From the Society

The Society of Hospital Medicine has announced its 2021 class of Master Fellows, Senior Fellows, and Fellows in Hospital Medicine.

All Fellowship classes are listed in alphabetical order.
 

Master Fellows Class of 2021

Nasim Afsar, MD, MBA, MHM

Shaun D. Frost, MD, MHM

Jeffrey L. Schnipper, MD, MPH, MHM

Senior Fellows Class of 2021

Akindele Adaramola, MD, MPH, SFHM

Ramesh Adhikari, MD, SFHM

Pankaj Agrawal, MD, SFHM

Robert L. Anderson, MD, SFHM

Glenda B. Atilano, MD, SFHM

Bi A. Awosika, MD, FACP, SFHM

David N. Aymond, MD, SFHM

Paula Bailey, MD, SFHM

Amit B. Bansal, MD, MBA, SFHM

Jamie K. Bartley, DO, FACP, SFHM

Stephen J. Behnke, MD, SFHM

Christina A. Beyer, MD, SFHM

Vinil K. Bhuma, MD, SFHM

John P. Biebelhausen, MD, MBA, SFHM

Matthew T. Calestino, MD, FACP, SFHM

Domingo Caparas Jr., MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Darren Caudill, DO, FACP, SFHM

Julie M. Cernanec, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Will Cushing, PA-C, SFHM

Douglas A. Dodds II, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Coley B. Duncan, MD, CPE, MMM, SFHM

Noah Finkel, MD, SFHM

Justin Glasgow, MD, PhD, SFHM

Taylor Goot, MD, SFHM

Craig G. Gunderson, MD, SFHM

Alan Hall, MD, SFHM

Vivian Hamlett, MD, SFHM

Kathrin Harrington, MD, SFHM

Hossan Hassan, MD, SFHM

Anand D. Hongalgi, MD, FACP, SFHM

Akshata Hopkins, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Neelima Kamineni, MD, SFHM

Sudheer R. Kantharajpur, MBBS, MD, MHA, SFHM

Prakash Karki, MD, SFHM

Susrutha Kotwal, MD, SFHM

Ethan Kuperman, MD, SFHM

Rumman A. Langah, MD, FACP, SFHM

Sean LaVine, MD, FACP, SFHM

Don S. Lee, MD, FACP, SFHM

Charmaine A. Lewis, MD, MPH, CLHM, SFHM

Rishi Likhi, MD, SFHM

Lenny Lopez, MD, MPH, SFHM

Anthony Macchiavelli, MD, SFHM

Brian McGillen, MD, FACP, SFHM

Parth H. Mehta, MBBS, MD, MPH, SFHM

Anuj Mehta, MBBS, MD, MBA, SFHM

Prem Nair, MD, FACP, SFHM

Don J. Neer, MD, FACP, SFHM

Shyam Odeti, MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Amy T. O’Linn, DO, SFHM

Mihir Patel, MD, FACP, MBA, MPH, SFHM

Kimberly S. Pedram, MD, FACP, SFHM

Thomas Pineo, DO, SFHM

Mauricio Pinto, MD, SFHM

Lakmali C. Ranathunga, MBBS, SFHM

Matthew Reuter, MD, SFHM

Erik P. Rufa, MD, SFHM

Dipali Ruby Sahoo, DO, MBA, SFHM

Chady Sarraf, MD, SFHM

Suchita S. Sata, MD, SFHM

Klint Schwenk, MD, FAAP, MBA, SFHM

Aaron M. Sebach, CRNP, DNP, MBA, PhD, SFHM

Kevin Sowti, MD, MBA, SFHM

Joseph G. Surber, DO, FAAFP, SFHM

Bright Thilagar, MD, SFHM

Thomas S. Trawick Jr., MD, SFHM

Rehman Usmani, MD, SFHM

Arash Velayati, MD, SFHM

Jose A. Ventura, MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Andre Wajner, MD, PhD, SFHM

Phillip D. Warr, MD, SFHM

Virginia E. Watson, MD, SFHM

Kristin R. Wise, MD, SFHM

Elham A. Yousef, MD, FACP, MBA, MSc, SFHM

Fellows Class of 2021

Elizabeth M. Aarons, MD, FHM

Suhail A. Abbasi, MD, FACP, FHM

Waqas Adeel, MD, FHM

Rajender K. Agarwal, MD, MBA, MPH, FHM

Khaalisha Ajala, MD, MBA, FHM

Faraz S. Alam, MD, FHM

Amee Amin, MD, FHM

Muhammad W. Amir, MD, FACP, FHM

Saba Asad, MD, FHM

Logan Atkins, MD, FHM

Navneet Attri, MD, FHM

Jennifer Barnett, PA, FHM

Karyn Baum, MD, FHM

Prabhjot Bedi, MD, FHM

Nicolle R. Benz, DO, FHM

Ricky Bhimani, MD, FHM

Elizabeth Blankenship, PA-C, FHM

Rahul Borsadia, MD, FHM

Kalpana Chalasani, MD, FHM

Rani Chikkanna, MD, FHM

Venu Chippa, MBBS, MD, FHM

Lisa M. Coontz, FNP, FHM

Christie Crawford, MD, FHM

Rene Daniel, MD, PhD, FHM

Elda Dede, FHM

Radha Denmark, CNP, FHM

Alvine N. Nwehla Desamours, PA-C, FHM

Satyendra Dhar, MD, FHM

Manuel Jose Diaz, MD, FHM

Tiffany Egbe, MD, FHM

Chinwe Egbo, MD, FHM

Mohammad A. Farkhondehpour, MD, FACP, FHM

Shaheen Faruque, MBBS, FHM

Chris W. Fellin, MD, FACP, FHM

Juan Carlos Fuentes-Rosales, MD, FACP, MPH, FHM

Evelyn W. Gathecha, MD, FHM

Benjamin P. Geisler, MD, FACP, MPH, FHM

Matthew George, MD, FHM

Sonia George, DO, FHM

Mirna Giordano, MD, FHM

Rebecca Gomez, MD, FHM

David Gonzales, MD, FHM

Maria A. Guevara Hernandez, MD, FACP, FHM

Shubhra Gupta, MBBS, FHM

Rohini Harvey, MD, FHM

Allison Heinen, DO, FHM

Hollie L. Hurner, PA-C, FHM

Doug Hutcheon, MD, FHM

Varalakshmi Janamanchi, MD, FHM

Brian Keegan, MD, FACP, FHM

Qasim Khalil, MD, FHM

Irfana Khan, MD, FHM

Muhammad O. Khan, MD, FAAFP, MBA, FHM

Smita Kohli, MD, FHM

Julie Kolinski, MD, FAAP, FHM

Ewa Kontny, MD, FHM

Sungmi Lian, MD, FHM

Brian Lichtenstein, MD, FHM

Fernando Madero Gorostieta, MD, FHM

Vipul Mahajan, MD, FACP, FHM

Neetu Mahendraker, MD, FHM

Victoria McCurry, MD, FHM

Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM

Evan Meadors, MD, FHM

Kapil Mehta, MD, FACP, MBA, FHM

Waseem Mohamed, MD, FHM

Ernest Murray, MD, FHM

Murali K. Nagubandi, MD, FHM

Jessica Nave Allen, MD, FHM

Peter Nwafor, MD, FACP, FHM

Ike Anthony Nwaobi, MBBS, MBA, FHM

Olugbenga B. Ojo, MD, FACP, MBA, FHM

Jacqueline Okere, MD, FHM

Ifedolapo S. Olanrewaju, MD, MBchB, FHM

Mobolaji Olulade, MD, FHM

Elizabeth H. Papetti, MBA, FHM

Love Patel, MBBS, FHM

Kamakshya P. Patra, MD, MMM, FHM

Charles Pizanis, MD, FHM

Rajat Prakash, MD, FHM

Chris Pribula, MD, FHM

Michael Puchaev, MD, FHM

Ryan Punsalan, MD, FHM

Bhavya Rajanna, MD, FHM

Miguel A. Ramirez, MD, FHM

Raymund Ramirez, MD, FHM

Sandeep Randhawa, MBBS, FHM

Rohit Rattan, MD, FHM

Denisha Powell Rawlings, MD, FHM

Praveen K. Reddy, MD, MPH, FHM

Michael Ree, DO, MPH, FHM

Patrick Rendon, MD, FHM

David J. Rizk, MD, FAAFP, MBA, FHM

Michael Roberts, MD, FHM

Edwin Rosas, MD, FHM

Devjit Roy, MD, FHM

Sabyasachi Roy, MD, FHM

Paul Sandroni, CMPE, MSM, FHM

Vijairam Selvaraj, MD, MPH, FHM

Megha Shah, MD, MMM, FHM

Edie Shen, MD, FHM

Gurpinder Singh, MD, FACP, FHM

Vishwas A. Singh, MD, FHM

Karen Slatkovsky, MD, FHM

Sean M. Snyder, MD, FHM

Jaclyn Spiegel, MD, FHM

Dale Stapler Jr., MD, FHM

Christina E. Stovall, MD, FHM

Daniel Suders, DO, FHM

Clayton Swalstad, CMPE, MSM, FHM

Harshil Swaminarayan, MD, FHM

Keniesha Thompson, MD, FHM

Tet Toe, MD, FACP, FHM

Christine Tsai, MD, FHM

Ajay Vaikuntam, MD, FHM

Valerie Vaughn, MD, FHM

Jane N. Wainaina, FACP, MBchB, FHM

Neshahthari Wijeyakuhan, MD, FACP, FHM

Chia-Shing Yang, MD, FHM

Jennifer Zagursky, MD, FHM

The Society of Hospital Medicine has announced its 2021 class of Master Fellows, Senior Fellows, and Fellows in Hospital Medicine.

All Fellowship classes are listed in alphabetical order.
 

Master Fellows Class of 2021

Nasim Afsar, MD, MBA, MHM

Shaun D. Frost, MD, MHM

Jeffrey L. Schnipper, MD, MPH, MHM

Senior Fellows Class of 2021

Akindele Adaramola, MD, MPH, SFHM

Ramesh Adhikari, MD, SFHM

Pankaj Agrawal, MD, SFHM

Robert L. Anderson, MD, SFHM

Glenda B. Atilano, MD, SFHM

Bi A. Awosika, MD, FACP, SFHM

David N. Aymond, MD, SFHM

Paula Bailey, MD, SFHM

Amit B. Bansal, MD, MBA, SFHM

Jamie K. Bartley, DO, FACP, SFHM

Stephen J. Behnke, MD, SFHM

Christina A. Beyer, MD, SFHM

Vinil K. Bhuma, MD, SFHM

John P. Biebelhausen, MD, MBA, SFHM

Matthew T. Calestino, MD, FACP, SFHM

Domingo Caparas Jr., MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Darren Caudill, DO, FACP, SFHM

Julie M. Cernanec, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Will Cushing, PA-C, SFHM

Douglas A. Dodds II, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Coley B. Duncan, MD, CPE, MMM, SFHM

Noah Finkel, MD, SFHM

Justin Glasgow, MD, PhD, SFHM

Taylor Goot, MD, SFHM

Craig G. Gunderson, MD, SFHM

Alan Hall, MD, SFHM

Vivian Hamlett, MD, SFHM

Kathrin Harrington, MD, SFHM

Hossan Hassan, MD, SFHM

Anand D. Hongalgi, MD, FACP, SFHM

Akshata Hopkins, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Neelima Kamineni, MD, SFHM

Sudheer R. Kantharajpur, MBBS, MD, MHA, SFHM

Prakash Karki, MD, SFHM

Susrutha Kotwal, MD, SFHM

Ethan Kuperman, MD, SFHM

Rumman A. Langah, MD, FACP, SFHM

Sean LaVine, MD, FACP, SFHM

Don S. Lee, MD, FACP, SFHM

Charmaine A. Lewis, MD, MPH, CLHM, SFHM

Rishi Likhi, MD, SFHM

Lenny Lopez, MD, MPH, SFHM

Anthony Macchiavelli, MD, SFHM

Brian McGillen, MD, FACP, SFHM

Parth H. Mehta, MBBS, MD, MPH, SFHM

Anuj Mehta, MBBS, MD, MBA, SFHM

Prem Nair, MD, FACP, SFHM

Don J. Neer, MD, FACP, SFHM

Shyam Odeti, MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Amy T. O’Linn, DO, SFHM

