, when there were 1,678 and 1,712 submissions, respectively.

Dr. Mathews noted there were more submissions this year than ever before in the Innovations category – 262, up from the previous record of 235 in 2015. He also said the raw scores – those given by the blinded judges – of the accepted submissions have been rising every year and that the trend has continued this year.

He said he hopes to further boost the RIV’s profile on social media – to “continue the conversation” on platforms such as Twitter, particularly during the judging rounds.

Again this year, the work presented will raise important questions and issues in the field. One study looks at how doctors from other countries who work in rural centers have affected care in those areas. Another presents data – actually collected in work done at last year’s annual meeting – that calls into question the usefulness of evaluating inferior vena cava ultrasounds in a quantitative fashion, rather than qualitatively.

Another looks at the value in outcome measures that has stemmed from the use of telemedicine. And another assesses the prevalence of diagnostic error in a previous admission as the cause for readmissions.

While the event is billed as a competition, Dr. Mathews said the RIV is not, at its heart, a competitive event.

“It’s not all about winning,” he said. “One of my goals as the chair is to make sure it’s an atmosphere where people can engage and collaborate with each other.”

As a volunteer judge for many years and lead of the Innovations category for many years, Dr. Mathews’s fondness for the event is clear. “The best part of the conference is the RIV.”

A few years ago, participants in the Research, Innovations and Clinical Vignettes (RIV) competition at the annual conference presented a project based on a novel concept: A longitudinal ultrasound training program with portfolios and assessments for hospitalists.

In a way, the poster predicted a future trend, said Benji Mathews, MD, SFHM, chair of this year’s RIV competition, which will be held Monday and Tuesday. “That program itself had trained over 50 people by the time of the poster,” Dr. Mathews said. “Since that time, it has trained an additional 100 more. That program has been a rubric for some of the national and regional clinical ultrasound courses. Now the Society of Hospital Medicine has similar regional centers in bedside ultrasound” training.

It is common, Dr. Mathews said, for research, ideas, and programs displayed in the innovations portion of the RIV to become widespread in the field over the next 5-10 years. “I think the influence of this RIV program extends not only to me personally but beyond the conference and to my larger community. You’re seeing implications for the field of hospital medicine, not just today and in the past year. You’re seeing the future.”

The RIV event schedule includes:

• Research and Innovations Poster Competition – Monday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Prince George’s Exhibit Hall
• Best of Research and Innovations in 2019 – Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in Potomac ABCD
• Oral Presentations on the Top 15 Advances in Research and Innovations – Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; 2:50 p.m. to 4:05 p.m.; and 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in Baltimore 3-5
• Clinical Vignettes Poster Competition – Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Prince George’s Exhibit Hall.

The “Research” portion highlights work done with sound methodology that has the potential to be applied regionally, nationally, and even internationally, Dr. Mathews said.

“Clinical Vignettes” are interesting case studies that often involve unraveling a clinical mystery and leaving the medical team with a lesson that can be applied more broadly.

 

“I love that a hospitalist at one side of the country can help provide pearls on a case, an innovation, or a research idea that can help improve diagnosis for a patient at the other side of the country,” Dr. Mathews said.

The winners of the live competition are chosen based on both content and presentation style, while abstracts chosen for oral presentation are the “cream of the cream of the crop,” rated by volunteer judges who are blinded to the names and institutions of the researchers, and then given a final review by the category chairs and Dr. Mathews himself. All chairs take into account the judges’ comments and make an attempt to balance for topic (such as pediatric vs. adult) and the types of presenting centers (such as rural vs. academic centers).

A total of 1,093 posters are scheduled to be shown at the meeting – about 300 in the Research category, about 200 in Innovations, and nearly 700 in Clinical Vignettes. It’s the first time the number of posters has surpassed 1,000, Dr. Mathews said. They were chosen from 1,659 submitted abstracts, which surpasses the 1,540 submissions last year but is down slightly from 2016 and 2017, when there were 1,678 and 1,712 submissions, respectively.

Dr. Mathews noted there were more submissions this year than ever before in the Innovations category – 262, up from the previous record of 235 in 2015. He also said the raw scores – those given by the blinded judges – of the accepted submissions have been rising every year and that the trend has continued this year.

He said he hopes to further boost the RIV’s profile on social media – to “continue the conversation” on platforms such as Twitter, particularly during the judging rounds.

Again this year, the work presented will raise important questions and issues in the field. One study looks at how doctors from other countries who work in rural centers have affected care in those areas. Another presents data – actually collected in work done at last year’s annual meeting – that calls into question the usefulness of evaluating inferior vena cava ultrasounds in a quantitative fashion, rather than qualitatively.

Another looks at the value in outcome measures that has stemmed from the use of telemedicine. And another assesses the prevalence of diagnostic error in a previous admission as the cause for readmissions.

While the event is billed as a competition, Dr. Mathews said the RIV is not, at its heart, a competitive event.

“It’s not all about winning,” he said. “One of my goals as the chair is to make sure it’s an atmosphere where people can engage and collaborate with each other.”

As a volunteer judge for many years and lead of the Innovations category for many years, Dr. Mathews’s fondness for the event is clear. “The best part of the conference is the RIV.”