Mihir Patel, MD, FACP, MBA, MPH, SFHM

Kimberly S. Pedram, MD, FACP, SFHM

Thomas Pineo, DO, SFHM

Mauricio Pinto, MD, SFHM

Lakmali C. Ranathunga, MBBS, SFHM

Matthew Reuter, MD, SFHM

Erik P. Rufa, MD, SFHM

Dipali Ruby Sahoo, DO, MBA, SFHM

Chady Sarraf, MD, SFHM

Suchita S. Sata, MD, SFHM

Klint Schwenk, MD, FAAP, MBA, SFHM

Aaron M. Sebach, CRNP, DNP, MBA, PhD, SFHM

Kevin Sowti, MD, MBA, SFHM

Joseph G. Surber, DO, FAAFP, SFHM

Bright Thilagar, MD, SFHM

Thomas S. Trawick Jr., MD, SFHM

Rehman Usmani, MD, SFHM

Arash Velayati, MD, SFHM

Jose A. Ventura, MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Andre Wajner, MD, PhD, SFHM

Phillip D. Warr, MD, SFHM

Virginia E. Watson, MD, SFHM

Kristin R. Wise, MD, SFHM

Elham A. Yousef, MD, FACP, MBA, MSc, SFHM

Fellows Class of 2021

Elizabeth M. Aarons, MD, FHM

Suhail A. Abbasi, MD, FACP, FHM

Waqas Adeel, MD, FHM

Rajender K. Agarwal, MD, MBA, MPH, FHM

Khaalisha Ajala, MD, MBA, FHM

Faraz S. Alam, MD, FHM

Amee Amin, MD, FHM

Muhammad W. Amir, MD, FACP, FHM

Saba Asad, MD, FHM

Logan Atkins, MD, FHM

Navneet Attri, MD, FHM

Jennifer Barnett, PA, FHM

Karyn Baum, MD, FHM

Prabhjot Bedi, MD, FHM

Nicolle R. Benz, DO, FHM

Ricky Bhimani, MD, FHM

Elizabeth Blankenship, PA-C, FHM

Rahul Borsadia, MD, FHM

Kalpana Chalasani, MD, FHM

Rani Chikkanna, MD, FHM

Venu Chippa, MBBS, MD, FHM

Lisa M. Coontz, FNP, FHM

Christie Crawford, MD, FHM

Rene Daniel, MD, PhD, FHM

Elda Dede, FHM

Radha Denmark, CNP, FHM

Alvine N. Nwehla Desamours, PA-C, FHM

Satyendra Dhar, MD, FHM

Manuel Jose Diaz, MD, FHM

Tiffany Egbe, MD, FHM

Chinwe Egbo, MD, FHM

Mohammad A. Farkhondehpour, MD, FACP, FHM

Shaheen Faruque, MBBS, FHM

Chris W. Fellin, MD, FACP, FHM

Juan Carlos Fuentes-Rosales, MD, FACP, MPH, FHM

Evelyn W. Gathecha, MD, FHM

Benjamin P. Geisler, MD, FACP, MPH, FHM

Matthew George, MD, FHM

Sonia George, DO, FHM

Mirna Giordano, MD, FHM

Rebecca Gomez, MD, FHM

David Gonzales, MD, FHM

Maria A. Guevara Hernandez, MD, FACP, FHM

Shubhra Gupta, MBBS, FHM

Rohini Harvey, MD, FHM

Allison Heinen, DO, FHM

Hollie L. Hurner, PA-C, FHM

Doug Hutcheon, MD, FHM

Varalakshmi Janamanchi, MD, FHM

Brian Keegan, MD, FACP, FHM

Qasim Khalil, MD, FHM

Irfana Khan, MD, FHM

Muhammad O. Khan, MD, FAAFP, MBA, FHM

Smita Kohli, MD, FHM

Julie Kolinski, MD, FAAP, FHM

Ewa Kontny, MD, FHM

Sungmi Lian, MD, FHM

Brian Lichtenstein, MD, FHM

Fernando Madero Gorostieta, MD, FHM

Vipul Mahajan, MD, FACP, FHM

Neetu Mahendraker, MD, FHM

Victoria McCurry, MD, FHM

Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM

Evan Meadors, MD, FHM

Kapil Mehta, MD, FACP, MBA, FHM

Waseem Mohamed, MD, FHM

Ernest Murray, MD, FHM

Murali K. Nagubandi, MD, FHM

Jessica Nave Allen, MD, FHM

Peter Nwafor, MD, FACP, FHM

Ike Anthony Nwaobi, MBBS, MBA, FHM

Olugbenga B. Ojo, MD, FACP, MBA, FHM

Jacqueline Okere, MD, FHM

Ifedolapo S. Olanrewaju, MD, MBchB, FHM

Mobolaji Olulade, MD, FHM

Elizabeth H. Papetti, MBA, FHM

Love Patel, MBBS, FHM

Kamakshya P. Patra, MD, MMM, FHM

Charles Pizanis, MD, FHM

Rajat Prakash, MD, FHM

Chris Pribula, MD, FHM

Michael Puchaev, MD, FHM

Ryan Punsalan, MD, FHM

Bhavya Rajanna, MD, FHM

Miguel A. Ramirez, MD, FHM

Raymund Ramirez, MD, FHM

Sandeep Randhawa, MBBS, FHM

Rohit Rattan, MD, FHM

Denisha Powell Rawlings, MD, FHM

Praveen K. Reddy, MD, MPH, FHM

Michael Ree, DO, MPH, FHM

Patrick Rendon, MD, FHM

David J. Rizk, MD, FAAFP, MBA, FHM

Michael Roberts, MD, FHM

Edwin Rosas, MD, FHM

Devjit Roy, MD, FHM

Sabyasachi Roy, MD, FHM

Paul Sandroni, CMPE, MSM, FHM

Vijairam Selvaraj, MD, MPH, FHM

Megha Shah, MD, MMM, FHM

Edie Shen, MD, FHM

Gurpinder Singh, MD, FACP, FHM

Vishwas A. Singh, MD, FHM

Karen Slatkovsky, MD, FHM

Sean M. Snyder, MD, FHM

Jaclyn Spiegel, MD, FHM

Dale Stapler Jr., MD, FHM

Christina E. Stovall, MD, FHM

Daniel Suders, DO, FHM

Clayton Swalstad, CMPE, MSM, FHM

Harshil Swaminarayan, MD, FHM

Keniesha Thompson, MD, FHM

Tet Toe, MD, FACP, FHM

Christine Tsai, MD, FHM

Ajay Vaikuntam, MD, FHM

Valerie Vaughn, MD, FHM

Jane N. Wainaina, FACP, MBchB, FHM

Neshahthari Wijeyakuhan, MD, FACP, FHM

Chia-Shing Yang, MD, FHM

Jennifer Zagursky, MD, FHM

The Society of Hospital Medicine has announced its 2021 class of Master Fellows, Senior Fellows, and Fellows in Hospital Medicine.

All Fellowship classes are listed in alphabetical order.
 

Master Fellows Class of 2021

Nasim Afsar, MD, MBA, MHM

Shaun D. Frost, MD, MHM

Jeffrey L. Schnipper, MD, MPH, MHM

Senior Fellows Class of 2021

Akindele Adaramola, MD, MPH, SFHM

Ramesh Adhikari, MD, SFHM

Pankaj Agrawal, MD, SFHM

Robert L. Anderson, MD, SFHM

Glenda B. Atilano, MD, SFHM

Bi A. Awosika, MD, FACP, SFHM

David N. Aymond, MD, SFHM

Paula Bailey, MD, SFHM

Amit B. Bansal, MD, MBA, SFHM

Jamie K. Bartley, DO, FACP, SFHM

Stephen J. Behnke, MD, SFHM

Christina A. Beyer, MD, SFHM

Vinil K. Bhuma, MD, SFHM

John P. Biebelhausen, MD, MBA, SFHM

Matthew T. Calestino, MD, FACP, SFHM

Domingo Caparas Jr., MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Darren Caudill, DO, FACP, SFHM

Julie M. Cernanec, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Will Cushing, PA-C, SFHM

Douglas A. Dodds II, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Coley B. Duncan, MD, CPE, MMM, SFHM

Noah Finkel, MD, SFHM

Justin Glasgow, MD, PhD, SFHM

Taylor Goot, MD, SFHM

Craig G. Gunderson, MD, SFHM

Alan Hall, MD, SFHM

Vivian Hamlett, MD, SFHM

Kathrin Harrington, MD, SFHM

Hossan Hassan, MD, SFHM

Anand D. Hongalgi, MD, FACP, SFHM

Akshata Hopkins, MD, FAAP, SFHM

Neelima Kamineni, MD, SFHM

Sudheer R. Kantharajpur, MBBS, MD, MHA, SFHM

Prakash Karki, MD, SFHM

Susrutha Kotwal, MD, SFHM

Ethan Kuperman, MD, SFHM

Rumman A. Langah, MD, FACP, SFHM

Sean LaVine, MD, FACP, SFHM

Don S. Lee, MD, FACP, SFHM

Charmaine A. Lewis, MD, MPH, CLHM, SFHM

Rishi Likhi, MD, SFHM

Lenny Lopez, MD, MPH, SFHM

Anthony Macchiavelli, MD, SFHM

Brian McGillen, MD, FACP, SFHM

Parth H. Mehta, MBBS, MD, MPH, SFHM

Anuj Mehta, MBBS, MD, MBA, SFHM

Prem Nair, MD, FACP, SFHM

Don J. Neer, MD, FACP, SFHM

Shyam Odeti, MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Amy T. O’Linn, DO, SFHM

Mihir Patel, MD, FACP, MBA, MPH, SFHM

Kimberly S. Pedram, MD, FACP, SFHM

Thomas Pineo, DO, SFHM

Mauricio Pinto, MD, SFHM

Lakmali C. Ranathunga, MBBS, SFHM

Matthew Reuter, MD, SFHM

Erik P. Rufa, MD, SFHM

Dipali Ruby Sahoo, DO, MBA, SFHM

Chady Sarraf, MD, SFHM

Suchita S. Sata, MD, SFHM

Klint Schwenk, MD, FAAP, MBA, SFHM

Aaron M. Sebach, CRNP, DNP, MBA, PhD, SFHM

Kevin Sowti, MD, MBA, SFHM

Joseph G. Surber, DO, FAAFP, SFHM

Bright Thilagar, MD, SFHM

Thomas S. Trawick Jr., MD, SFHM

Rehman Usmani, MD, SFHM

Arash Velayati, MD, SFHM

Jose A. Ventura, MD, FAAFP, SFHM

Andre Wajner, MD, PhD, SFHM

Phillip D. Warr, MD, SFHM

Virginia E. Watson, MD, SFHM

Kristin R. Wise, MD, SFHM

Elham A. Yousef, MD, FACP, MBA, MSc, SFHM

Fellows Class of 2021

Elizabeth M. Aarons, MD, FHM

Suhail A. Abbasi, MD, FACP, FHM

Waqas Adeel, MD, FHM

Rajender K. Agarwal, MD, MBA, MPH, FHM

Khaalisha Ajala, MD, MBA, FHM

Faraz S. Alam, MD, FHM

Amee Amin, MD, FHM

Muhammad W. Amir, MD, FACP, FHM

Saba Asad, MD, FHM

Logan Atkins, MD, FHM

Navneet Attri, MD, FHM

Jennifer Barnett, PA, FHM

Karyn Baum, MD, FHM

Prabhjot Bedi, MD, FHM

Nicolle R. Benz, DO, FHM

Ricky Bhimani, MD, FHM

Elizabeth Blankenship, PA-C, FHM

Rahul Borsadia, MD, FHM

Kalpana Chalasani, MD, FHM

Rani Chikkanna, MD, FHM

Venu Chippa, MBBS, MD, FHM

Lisa M. Coontz, FNP, FHM

Christie Crawford, MD, FHM

Rene Daniel, MD, PhD, FHM

Elda Dede, FHM

Radha Denmark, CNP, FHM

Alvine N. Nwehla Desamours, PA-C, FHM

Satyendra Dhar, MD, FHM

Manuel Jose Diaz, MD, FHM

Tiffany Egbe, MD, FHM

Chinwe Egbo, MD, FHM

Mohammad A. Farkhondehpour, MD, FACP, FHM

Shaheen Faruque, MBBS, FHM

Chris W. Fellin, MD, FACP, FHM

Juan Carlos Fuentes-Rosales, MD, FACP, MPH, FHM

Evelyn W. Gathecha, MD, FHM

Benjamin P. Geisler, MD, FACP, MPH, FHM

Matthew George, MD, FHM

Sonia George, DO, FHM

Mirna Giordano, MD, FHM

Rebecca Gomez, MD, FHM

David Gonzales, MD, FHM

Maria A. Guevara Hernandez, MD, FACP, FHM

Shubhra Gupta, MBBS, FHM

Rohini Harvey, MD, FHM

Allison Heinen, DO, FHM

Hollie L. Hurner, PA-C, FHM

Doug Hutcheon, MD, FHM

Varalakshmi Janamanchi, MD, FHM

Brian Keegan, MD, FACP, FHM

Qasim Khalil, MD, FHM

Irfana Khan, MD, FHM

Muhammad O. Khan, MD, FAAFP, MBA, FHM

Smita Kohli, MD, FHM

Julie Kolinski, MD, FAAP, FHM

Ewa Kontny, MD, FHM

Sungmi Lian, MD, FHM

Brian Lichtenstein, MD, FHM

Fernando Madero Gorostieta, MD, FHM

Vipul Mahajan, MD, FACP, FHM

Neetu Mahendraker, MD, FHM

Victoria McCurry, MD, FHM

Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM

Evan Meadors, MD, FHM

Kapil Mehta, MD, FACP, MBA, FHM

Waseem Mohamed, MD, FHM

Ernest Murray, MD, FHM

Murali K. Nagubandi, MD, FHM

Jessica Nave Allen, MD, FHM

Peter Nwafor, MD, FACP, FHM

Ike Anthony Nwaobi, MBBS, MBA, FHM

Olugbenga B. Ojo, MD, FACP, MBA, FHM

Jacqueline Okere, MD, FHM

Ifedolapo S. Olanrewaju, MD, MBchB, FHM

Mobolaji Olulade, MD, FHM

Elizabeth H. Papetti, MBA, FHM

Love Patel, MBBS, FHM

Kamakshya P. Patra, MD, MMM, FHM

Charles Pizanis, MD, FHM

Rajat Prakash, MD, FHM

Chris Pribula, MD, FHM

Michael Puchaev, MD, FHM

Ryan Punsalan, MD, FHM

Bhavya Rajanna, MD, FHM

Miguel A. Ramirez, MD, FHM

Raymund Ramirez, MD, FHM

Sandeep Randhawa, MBBS, FHM

Rohit Rattan, MD, FHM

Denisha Powell Rawlings, MD, FHM

Praveen K. Reddy, MD, MPH, FHM

Michael Ree, DO, MPH, FHM

Patrick Rendon, MD, FHM

David J. Rizk, MD, FAAFP, MBA, FHM

Michael Roberts, MD, FHM

Edwin Rosas, MD, FHM

Devjit Roy, MD, FHM

Sabyasachi Roy, MD, FHM

Paul Sandroni, CMPE, MSM, FHM

Vijairam Selvaraj, MD, MPH, FHM

Megha Shah, MD, MMM, FHM

Edie Shen, MD, FHM

Gurpinder Singh, MD, FACP, FHM

Vishwas A. Singh, MD, FHM

Karen Slatkovsky, MD, FHM

Sean M. Snyder, MD, FHM

Jaclyn Spiegel, MD, FHM

Dale Stapler Jr., MD, FHM

Christina E. Stovall, MD, FHM

Daniel Suders, DO, FHM

Clayton Swalstad, CMPE, MSM, FHM

Harshil Swaminarayan, MD, FHM

Keniesha Thompson, MD, FHM

Tet Toe, MD, FACP, FHM

Christine Tsai, MD, FHM

Ajay Vaikuntam, MD, FHM

Valerie Vaughn, MD, FHM

Jane N. Wainaina, FACP, MBchB, FHM

Neshahthari Wijeyakuhan, MD, FACP, FHM

Chia-Shing Yang, MD, FHM

Jennifer Zagursky, MD, FHM

Hospitalists across the United States have been and continue to be a critical part of our nation’s response to COVID-19. On National Hospitalist Day, Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Society of Hospital Medicine invites you to celebrate the individuals and teams that make up the hospital medicine community.

Courtesy Joseph Li

On this special day, SHM encourages you to share your story, showcase your team’s efforts to improve patient care, express your pride for the specialty, or share how you are making a difference in your hospital and in the lives of patients.

Here are just a few of the ways you can celebrate:

• Register for our live roundtable, featuring Mark Shapiro, MD, hospitalist and host of the Explore the Space podcast, and four hospitalist panelists, on March 4 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
• Download shareable graphics, posters, Zoom backgrounds, and coloring book pages
• Enter our social media photo contest and follow the #HowWeHospitalist hashtag across all platforms
• Read special hospitalist profiles in the Hospitalist, including: Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM; Grace Huang, MD; Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM; and Harry Cho, MD, SFHM

Thank you for all you do and continue to do for hospital medicine. We hope you take some time today to celebrate you and your colleagues, as well as your commendable contributions to health care and the future of the specialty.

To learn more about National Hospitalist Day, visit hospitalmedicine.org/hospitalistday.




 

Hospitalists across the United States have been and continue to be a critical part of our nation’s response to COVID-19. On National Hospitalist Day, Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Society of Hospital Medicine invites you to celebrate the individuals and teams that make up the hospital medicine community.

Courtesy Joseph Li

On this special day, SHM encourages you to share your story, showcase your team’s efforts to improve patient care, express your pride for the specialty, or share how you are making a difference in your hospital and in the lives of patients.

Here are just a few of the ways you can celebrate:

• Register for our live roundtable, featuring Mark Shapiro, MD, hospitalist and host of the Explore the Space podcast, and four hospitalist panelists, on March 4 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
• Download shareable graphics, posters, Zoom backgrounds, and coloring book pages
• Enter our social media photo contest and follow the #HowWeHospitalist hashtag across all platforms
• Read special hospitalist profiles in the Hospitalist, including: Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM; Grace Huang, MD; Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM; and Harry Cho, MD, SFHM

Thank you for all you do and continue to do for hospital medicine. We hope you take some time today to celebrate you and your colleagues, as well as your commendable contributions to health care and the future of the specialty.

To learn more about National Hospitalist Day, visit hospitalmedicine.org/hospitalistday.




 

Hospitalists across the United States have been and continue to be a critical part of our nation’s response to COVID-19. On National Hospitalist Day, Thursday, March 4, 2021, the Society of Hospital Medicine invites you to celebrate the individuals and teams that make up the hospital medicine community.

Courtesy Joseph Li

On this special day, SHM encourages you to share your story, showcase your team’s efforts to improve patient care, express your pride for the specialty, or share how you are making a difference in your hospital and in the lives of patients.

Here are just a few of the ways you can celebrate:

• Register for our live roundtable, featuring Mark Shapiro, MD, hospitalist and host of the Explore the Space podcast, and four hospitalist panelists, on March 4 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
• Download shareable graphics, posters, Zoom backgrounds, and coloring book pages
• Enter our social media photo contest and follow the #HowWeHospitalist hashtag across all platforms
• Read special hospitalist profiles in the Hospitalist, including: Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM; Grace Huang, MD; Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM; and Harry Cho, MD, SFHM

Thank you for all you do and continue to do for hospital medicine. We hope you take some time today to celebrate you and your colleagues, as well as your commendable contributions to health care and the future of the specialty.

To learn more about National Hospitalist Day, visit hospitalmedicine.org/hospitalistday.




 

Editor’s note: This profile is part of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM, is a physician assistant and director of the nurse practitioner/physician assistant service line for the section of hospital medicine at the University of Chicago. She is a cochair of SHM’s NP/PA Special Interest Group.

Where did you receive your PA education/training? Was your intention always to be a PA?

I graduated from the PA program at Butler University, Indianapolis, in 2014. In college, whenever I shadowed a PA, I was always impressed that each one loved their job and said they would never change it. That universal passion for the PA profession really made an impression on me.

At what point in your PA education/training did you decide to practice hospital medicine? What about it appealed to you?

That occurred during my clinical rotation year at Butler. I had always thought I wanted to practice neonatology, but during my clinical rotation I really fell in love with adult medicine. I recall that during my clinical rotation, the preceptor said to me that the goal was not to have me understand every aspect of medicine, but to learn how to exist in a hospital setting. I was exposed to the breadth of hospital medicine practice and I fell in love with the complexity, the variety, and the environment itself.

I initially accepted a job as a med-peds hospitalist PA – which brought both of my passions together at that time – at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Ind. During that time, Schneck was a 100-bed rural community hospital which had recently been the recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It was there that I was able to practice with a phenomenal group of physicians, nurses, and social workers who really took me under their wing and taught me how to be a hospitalist PA. I practiced at Schneck for 3 years, and then moved to the University of Chicago in 2017.

I am now the director of NP/PA services for the section of hospital medicine, overseeing a group of seven on our NP/PA team, within a larger group of about 60 physicians.
 

What are your favorite areas of clinical practice?

Like many hospitalists, I enjoy the variety of medicine that hospitalists practice. One area that I find especially rewarding is my time in our transplant comanagement services. To be able to walk with patients on their transplant journey is very rewarding, and I am very appreciative of the mentoring I have received from some of my colleagues with a deeper understanding of transplant medicine.

In my administrative role, I have the privilege of helping to expand the professional education and training of my colleagues. I have a passion for medical education, and we have been working to develop interprofessional educational opportunities within our section. I have had time to think about the imprint of NPs and PAs in academic medicine, and how we can continue to meet the professional educational needs of our section while improving the care of our patients.
 

What are the most challenging aspects of practicing hospital medicine?

The volume of diagnoses that we are expected to manage on a daily basis can be challenging. This challenges you to continue learning. The complexity of discharge planning, particularly for patients in underserved communities, can also be challenging. You have to make sure your patients are ready mentally, physically and emotionally for discharge. As a hospitalist, you are continuously thinking about how to optimize patients to leave your care. For example, patients have different insurance situations, different access to care at home – you are always managing the medical needs of your patient in the context of these other issues.

How does a hospitalist PA work differently from a PA in other care settings?

We are meant to be generalists. We serve as the main provider in owning our patients’ care. A hospitalist PA serves as a cog in the wheel, with connections to specialists, consultants, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, etc., and we are tasked with synthesizing all aspects of patient care to ensure the best outcome.

What has your experience taught you about how NPs and PAs can best fit into hospital medicine groups?

Each hospital medicine group will know how to best integrate their NPs and PAs based on the skillsets of their NPs and PAs, and the needs of the section and the hospital. I personally feel that the best way to utilize NPs and PAs is to allow them to own all aspects of patient care and work at the highest scope of practice. By doing this you empower the NP or PA to continue to develop their skill set and set a precedent of collaboration and respect for interprofessional care models within your section’s culture.

Scope of practice for an NP or PA is going to be based on a conglomeration of roles and bylaws. We are certified nationally, and our scope of practice is determined at the state level and the hospital by level. For the individual NP and PA, it really depends on the hospital medicine group, and how well a practice incorporates a sense of collegiality.
 

What kind of resources do hospitalist PAs need to succeed, either from SHM or from their own institutions?

There are a few key things that need to happen in order for hospital medicine groups to set up their NPs and PAs for success. The first is for PAs to have exposure to inpatient rotations during clinical rotations. A hospital medicine group also should have a very intentional onboarding process for NPs and PAs. They should also establish a culture of acceptance. To do this, they should utilize resources like SHM’s NP/PA Hospital Medicine Onboarding Toolkit and the SHM/American Academy of Physician Assistants Hospitalist Bootcamp On Demand.

Mentoring is also remarkably important. I have been incredibly blessed to have mentors that helped make me into the PA that I am. I could not have done what I did in the field without people taking a chance on me, and it is important to pass that on to the next generation of PAs.
 

How has COVID-19 changed the practice of hospital medicine, specifically for advanced practice providers?

The pandemic has demonstrated opportunities for teamwork and utilization of NPs and PAs. The COVID pandemic forced everyone to reflect on why they originally got into medicine – to help patients. I think there will be many doors opening for NPs and PAs, and many pathways for leadership.

The hospitalist leadership at the University of Chicago truly identified that we needed to make wellness a main priority during the beginning of the pandemic. We developed a wellness work group that I have been coleading.
 

What’s on the horizon for NPs and PAs in hospital medicine?

We are seeing significant increases in hospitalist program utilization, so this is a time where NPs and PAs can be advocates for our profession and articulate how we can use our backgrounds and training to build better care models in order to meet the needs of our patients.

I hope we will see more NPs and PAs assuming leadership roles to ensure that our voices are heard. We should also be advocating for more collaboration and teamwork with our MD and DO colleagues.
 

Do you have any advice for PA students interested in hospital medicine?

I always tell my students that they should be sponges – you are not expected to know everything as a hospitalist PA, but you are expected to continue learning in order to develop into the best PA you can be. Always be open to where your career path can take you. Hospital medicine is a relatively young field within medicine, and the diversity of our field is very exciting looking forward.

Editor’s note: This profile is part of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM, is a physician assistant and director of the nurse practitioner/physician assistant service line for the section of hospital medicine at the University of Chicago. She is a cochair of SHM’s NP/PA Special Interest Group.

Where did you receive your PA education/training? Was your intention always to be a PA?

I graduated from the PA program at Butler University, Indianapolis, in 2014. In college, whenever I shadowed a PA, I was always impressed that each one loved their job and said they would never change it. That universal passion for the PA profession really made an impression on me.

At what point in your PA education/training did you decide to practice hospital medicine? What about it appealed to you?

That occurred during my clinical rotation year at Butler. I had always thought I wanted to practice neonatology, but during my clinical rotation I really fell in love with adult medicine. I recall that during my clinical rotation, the preceptor said to me that the goal was not to have me understand every aspect of medicine, but to learn how to exist in a hospital setting. I was exposed to the breadth of hospital medicine practice and I fell in love with the complexity, the variety, and the environment itself.

I initially accepted a job as a med-peds hospitalist PA – which brought both of my passions together at that time – at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Ind. During that time, Schneck was a 100-bed rural community hospital which had recently been the recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It was there that I was able to practice with a phenomenal group of physicians, nurses, and social workers who really took me under their wing and taught me how to be a hospitalist PA. I practiced at Schneck for 3 years, and then moved to the University of Chicago in 2017.

I am now the director of NP/PA services for the section of hospital medicine, overseeing a group of seven on our NP/PA team, within a larger group of about 60 physicians.
 

What are your favorite areas of clinical practice?

Like many hospitalists, I enjoy the variety of medicine that hospitalists practice. One area that I find especially rewarding is my time in our transplant comanagement services. To be able to walk with patients on their transplant journey is very rewarding, and I am very appreciative of the mentoring I have received from some of my colleagues with a deeper understanding of transplant medicine.

In my administrative role, I have the privilege of helping to expand the professional education and training of my colleagues. I have a passion for medical education, and we have been working to develop interprofessional educational opportunities within our section. I have had time to think about the imprint of NPs and PAs in academic medicine, and how we can continue to meet the professional educational needs of our section while improving the care of our patients.
 

What are the most challenging aspects of practicing hospital medicine?

The volume of diagnoses that we are expected to manage on a daily basis can be challenging. This challenges you to continue learning. The complexity of discharge planning, particularly for patients in underserved communities, can also be challenging. You have to make sure your patients are ready mentally, physically and emotionally for discharge. As a hospitalist, you are continuously thinking about how to optimize patients to leave your care. For example, patients have different insurance situations, different access to care at home – you are always managing the medical needs of your patient in the context of these other issues.

How does a hospitalist PA work differently from a PA in other care settings?

We are meant to be generalists. We serve as the main provider in owning our patients’ care. A hospitalist PA serves as a cog in the wheel, with connections to specialists, consultants, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, etc., and we are tasked with synthesizing all aspects of patient care to ensure the best outcome.

What has your experience taught you about how NPs and PAs can best fit into hospital medicine groups?

Each hospital medicine group will know how to best integrate their NPs and PAs based on the skillsets of their NPs and PAs, and the needs of the section and the hospital. I personally feel that the best way to utilize NPs and PAs is to allow them to own all aspects of patient care and work at the highest scope of practice. By doing this you empower the NP or PA to continue to develop their skill set and set a precedent of collaboration and respect for interprofessional care models within your section’s culture.

Scope of practice for an NP or PA is going to be based on a conglomeration of roles and bylaws. We are certified nationally, and our scope of practice is determined at the state level and the hospital by level. For the individual NP and PA, it really depends on the hospital medicine group, and how well a practice incorporates a sense of collegiality.
 

What kind of resources do hospitalist PAs need to succeed, either from SHM or from their own institutions?

There are a few key things that need to happen in order for hospital medicine groups to set up their NPs and PAs for success. The first is for PAs to have exposure to inpatient rotations during clinical rotations. A hospital medicine group also should have a very intentional onboarding process for NPs and PAs. They should also establish a culture of acceptance. To do this, they should utilize resources like SHM’s NP/PA Hospital Medicine Onboarding Toolkit and the SHM/American Academy of Physician Assistants Hospitalist Bootcamp On Demand.

Mentoring is also remarkably important. I have been incredibly blessed to have mentors that helped make me into the PA that I am. I could not have done what I did in the field without people taking a chance on me, and it is important to pass that on to the next generation of PAs.
 

How has COVID-19 changed the practice of hospital medicine, specifically for advanced practice providers?

The pandemic has demonstrated opportunities for teamwork and utilization of NPs and PAs. The COVID pandemic forced everyone to reflect on why they originally got into medicine – to help patients. I think there will be many doors opening for NPs and PAs, and many pathways for leadership.

The hospitalist leadership at the University of Chicago truly identified that we needed to make wellness a main priority during the beginning of the pandemic. We developed a wellness work group that I have been coleading.
 

What’s on the horizon for NPs and PAs in hospital medicine?

We are seeing significant increases in hospitalist program utilization, so this is a time where NPs and PAs can be advocates for our profession and articulate how we can use our backgrounds and training to build better care models in order to meet the needs of our patients.

I hope we will see more NPs and PAs assuming leadership roles to ensure that our voices are heard. We should also be advocating for more collaboration and teamwork with our MD and DO colleagues.
 

Do you have any advice for PA students interested in hospital medicine?

I always tell my students that they should be sponges – you are not expected to know everything as a hospitalist PA, but you are expected to continue learning in order to develop into the best PA you can be. Always be open to where your career path can take you. Hospital medicine is a relatively young field within medicine, and the diversity of our field is very exciting looking forward.

Editor’s note: This profile is part of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

Bridget McGrath, PA-C, FHM, is a physician assistant and director of the nurse practitioner/physician assistant service line for the section of hospital medicine at the University of Chicago. She is a cochair of SHM’s NP/PA Special Interest Group.

Where did you receive your PA education/training? Was your intention always to be a PA?

I graduated from the PA program at Butler University, Indianapolis, in 2014. In college, whenever I shadowed a PA, I was always impressed that each one loved their job and said they would never change it. That universal passion for the PA profession really made an impression on me.

At what point in your PA education/training did you decide to practice hospital medicine? What about it appealed to you?

That occurred during my clinical rotation year at Butler. I had always thought I wanted to practice neonatology, but during my clinical rotation I really fell in love with adult medicine. I recall that during my clinical rotation, the preceptor said to me that the goal was not to have me understand every aspect of medicine, but to learn how to exist in a hospital setting. I was exposed to the breadth of hospital medicine practice and I fell in love with the complexity, the variety, and the environment itself.

I initially accepted a job as a med-peds hospitalist PA – which brought both of my passions together at that time – at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Ind. During that time, Schneck was a 100-bed rural community hospital which had recently been the recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. It was there that I was able to practice with a phenomenal group of physicians, nurses, and social workers who really took me under their wing and taught me how to be a hospitalist PA. I practiced at Schneck for 3 years, and then moved to the University of Chicago in 2017.

I am now the director of NP/PA services for the section of hospital medicine, overseeing a group of seven on our NP/PA team, within a larger group of about 60 physicians.
 

What are your favorite areas of clinical practice?

Like many hospitalists, I enjoy the variety of medicine that hospitalists practice. One area that I find especially rewarding is my time in our transplant comanagement services. To be able to walk with patients on their transplant journey is very rewarding, and I am very appreciative of the mentoring I have received from some of my colleagues with a deeper understanding of transplant medicine.

In my administrative role, I have the privilege of helping to expand the professional education and training of my colleagues. I have a passion for medical education, and we have been working to develop interprofessional educational opportunities within our section. I have had time to think about the imprint of NPs and PAs in academic medicine, and how we can continue to meet the professional educational needs of our section while improving the care of our patients.
 

What are the most challenging aspects of practicing hospital medicine?

The volume of diagnoses that we are expected to manage on a daily basis can be challenging. This challenges you to continue learning. The complexity of discharge planning, particularly for patients in underserved communities, can also be challenging. You have to make sure your patients are ready mentally, physically and emotionally for discharge. As a hospitalist, you are continuously thinking about how to optimize patients to leave your care. For example, patients have different insurance situations, different access to care at home – you are always managing the medical needs of your patient in the context of these other issues.

How does a hospitalist PA work differently from a PA in other care settings?

We are meant to be generalists. We serve as the main provider in owning our patients’ care. A hospitalist PA serves as a cog in the wheel, with connections to specialists, consultants, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, etc., and we are tasked with synthesizing all aspects of patient care to ensure the best outcome.

What has your experience taught you about how NPs and PAs can best fit into hospital medicine groups?

Each hospital medicine group will know how to best integrate their NPs and PAs based on the skillsets of their NPs and PAs, and the needs of the section and the hospital. I personally feel that the best way to utilize NPs and PAs is to allow them to own all aspects of patient care and work at the highest scope of practice. By doing this you empower the NP or PA to continue to develop their skill set and set a precedent of collaboration and respect for interprofessional care models within your section’s culture.

Scope of practice for an NP or PA is going to be based on a conglomeration of roles and bylaws. We are certified nationally, and our scope of practice is determined at the state level and the hospital by level. For the individual NP and PA, it really depends on the hospital medicine group, and how well a practice incorporates a sense of collegiality.
 

What kind of resources do hospitalist PAs need to succeed, either from SHM or from their own institutions?

There are a few key things that need to happen in order for hospital medicine groups to set up their NPs and PAs for success. The first is for PAs to have exposure to inpatient rotations during clinical rotations. A hospital medicine group also should have a very intentional onboarding process for NPs and PAs. They should also establish a culture of acceptance. To do this, they should utilize resources like SHM’s NP/PA Hospital Medicine Onboarding Toolkit and the SHM/American Academy of Physician Assistants Hospitalist Bootcamp On Demand.

Mentoring is also remarkably important. I have been incredibly blessed to have mentors that helped make me into the PA that I am. I could not have done what I did in the field without people taking a chance on me, and it is important to pass that on to the next generation of PAs.
 

How has COVID-19 changed the practice of hospital medicine, specifically for advanced practice providers?

The pandemic has demonstrated opportunities for teamwork and utilization of NPs and PAs. The COVID pandemic forced everyone to reflect on why they originally got into medicine – to help patients. I think there will be many doors opening for NPs and PAs, and many pathways for leadership.

The hospitalist leadership at the University of Chicago truly identified that we needed to make wellness a main priority during the beginning of the pandemic. We developed a wellness work group that I have been coleading.
 

What’s on the horizon for NPs and PAs in hospital medicine?

We are seeing significant increases in hospitalist program utilization, so this is a time where NPs and PAs can be advocates for our profession and articulate how we can use our backgrounds and training to build better care models in order to meet the needs of our patients.

I hope we will see more NPs and PAs assuming leadership roles to ensure that our voices are heard. We should also be advocating for more collaboration and teamwork with our MD and DO colleagues.
 

Do you have any advice for PA students interested in hospital medicine?

I always tell my students that they should be sponges – you are not expected to know everything as a hospitalist PA, but you are expected to continue learning in order to develop into the best PA you can be. Always be open to where your career path can take you. Hospital medicine is a relatively young field within medicine, and the diversity of our field is very exciting looking forward.

In honor of National Hospitalist Day, the Society of Hospital Medicine and the Explore the Space podcast are teaming up to bring you a roundtable discussion, featuring a diverse group of hospitalists from all stages in their careers, on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Registration is required. Sign up here.

Hosted by Mark Shapiro, MD, hospitalist and founder, producer, and host of Explore the Space, the roundtable will include:

• Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD, a clinician-educator and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He studies, writes, and speaks about how doctors think – how they make diagnoses, how they develop diagnostic expertise, and what motivates them to improve their practice and the systems in which they work.
• Anika Kumar, MD, FHM, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and a pediatric hospitalist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. She also serves as the pediatric editor of the Hospitalist, SHM’s monthly news magazine.
• Maylyn S. Martinez, MD, a clinician-researcher and clinical associate at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on hospital-associated disability and she recently authored a perspectives piece in the Journal of Hospital Medicine with her mentor, Vineet Arora, MD, MHM, on why the COVID-19 pandemic might exacerbate this problem.
• Ndidi Unaka, MD, MEd, an associate professor in the division of hospital medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Unaka has served as the associate program director of the pediatric residency program since 2011. She is also the medical director of an inpatient unit that serves as the primary home.

For more information about SHM, please visit hospitalmedicine.org. To learn more about Explore the Space, please visit explorethespaceshow.com.

Register now.




 

In honor of National Hospitalist Day, the Society of Hospital Medicine and the Explore the Space podcast are teaming up to bring you a roundtable discussion, featuring a diverse group of hospitalists from all stages in their careers, on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Registration is required. Sign up here.

Hosted by Mark Shapiro, MD, hospitalist and founder, producer, and host of Explore the Space, the roundtable will include:

• Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD, a clinician-educator and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He studies, writes, and speaks about how doctors think – how they make diagnoses, how they develop diagnostic expertise, and what motivates them to improve their practice and the systems in which they work.
• Anika Kumar, MD, FHM, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and a pediatric hospitalist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. She also serves as the pediatric editor of the Hospitalist, SHM’s monthly news magazine.
• Maylyn S. Martinez, MD, a clinician-researcher and clinical associate at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on hospital-associated disability and she recently authored a perspectives piece in the Journal of Hospital Medicine with her mentor, Vineet Arora, MD, MHM, on why the COVID-19 pandemic might exacerbate this problem.
• Ndidi Unaka, MD, MEd, an associate professor in the division of hospital medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Unaka has served as the associate program director of the pediatric residency program since 2011. She is also the medical director of an inpatient unit that serves as the primary home.

For more information about SHM, please visit hospitalmedicine.org. To learn more about Explore the Space, please visit explorethespaceshow.com.

Register now.




 

In honor of National Hospitalist Day, the Society of Hospital Medicine and the Explore the Space podcast are teaming up to bring you a roundtable discussion, featuring a diverse group of hospitalists from all stages in their careers, on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Registration is required. Sign up here.

Hosted by Mark Shapiro, MD, hospitalist and founder, producer, and host of Explore the Space, the roundtable will include:

• Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD, a clinician-educator and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He studies, writes, and speaks about how doctors think – how they make diagnoses, how they develop diagnostic expertise, and what motivates them to improve their practice and the systems in which they work.
• Anika Kumar, MD, FHM, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and a pediatric hospitalist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. She also serves as the pediatric editor of the Hospitalist, SHM’s monthly news magazine.
• Maylyn S. Martinez, MD, a clinician-researcher and clinical associate at the University of Chicago. Her research focuses on hospital-associated disability and she recently authored a perspectives piece in the Journal of Hospital Medicine with her mentor, Vineet Arora, MD, MHM, on why the COVID-19 pandemic might exacerbate this problem.
• Ndidi Unaka, MD, MEd, an associate professor in the division of hospital medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Unaka has served as the associate program director of the pediatric residency program since 2011. She is also the medical director of an inpatient unit that serves as the primary home.

For more information about SHM, please visit hospitalmedicine.org. To learn more about Explore the Space, please visit explorethespaceshow.com.

Register now.




 

Editor’s note: This profile is part of SHM’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually, and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

Grace C. Huang, MD, is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Dr. Huang currently serves as vice chair for career development and mentoring in the department of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess as well as director of the Office of Academic Careers and Faculty Development, and codirector of the Beth Israel Deaconess Academy of Medical Educators. She is also director of the Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education, a program for Harvard Medical School faculty designed to help develop the skills needed to launch or advance academic careers in medical education or academic leadership.

Additionally, Dr. Huang is the editor in chief of MedEdPORTAL, a MEDLINE-indexed, open-access journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
 

At what point in your training did you decide to practice hospital medicine, and what about it appealed to you?

I trained at a point in time where it was rare for people to aspire to go in to hospital medicine. It just wasn’t that common, and there were so few examples of what a career trajectory in hospital medicine would look like. So I don’t know that I actively chose to go into hospital medicine; I chose it because it was what I knew how to do, based on my residency experience.

But it is really easy and authentic for me now to share about what makes hospital medicine such a vibrant career choice. I’m doing a lot of things in my job other than hospital medicine, but when I am on service, it reminds me acutely what it means to stay connected to why I became a doctor. The practice of hospital medicine means to be there at the most intense time of many people’s lives, to shoulder the responsibility of knowing that what I say to my patients will be remembered forever, and to be challenged by some of medicine’s hardest problems.

Hospital medicine has a way of putting you at the nexus of individual, family, society, government, and planet. But it also means that, even while I am witness to disease, suffering, broken relationships, social injustice, and environmental issues, I get a privileged look at what it means to comfort, to identify what really matters to people, to understand what gives us dignity as human beings. Lastly, I always come back to the fact that working as a team has made my clinical job so much more enriching; it’s not trench warfare, but you do create bonds quickly with learners, colleagues, and other health professionals in such an intense, fast-paced environment.
 

What is your current role at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center?

At Beth Israel Deaconess, I’m holding four different jobs. It’s sometimes hard for me to keep track of them, but they all center on career and faculty development. I’m a vice chair for career development within the department of medicine, and I also have an institutional role for faculty development for clinicians, educators, and researchers. I provide academic promotion support for the faculty, provide ad hoc mentorship, and run professional development programming. I also direct a year-long medical education fellowship. On the side, I am the editor in chief for a medical education journal.

What are your favorite areas of clinical practice and research?

Being a generalist means I love a lot of areas of clinical practice. I’m not sure there’s a particular area that I enjoy more than others. I love teaching specific topics – antibiotics, pharmacology, direct oral anticoagulants, the microbiology of common infections. I love thinking about how the heart and kidney battle for dominance each day and being the mediator. I have a particular interest in high-value care and lab ordering (or the fact that we should do much less of it). I love complex diagnostic problems and mapping them out on paper for my team.

The research that I’ve been doing over the past 20 years has focused on how we train internists and internists-to-be to do bedside procedures. It stemmed from my own ineptitude in doing procedures, and it caused me to question the age-old approach we took in sticking needles into patients without standardized training, supervision, or safety measures.

I’ve been proud of the small role I’ve been able to play in influencing how residents are taught to do procedures, and now I’m working with others to focus on how we should teach procedures to hospitalists, who don’t do procedures on a regular basis, and aren’t under the same expectations for ongoing skill development.
 

What are the most challenging aspects of practicing hospital medicine, and what are the most rewarding?

The intensity is probably what’s hardest for me about hospital medicine. At this point in my career, if I’m on service for a week, it takes me just as long to recover. It’s the cognitive load of needing to keep track of details that can make a big difference, the rapidity at which patients can deteriorate, the need to change course in an instant because of new information, and wanting to be mentally present and available for my patients and my learners.

It’s also hard to see suffering up close and personal and to leave feeling helpless to change the course of severe illness or to optimize care within the constraints of the health care system. This is why I do – and have to – extract satisfaction from the smallest of wins and brief moments of connection. Like seeing a patient turn the corner after being on the brink. Or gaining trust from an initially upset family member. Getting a copy of the eulogy from the daughter of my patient. A phone call from a patient I cared for 18 months ago, thanking me for my care. Visiting patients in the hospital socially that I had gotten to know over the years.
 

How has COVID-19 impacted hospitalist practice, and what changes will outlast the pandemic?

What you read in the lay press has put a spotlight on hospital-based work. What has been shared resonates with my own experience – the loss of connection from visitor restrictions, the isolation patients experience when everyone is wearing personal protective equipment, the worsening of everything that was already hard to begin with, like health care disparities, mental health, access to community supports, financial challenges, the disproportionate burden on unpaid caregivers, etc.

After the pandemic is “over,” I hope that we will retain a sense of intentionality how we address limited resources, the importance of social connection, the structural racism that has disadvantaged patients and physicians of color.
 

How will hospital medicine as a field change in the next decade or 2?

The hospitalist model has already influenced other specialties, like ob.gyn., neurology, and cardiology, and I expect that to continue. Hospitalists have already become leaders at the highest levels, and we will see them in higher numbers throughout health care leadership.

Are there any particular mentors who have been influential in your journey as a hospitalist?

Because I’m one of the older hospitalists in my group, there were fewer mentors, other than my boss, Joe Li, MD, SFHM, [section chief in hospital medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess], who has been an amazing role model. I think also of my colleagues as peer mentors, who continue to push me to be a better doctor. Whether it means remaining curious during the physical exam, or inspiring me with their excitement about clinical cases.

Do you have any advice for students and residents interested in hospital medicine?

When I talk to trainees about career development as a hospitalist, I encourage them to think about what will make them a “Hospitalist Plus.” Whether that Plus is teaching, research, or leadership, being a hospitalist gives you an opportunity to extend your impact as a physician into related realm.

I look around at our hospital medicine group, and every person has their Plus. We have educators, quality improvement leaders, a health services researcher, a health policy expert, a textbook editor – everyone brings special expertise to the group. My Plus now is much bigger than my footprint as a hospitalist, but I would never have gotten here had I not chosen a career path that would allow me to explore the farthest reaches of my potential as a physician.
 

Editor’s note: This profile is part of SHM’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually, and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

Grace C. Huang, MD, is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Dr. Huang currently serves as vice chair for career development and mentoring in the department of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess as well as director of the Office of Academic Careers and Faculty Development, and codirector of the Beth Israel Deaconess Academy of Medical Educators. She is also director of the Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education, a program for Harvard Medical School faculty designed to help develop the skills needed to launch or advance academic careers in medical education or academic leadership.

Additionally, Dr. Huang is the editor in chief of MedEdPORTAL, a MEDLINE-indexed, open-access journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
 

At what point in your training did you decide to practice hospital medicine, and what about it appealed to you?

I trained at a point in time where it was rare for people to aspire to go in to hospital medicine. It just wasn’t that common, and there were so few examples of what a career trajectory in hospital medicine would look like. So I don’t know that I actively chose to go into hospital medicine; I chose it because it was what I knew how to do, based on my residency experience.

But it is really easy and authentic for me now to share about what makes hospital medicine such a vibrant career choice. I’m doing a lot of things in my job other than hospital medicine, but when I am on service, it reminds me acutely what it means to stay connected to why I became a doctor. The practice of hospital medicine means to be there at the most intense time of many people’s lives, to shoulder the responsibility of knowing that what I say to my patients will be remembered forever, and to be challenged by some of medicine’s hardest problems.

Hospital medicine has a way of putting you at the nexus of individual, family, society, government, and planet. But it also means that, even while I am witness to disease, suffering, broken relationships, social injustice, and environmental issues, I get a privileged look at what it means to comfort, to identify what really matters to people, to understand what gives us dignity as human beings. Lastly, I always come back to the fact that working as a team has made my clinical job so much more enriching; it’s not trench warfare, but you do create bonds quickly with learners, colleagues, and other health professionals in such an intense, fast-paced environment.
 

What is your current role at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center?

At Beth Israel Deaconess, I’m holding four different jobs. It’s sometimes hard for me to keep track of them, but they all center on career and faculty development. I’m a vice chair for career development within the department of medicine, and I also have an institutional role for faculty development for clinicians, educators, and researchers. I provide academic promotion support for the faculty, provide ad hoc mentorship, and run professional development programming. I also direct a year-long medical education fellowship. On the side, I am the editor in chief for a medical education journal.

What are your favorite areas of clinical practice and research?

Being a generalist means I love a lot of areas of clinical practice. I’m not sure there’s a particular area that I enjoy more than others. I love teaching specific topics – antibiotics, pharmacology, direct oral anticoagulants, the microbiology of common infections. I love thinking about how the heart and kidney battle for dominance each day and being the mediator. I have a particular interest in high-value care and lab ordering (or the fact that we should do much less of it). I love complex diagnostic problems and mapping them out on paper for my team.

The research that I’ve been doing over the past 20 years has focused on how we train internists and internists-to-be to do bedside procedures. It stemmed from my own ineptitude in doing procedures, and it caused me to question the age-old approach we took in sticking needles into patients without standardized training, supervision, or safety measures.

I’ve been proud of the small role I’ve been able to play in influencing how residents are taught to do procedures, and now I’m working with others to focus on how we should teach procedures to hospitalists, who don’t do procedures on a regular basis, and aren’t under the same expectations for ongoing skill development.
 

What are the most challenging aspects of practicing hospital medicine, and what are the most rewarding?

The intensity is probably what’s hardest for me about hospital medicine. At this point in my career, if I’m on service for a week, it takes me just as long to recover. It’s the cognitive load of needing to keep track of details that can make a big difference, the rapidity at which patients can deteriorate, the need to change course in an instant because of new information, and wanting to be mentally present and available for my patients and my learners.

It’s also hard to see suffering up close and personal and to leave feeling helpless to change the course of severe illness or to optimize care within the constraints of the health care system. This is why I do – and have to – extract satisfaction from the smallest of wins and brief moments of connection. Like seeing a patient turn the corner after being on the brink. Or gaining trust from an initially upset family member. Getting a copy of the eulogy from the daughter of my patient. A phone call from a patient I cared for 18 months ago, thanking me for my care. Visiting patients in the hospital socially that I had gotten to know over the years.
 

How has COVID-19 impacted hospitalist practice, and what changes will outlast the pandemic?

What you read in the lay press has put a spotlight on hospital-based work. What has been shared resonates with my own experience – the loss of connection from visitor restrictions, the isolation patients experience when everyone is wearing personal protective equipment, the worsening of everything that was already hard to begin with, like health care disparities, mental health, access to community supports, financial challenges, the disproportionate burden on unpaid caregivers, etc.

After the pandemic is “over,” I hope that we will retain a sense of intentionality how we address limited resources, the importance of social connection, the structural racism that has disadvantaged patients and physicians of color.
 

How will hospital medicine as a field change in the next decade or 2?

The hospitalist model has already influenced other specialties, like ob.gyn., neurology, and cardiology, and I expect that to continue. Hospitalists have already become leaders at the highest levels, and we will see them in higher numbers throughout health care leadership.

Are there any particular mentors who have been influential in your journey as a hospitalist?

Because I’m one of the older hospitalists in my group, there were fewer mentors, other than my boss, Joe Li, MD, SFHM, [section chief in hospital medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess], who has been an amazing role model. I think also of my colleagues as peer mentors, who continue to push me to be a better doctor. Whether it means remaining curious during the physical exam, or inspiring me with their excitement about clinical cases.

Do you have any advice for students and residents interested in hospital medicine?

When I talk to trainees about career development as a hospitalist, I encourage them to think about what will make them a “Hospitalist Plus.” Whether that Plus is teaching, research, or leadership, being a hospitalist gives you an opportunity to extend your impact as a physician into related realm.

I look around at our hospital medicine group, and every person has their Plus. We have educators, quality improvement leaders, a health services researcher, a health policy expert, a textbook editor – everyone brings special expertise to the group. My Plus now is much bigger than my footprint as a hospitalist, but I would never have gotten here had I not chosen a career path that would allow me to explore the farthest reaches of my potential as a physician.
 

Editor’s note: This profile is part of SHM’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually, and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

Grace C. Huang, MD, is a hospitalist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, both in Boston.

Dr. Huang currently serves as vice chair for career development and mentoring in the department of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess as well as director of the Office of Academic Careers and Faculty Development, and codirector of the Beth Israel Deaconess Academy of Medical Educators. She is also director of the Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education, a program for Harvard Medical School faculty designed to help develop the skills needed to launch or advance academic careers in medical education or academic leadership.

Additionally, Dr. Huang is the editor in chief of MedEdPORTAL, a MEDLINE-indexed, open-access journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
 

At what point in your training did you decide to practice hospital medicine, and what about it appealed to you?

I trained at a point in time where it was rare for people to aspire to go in to hospital medicine. It just wasn’t that common, and there were so few examples of what a career trajectory in hospital medicine would look like. So I don’t know that I actively chose to go into hospital medicine; I chose it because it was what I knew how to do, based on my residency experience.

But it is really easy and authentic for me now to share about what makes hospital medicine such a vibrant career choice. I’m doing a lot of things in my job other than hospital medicine, but when I am on service, it reminds me acutely what it means to stay connected to why I became a doctor. The practice of hospital medicine means to be there at the most intense time of many people’s lives, to shoulder the responsibility of knowing that what I say to my patients will be remembered forever, and to be challenged by some of medicine’s hardest problems.

Hospital medicine has a way of putting you at the nexus of individual, family, society, government, and planet. But it also means that, even while I am witness to disease, suffering, broken relationships, social injustice, and environmental issues, I get a privileged look at what it means to comfort, to identify what really matters to people, to understand what gives us dignity as human beings. Lastly, I always come back to the fact that working as a team has made my clinical job so much more enriching; it’s not trench warfare, but you do create bonds quickly with learners, colleagues, and other health professionals in such an intense, fast-paced environment.
 

What is your current role at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center?

At Beth Israel Deaconess, I’m holding four different jobs. It’s sometimes hard for me to keep track of them, but they all center on career and faculty development. I’m a vice chair for career development within the department of medicine, and I also have an institutional role for faculty development for clinicians, educators, and researchers. I provide academic promotion support for the faculty, provide ad hoc mentorship, and run professional development programming. I also direct a year-long medical education fellowship. On the side, I am the editor in chief for a medical education journal.

What are your favorite areas of clinical practice and research?

Being a generalist means I love a lot of areas of clinical practice. I’m not sure there’s a particular area that I enjoy more than others. I love teaching specific topics – antibiotics, pharmacology, direct oral anticoagulants, the microbiology of common infections. I love thinking about how the heart and kidney battle for dominance each day and being the mediator. I have a particular interest in high-value care and lab ordering (or the fact that we should do much less of it). I love complex diagnostic problems and mapping them out on paper for my team.

The research that I’ve been doing over the past 20 years has focused on how we train internists and internists-to-be to do bedside procedures. It stemmed from my own ineptitude in doing procedures, and it caused me to question the age-old approach we took in sticking needles into patients without standardized training, supervision, or safety measures.

I’ve been proud of the small role I’ve been able to play in influencing how residents are taught to do procedures, and now I’m working with others to focus on how we should teach procedures to hospitalists, who don’t do procedures on a regular basis, and aren’t under the same expectations for ongoing skill development.
 

What are the most challenging aspects of practicing hospital medicine, and what are the most rewarding?

The intensity is probably what’s hardest for me about hospital medicine. At this point in my career, if I’m on service for a week, it takes me just as long to recover. It’s the cognitive load of needing to keep track of details that can make a big difference, the rapidity at which patients can deteriorate, the need to change course in an instant because of new information, and wanting to be mentally present and available for my patients and my learners.

It’s also hard to see suffering up close and personal and to leave feeling helpless to change the course of severe illness or to optimize care within the constraints of the health care system. This is why I do – and have to – extract satisfaction from the smallest of wins and brief moments of connection. Like seeing a patient turn the corner after being on the brink. Or gaining trust from an initially upset family member. Getting a copy of the eulogy from the daughter of my patient. A phone call from a patient I cared for 18 months ago, thanking me for my care. Visiting patients in the hospital socially that I had gotten to know over the years.
 

How has COVID-19 impacted hospitalist practice, and what changes will outlast the pandemic?

What you read in the lay press has put a spotlight on hospital-based work. What has been shared resonates with my own experience – the loss of connection from visitor restrictions, the isolation patients experience when everyone is wearing personal protective equipment, the worsening of everything that was already hard to begin with, like health care disparities, mental health, access to community supports, financial challenges, the disproportionate burden on unpaid caregivers, etc.

After the pandemic is “over,” I hope that we will retain a sense of intentionality how we address limited resources, the importance of social connection, the structural racism that has disadvantaged patients and physicians of color.
 

How will hospital medicine as a field change in the next decade or 2?

The hospitalist model has already influenced other specialties, like ob.gyn., neurology, and cardiology, and I expect that to continue. Hospitalists have already become leaders at the highest levels, and we will see them in higher numbers throughout health care leadership.

Are there any particular mentors who have been influential in your journey as a hospitalist?

Because I’m one of the older hospitalists in my group, there were fewer mentors, other than my boss, Joe Li, MD, SFHM, [section chief in hospital medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess], who has been an amazing role model. I think also of my colleagues as peer mentors, who continue to push me to be a better doctor. Whether it means remaining curious during the physical exam, or inspiring me with their excitement about clinical cases.

Do you have any advice for students and residents interested in hospital medicine?

When I talk to trainees about career development as a hospitalist, I encourage them to think about what will make them a “Hospitalist Plus.” Whether that Plus is teaching, research, or leadership, being a hospitalist gives you an opportunity to extend your impact as a physician into related realm.

I look around at our hospital medicine group, and every person has their Plus. We have educators, quality improvement leaders, a health services researcher, a health policy expert, a textbook editor – everyone brings special expertise to the group. My Plus now is much bigger than my footprint as a hospitalist, but I would never have gotten here had I not chosen a career path that would allow me to explore the farthest reaches of my potential as a physician.
 

Editor’s note: This profile is part of SHM’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually, and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

For Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM, CEO since July 2020 for the Society of Hospital Medicine, an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and a lifelong proclivity for figuring out puzzles, solving problems, and taking things apart to see how they fit back together were building blocks for an exemplary career as a hospitalist, group administrator, and medical educator.

When he was growing up in historic Annapolis, Md., near the shores of Chesapeake Bay, things to put back together included remote control airplanes, small boat engines, and cars. As a hospitalist, his interest in solving problems and facility with numbers and systems led him to become an expert on quality improvement, transitions of care, and conflict management.

Courtesy Dr. Eric Howell

“I was one of the first four doctors hired. I thought I’d just do it for a year, but I loved inpatient work, so I stayed,” Dr. Howell said. “Roy mentored me for the next 20 years and helped me to become an above average hospitalist.”

Early on, Dr. Howell’s department chair, David Hellman, MD, who had worked at the University of California–San Francisco with hospital medicine pioneer Robert Wachter, MD, MHM, sent Dr. Howell to San Francisco to be mentored by Dr. Wachter, since there were few hospital mentors on the East Coast at that time.

“What I took away from that experience was how important it was to professionalize hospital medicine – in order to develop specialized expertise,” Dr. Howell recalled. “Dr. Wachter taught me that hospitalists need to have a professional focus. Quality improvement, systems-based improvement, and value all became part of that,” he said.

“Many people thought to be a hospitalist all you had to know was basic medicine. But it turns out medicine in the hospital is just as specialized as any other specialty. The hospital itself requires specialized knowledge that didn’t even exist 20 years ago.” Because of complicated disease states and clinical systems, hospitalists have to be better at navigating the software of today’s hospital.
 

New job opportunities

Dr. Howell describes his career path as a new job focus opening up every 5 years or so, redefining what he does and trying something new and exciting with better pay. His first was a focus on clinical hospital medicine and learning how to be a better doctor. Then in 2005 he began work as a teacher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. There he mastered the teaching of medical trainees, winning awards as an instructor, including SHM’s award for excellence in teaching.

In 2010 he again changed his focus to program building, leading the expansion of the hospitalist service for Bayview and three other hospitals in the Johns Hopkins system. Dr. Howell helped grow the service to nearly 200 clinicians while becoming skilled at operational and program development.

His fourth job incarnation, starting in 2015, was the obsessive pursuit of quality improvement, marshaling data to measure and improve clinical and other outcomes on the quality dashboard – mortality, length of stay, readmissions, rates of adverse events – and putting quality improvement strategies in place.

“Our mortality rates at Bayview were well below national standards. We came up with an amazing program. A lot of hospital medicine programs pursue improvement, but we really measured it. We benchmarked ourselves against other programs at Hopkins,” he said. “I set up a dedicated conference room, as many QI programs do. We called it True North, and each wall had a different QI focus, with updates on the reported metrics. Every other week we met there to talk about the metrics,” he said.

That experience led to working with SHM, which he had joined as a member early in his career and for which he had previously served as president. He became SHM’s quality improvement liaison and a co-principal investigator on Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions), SHM’s pioneering, national mentored-implementation model aimed at improving transitions of care from participating hospitals to reduce readmissions. “BOOST really established SHM’s reputation as a quality improvement-oriented organization. It was a stake in the ground for quality and led to SHM receiving the Joint Commission’s 2011 John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality,” he said.

Dr. Howell’s fifth career phase, medical society management, emerged when he was recruited to apply for the SHM chief executive position – held since its inception by retiring CEO Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM. Dr. Howell started work at SHM in the midst of the pandemic, spending much of his time working from home – especially when Philadelphia implemented stricter COVID-19 restrictions. Once pandemic restrictions are loosened, he expects to do a lot of traveling. But for now, the external-facing part of his job is mainly on Zoom.
 

Making the world a better place

Dr. Howell said he has held fast to three mottos in life, which have guided his career path as well as his personal life: (1) to make the world a better place; (2) to be ethical and transparent; and (3) to invest in people. His wife of 19 years, Heather Howell, an Annapolis realtor, says making the world a better place is what they taught their children, Mason, 18, who starts college at Rice University in fall 2021 with an interest in premed, and Anna, 16, a competitive sailor. “We always had a poster hanging in our house extolling that message,” Ms. Howell said.

Dr. Howell grew up in a nautical family, with many of his relatives working in the maritime business. His kids grew up on the water, learning to pilot a powerboat before driving a car, as he did. “We boat all the time on the bay” in his lobster boat, which he often works on to keep it seaworthy, Ms. Howell said.

“There’s nothing like taking care of hospitalized patients to make you feel you’re making the world a better place,” Dr. Howell observed. “Very often you can make a huge difference for the patients you do care for, and that is incredibly rewarding.” Although the demands of his SHM leadership position required relinquishing most of his responsibilities at Johns Hopkins, he continues to see patients and teach residents there 2-4 weeks a year on a teaching service.

“Why do I still see patients? I find it so rewarding. And I get to teach, which I love,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t think you truly need to see patients to be head of a professional medical society like SHM. Maybe someday I’ll give that up. But only if it’s necessary to make the society more successful.”

Half of Dr. Howell’s Society work now is planned and half is “putting out fires” – while learning members’ needs in real time. “Right now, we’re worried about burnout and PTSD, because frankly it’s stressful to take care of COVID patients. It’s scary for a lot of clinicians. I’m working with our members to make sure they have what they need to be clinically prepared, including resources to be more resilient professionally.”

Every step of his career, Dr. Howell said, has seemed like the best job he ever had. “Making the world a better place is still important to me. I tell SHM members that it’s important to know they are making a difference. What they’re doing is really important, especially with COVID, and it needs to be sustainable,” he said.

“SHM has such a powerful mission – it’s about making patient care better, and making hospitalists better clinicians. I know the Society is having a powerful impact, and that’s good enough for me. I’m into teams. Hospital medicine is a team sport, but so is SHM, interacting with its members, staff, and board.”
 

Initiating another new program

One of Dr. Howell’s last major projects for Hopkins was to launch and be chief medical officer for the Joint Commission–accredited Baltimore Civic Center Field Hospital for COVID-19 patients, opened in March 2020.

Courtesy Dr. Eric Howell

With a surge capacity of 250 beds, and a negative pressure ward set up in the center’s exhibit hall, it is jointly operated by the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Hospital. The field hospital’s mission has since expanded to include viral tests, infusions of monoclonal antibodies, and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Planning for a smooth transition, Dr. Howell brought Melinda E. Kantsiper, MD, director of clinical operations, Division of Hospital Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview, on board as associate medical officer, to eventually replace him as CMO after a few months working alongside him. “Eric brings that logical engineering eye to problem solving,” Dr. Kantsiper said.

Courtesy Johns Hopkins Medicine

Editor’s note: This profile is part of SHM’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually, and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

For Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM, CEO since July 2020 for the Society of Hospital Medicine, an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and a lifelong proclivity for figuring out puzzles, solving problems, and taking things apart to see how they fit back together were building blocks for an exemplary career as a hospitalist, group administrator, and medical educator.

When he was growing up in historic Annapolis, Md., near the shores of Chesapeake Bay, things to put back together included remote control airplanes, small boat engines, and cars. As a hospitalist, his interest in solving problems and facility with numbers and systems led him to become an expert on quality improvement, transitions of care, and conflict management.

Courtesy Dr. Eric Howell

“I was one of the first four doctors hired. I thought I’d just do it for a year, but I loved inpatient work, so I stayed,” Dr. Howell said. “Roy mentored me for the next 20 years and helped me to become an above average hospitalist.”

Early on, Dr. Howell’s department chair, David Hellman, MD, who had worked at the University of California–San Francisco with hospital medicine pioneer Robert Wachter, MD, MHM, sent Dr. Howell to San Francisco to be mentored by Dr. Wachter, since there were few hospital mentors on the East Coast at that time.

“What I took away from that experience was how important it was to professionalize hospital medicine – in order to develop specialized expertise,” Dr. Howell recalled. “Dr. Wachter taught me that hospitalists need to have a professional focus. Quality improvement, systems-based improvement, and value all became part of that,” he said.

“Many people thought to be a hospitalist all you had to know was basic medicine. But it turns out medicine in the hospital is just as specialized as any other specialty. The hospital itself requires specialized knowledge that didn’t even exist 20 years ago.” Because of complicated disease states and clinical systems, hospitalists have to be better at navigating the software of today’s hospital.
 

New job opportunities

Dr. Howell describes his career path as a new job focus opening up every 5 years or so, redefining what he does and trying something new and exciting with better pay. His first was a focus on clinical hospital medicine and learning how to be a better doctor. Then in 2005 he began work as a teacher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. There he mastered the teaching of medical trainees, winning awards as an instructor, including SHM’s award for excellence in teaching.

In 2010 he again changed his focus to program building, leading the expansion of the hospitalist service for Bayview and three other hospitals in the Johns Hopkins system. Dr. Howell helped grow the service to nearly 200 clinicians while becoming skilled at operational and program development.

His fourth job incarnation, starting in 2015, was the obsessive pursuit of quality improvement, marshaling data to measure and improve clinical and other outcomes on the quality dashboard – mortality, length of stay, readmissions, rates of adverse events – and putting quality improvement strategies in place.

“Our mortality rates at Bayview were well below national standards. We came up with an amazing program. A lot of hospital medicine programs pursue improvement, but we really measured it. We benchmarked ourselves against other programs at Hopkins,” he said. “I set up a dedicated conference room, as many QI programs do. We called it True North, and each wall had a different QI focus, with updates on the reported metrics. Every other week we met there to talk about the metrics,” he said.

That experience led to working with SHM, which he had joined as a member early in his career and for which he had previously served as president. He became SHM’s quality improvement liaison and a co-principal investigator on Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions), SHM’s pioneering, national mentored-implementation model aimed at improving transitions of care from participating hospitals to reduce readmissions. “BOOST really established SHM’s reputation as a quality improvement-oriented organization. It was a stake in the ground for quality and led to SHM receiving the Joint Commission’s 2011 John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality,” he said.

Dr. Howell’s fifth career phase, medical society management, emerged when he was recruited to apply for the SHM chief executive position – held since its inception by retiring CEO Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM. Dr. Howell started work at SHM in the midst of the pandemic, spending much of his time working from home – especially when Philadelphia implemented stricter COVID-19 restrictions. Once pandemic restrictions are loosened, he expects to do a lot of traveling. But for now, the external-facing part of his job is mainly on Zoom.
 

Making the world a better place

Dr. Howell said he has held fast to three mottos in life, which have guided his career path as well as his personal life: (1) to make the world a better place; (2) to be ethical and transparent; and (3) to invest in people. His wife of 19 years, Heather Howell, an Annapolis realtor, says making the world a better place is what they taught their children, Mason, 18, who starts college at Rice University in fall 2021 with an interest in premed, and Anna, 16, a competitive sailor. “We always had a poster hanging in our house extolling that message,” Ms. Howell said.

Dr. Howell grew up in a nautical family, with many of his relatives working in the maritime business. His kids grew up on the water, learning to pilot a powerboat before driving a car, as he did. “We boat all the time on the bay” in his lobster boat, which he often works on to keep it seaworthy, Ms. Howell said.

“There’s nothing like taking care of hospitalized patients to make you feel you’re making the world a better place,” Dr. Howell observed. “Very often you can make a huge difference for the patients you do care for, and that is incredibly rewarding.” Although the demands of his SHM leadership position required relinquishing most of his responsibilities at Johns Hopkins, he continues to see patients and teach residents there 2-4 weeks a year on a teaching service.

“Why do I still see patients? I find it so rewarding. And I get to teach, which I love,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t think you truly need to see patients to be head of a professional medical society like SHM. Maybe someday I’ll give that up. But only if it’s necessary to make the society more successful.”

Half of Dr. Howell’s Society work now is planned and half is “putting out fires” – while learning members’ needs in real time. “Right now, we’re worried about burnout and PTSD, because frankly it’s stressful to take care of COVID patients. It’s scary for a lot of clinicians. I’m working with our members to make sure they have what they need to be clinically prepared, including resources to be more resilient professionally.”

Every step of his career, Dr. Howell said, has seemed like the best job he ever had. “Making the world a better place is still important to me. I tell SHM members that it’s important to know they are making a difference. What they’re doing is really important, especially with COVID, and it needs to be sustainable,” he said.

“SHM has such a powerful mission – it’s about making patient care better, and making hospitalists better clinicians. I know the Society is having a powerful impact, and that’s good enough for me. I’m into teams. Hospital medicine is a team sport, but so is SHM, interacting with its members, staff, and board.”
 

Initiating another new program

One of Dr. Howell’s last major projects for Hopkins was to launch and be chief medical officer for the Joint Commission–accredited Baltimore Civic Center Field Hospital for COVID-19 patients, opened in March 2020.

Courtesy Dr. Eric Howell

With a surge capacity of 250 beds, and a negative pressure ward set up in the center’s exhibit hall, it is jointly operated by the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Hospital. The field hospital’s mission has since expanded to include viral tests, infusions of monoclonal antibodies, and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Planning for a smooth transition, Dr. Howell brought Melinda E. Kantsiper, MD, director of clinical operations, Division of Hospital Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview, on board as associate medical officer, to eventually replace him as CMO after a few months working alongside him. “Eric brings that logical engineering eye to problem solving,” Dr. Kantsiper said.

Courtesy Johns Hopkins Medicine

Editor’s note: This profile is part of SHM’s celebration of National Hospitalist Day on March 4. National Hospitalist Day occurs the first Thursday in March annually, and celebrates the fastest growing specialty in modern medicine and hospitalists’ enduring contributions to the evolving health care landscape.

For Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM, CEO since July 2020 for the Society of Hospital Medicine, an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and a lifelong proclivity for figuring out puzzles, solving problems, and taking things apart to see how they fit back together were building blocks for an exemplary career as a hospitalist, group administrator, and medical educator.

When he was growing up in historic Annapolis, Md., near the shores of Chesapeake Bay, things to put back together included remote control airplanes, small boat engines, and cars. As a hospitalist, his interest in solving problems and facility with numbers and systems led him to become an expert on quality improvement, transitions of care, and conflict management.

Courtesy Dr. Eric Howell

“I was one of the first four doctors hired. I thought I’d just do it for a year, but I loved inpatient work, so I stayed,” Dr. Howell said. “Roy mentored me for the next 20 years and helped me to become an above average hospitalist.”

Early on, Dr. Howell’s department chair, David Hellman, MD, who had worked at the University of California–San Francisco with hospital medicine pioneer Robert Wachter, MD, MHM, sent Dr. Howell to San Francisco to be mentored by Dr. Wachter, since there were few hospital mentors on the East Coast at that time.

“What I took away from that experience was how important it was to professionalize hospital medicine – in order to develop specialized expertise,” Dr. Howell recalled. “Dr. Wachter taught me that hospitalists need to have a professional focus. Quality improvement, systems-based improvement, and value all became part of that,” he said.

“Many people thought to be a hospitalist all you had to know was basic medicine. But it turns out medicine in the hospital is just as specialized as any other specialty. The hospital itself requires specialized knowledge that didn’t even exist 20 years ago.” Because of complicated disease states and clinical systems, hospitalists have to be better at navigating the software of today’s hospital.
 

New job opportunities

Dr. Howell describes his career path as a new job focus opening up every 5 years or so, redefining what he does and trying something new and exciting with better pay. His first was a focus on clinical hospital medicine and learning how to be a better doctor. Then in 2005 he began work as a teacher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. There he mastered the teaching of medical trainees, winning awards as an instructor, including SHM’s award for excellence in teaching.

In 2010 he again changed his focus to program building, leading the expansion of the hospitalist service for Bayview and three other hospitals in the Johns Hopkins system. Dr. Howell helped grow the service to nearly 200 clinicians while becoming skilled at operational and program development.

His fourth job incarnation, starting in 2015, was the obsessive pursuit of quality improvement, marshaling data to measure and improve clinical and other outcomes on the quality dashboard – mortality, length of stay, readmissions, rates of adverse events – and putting quality improvement strategies in place.

“Our mortality rates at Bayview were well below national standards. We came up with an amazing program. A lot of hospital medicine programs pursue improvement, but we really measured it. We benchmarked ourselves against other programs at Hopkins,” he said. “I set up a dedicated conference room, as many QI programs do. We called it True North, and each wall had a different QI focus, with updates on the reported metrics. Every other week we met there to talk about the metrics,” he said.

That experience led to working with SHM, which he had joined as a member early in his career and for which he had previously served as president. He became SHM’s quality improvement liaison and a co-principal investigator on Project BOOST (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions), SHM’s pioneering, national mentored-implementation model aimed at improving transitions of care from participating hospitals to reduce readmissions. “BOOST really established SHM’s reputation as a quality improvement-oriented organization. It was a stake in the ground for quality and led to SHM receiving the Joint Commission’s 2011 John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality,” he said.

Dr. Howell’s fifth career phase, medical society management, emerged when he was recruited to apply for the SHM chief executive position – held since its inception by retiring CEO Larry Wellikson, MD, MHM. Dr. Howell started work at SHM in the midst of the pandemic, spending much of his time working from home – especially when Philadelphia implemented stricter COVID-19 restrictions. Once pandemic restrictions are loosened, he expects to do a lot of traveling. But for now, the external-facing part of his job is mainly on Zoom.
 

Making the world a better place

Dr. Howell said he has held fast to three mottos in life, which have guided his career path as well as his personal life: (1) to make the world a better place; (2) to be ethical and transparent; and (3) to invest in people. His wife of 19 years, Heather Howell, an Annapolis realtor, says making the world a better place is what they taught their children, Mason, 18, who starts college at Rice University in fall 2021 with an interest in premed, and Anna, 16, a competitive sailor. “We always had a poster hanging in our house extolling that message,” Ms. Howell said.

Dr. Howell grew up in a nautical family, with many of his relatives working in the maritime business. His kids grew up on the water, learning to pilot a powerboat before driving a car, as he did. “We boat all the time on the bay” in his lobster boat, which he often works on to keep it seaworthy, Ms. Howell said.

“There’s nothing like taking care of hospitalized patients to make you feel you’re making the world a better place,” Dr. Howell observed. “Very often you can make a huge difference for the patients you do care for, and that is incredibly rewarding.” Although the demands of his SHM leadership position required relinquishing most of his responsibilities at Johns Hopkins, he continues to see patients and teach residents there 2-4 weeks a year on a teaching service.

“Why do I still see patients? I find it so rewarding. And I get to teach, which I love,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t think you truly need to see patients to be head of a professional medical society like SHM. Maybe someday I’ll give that up. But only if it’s necessary to make the society more successful.”

Half of Dr. Howell’s Society work now is planned and half is “putting out fires” – while learning members’ needs in real time. “Right now, we’re worried about burnout and PTSD, because frankly it’s stressful to take care of COVID patients. It’s scary for a lot of clinicians. I’m working with our members to make sure they have what they need to be clinically prepared, including resources to be more resilient professionally.”

Every step of his career, Dr. Howell said, has seemed like the best job he ever had. “Making the world a better place is still important to me. I tell SHM members that it’s important to know they are making a difference. What they’re doing is really important, especially with COVID, and it needs to be sustainable,” he said.

“SHM has such a powerful mission – it’s about making patient care better, and making hospitalists better clinicians. I know the Society is having a powerful impact, and that’s good enough for me. I’m into teams. Hospital medicine is a team sport, but so is SHM, interacting with its members, staff, and board.”
 

Initiating another new program

One of Dr. Howell’s last major projects for Hopkins was to launch and be chief medical officer for the Joint Commission–accredited Baltimore Civic Center Field Hospital for COVID-19 patients, opened in March 2020.

Courtesy Dr. Eric Howell

With a surge capacity of 250 beds, and a negative pressure ward set up in the center’s exhibit hall, it is jointly operated by the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Hospital. The field hospital’s mission has since expanded to include viral tests, infusions of monoclonal antibodies, and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Planning for a smooth transition, Dr. Howell brought Melinda E. Kantsiper, MD, director of clinical operations, Division of Hospital Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview, on board as associate medical officer, to eventually replace him as CMO after a few months working alongside him. “Eric brings that logical engineering eye to problem solving,” Dr. Kantsiper said.

Courtesy Johns Hopkins Medicine

As Jade Myers set out to help create the virtual platform for SHM Converge, she was aware, through surveys and other communication, that the top wish of members of the Society of Hospital Medicine was an extensive and interactive educational experience.

“People really wanted to get back to the in-person conference,” said Ms. Myers, SHM’s director of meetings. “While we couldn’t do that, we can provide the same caliber and as robust an experience from an educational perspective as we would for an in-person activity.”

That has required significant revamping of the virtual platform compared to the platform for last year’s annual conference. In 2020, there was only one session running live at a time. This year, there will be 12 sessions running at the same time. There will also be more opportunities for networking, as well as other features for enjoyment and a sense of calm.

Here are some features of the SHM Converge platform:

• A host segment to kick-start each day, with an introduction of the day’s sessions and events.
• Nine didactic educational sessions at any given time. These sessions will include a live chat for peer-to-peer engagement, as well as questions and answers throughout the session to continue the discussion between speakers and participants.
• Three workshops at any given time. These sessions – on topics such as communication, gender equity, and clinical guidelines – will provide an opportunity for dynamic small-group discussion.
• A scientific abstract poster competition and reception, with an e-gallery of about 700 posters, providing a networking opportunity and highlighting emerging scientific and clinical cases.
• Special Interest Forums, in the form of live, interactive Zoom conferences. There will be 25 forums, which are designed to build community and facilitate collaboration.
• A variety of games, including trivia and a word scramble.
• Personalized profiles with information such as “Hospitalist in Training,” or “Committee Member.” These will be visible to other attendees to make it easier for people to connect when they have something in common.
• Early- and Mid-Career Speed Mentorship, in which a mentor and mentee can interact one-on-one, with each mentee able to meet with two mentors, with pairings designed for the best mentorship experience.
• Sessions on wellness and resilience.

“People are kind of Zoom fatigued,” Ms. Myers said, “so we’re trying to meet their needs while also offering an opportunity for respite, because our attendees are on the front lines right now, and they’re dealing with all types of fatigue and challenging times.”

The annual conference was on target for a banner year in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the in-person conference in San Diego, and SHM Converge is a product of planning that began then, as organizers started considering a virtual event.

“In 2020, we were slated to have the largest conference in person that we have ever had,” said Hayleigh Scott, SHM’s meeting projects manager. “San Diego was going to be our really big year.”

But attendance at last year’s virtual conference was a fraction of what was expected at the in-person conference. This year, that seems poised to improve. There will be many more offerings, with more than 125 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and 45 Maintenance of Certification points possible, Ms. Myers said. Because attendees won’t have to worry about being in two places at once, it will be possible to secure more CME credits at SHM Converge than at any previous SHM annual conference, she said.

The volume of content will be a heavy load on SHM personnel. Last year, three society staff members were on hand at each session to make sure it ran smoothly and to answer questions. With 12 sessions running simultaneously this year, many more staff members will need to be involved. But that is not unfamiliar for the society during meeting week, Ms. Myers said.

“We’re going to need to pull from pretty much our entire staff in order to make this conference happen, which is exciting and daunting,” she said. “It’s always been an all-hands-on-deck program and this is going to be more similar to an in-person conference in that way.”

As Jade Myers set out to help create the virtual platform for SHM Converge, she was aware, through surveys and other communication, that the top wish of members of the Society of Hospital Medicine was an extensive and interactive educational experience.

“People really wanted to get back to the in-person conference,” said Ms. Myers, SHM’s director of meetings. “While we couldn’t do that, we can provide the same caliber and as robust an experience from an educational perspective as we would for an in-person activity.”

That has required significant revamping of the virtual platform compared to the platform for last year’s annual conference. In 2020, there was only one session running live at a time. This year, there will be 12 sessions running at the same time. There will also be more opportunities for networking, as well as other features for enjoyment and a sense of calm.

Here are some features of the SHM Converge platform:

• A host segment to kick-start each day, with an introduction of the day’s sessions and events.
• Nine didactic educational sessions at any given time. These sessions will include a live chat for peer-to-peer engagement, as well as questions and answers throughout the session to continue the discussion between speakers and participants.
• Three workshops at any given time. These sessions – on topics such as communication, gender equity, and clinical guidelines – will provide an opportunity for dynamic small-group discussion.
• A scientific abstract poster competition and reception, with an e-gallery of about 700 posters, providing a networking opportunity and highlighting emerging scientific and clinical cases.
• Special Interest Forums, in the form of live, interactive Zoom conferences. There will be 25 forums, which are designed to build community and facilitate collaboration.
• A variety of games, including trivia and a word scramble.
• Personalized profiles with information such as “Hospitalist in Training,” or “Committee Member.” These will be visible to other attendees to make it easier for people to connect when they have something in common.
• Early- and Mid-Career Speed Mentorship, in which a mentor and mentee can interact one-on-one, with each mentee able to meet with two mentors, with pairings designed for the best mentorship experience.
• Sessions on wellness and resilience.

“People are kind of Zoom fatigued,” Ms. Myers said, “so we’re trying to meet their needs while also offering an opportunity for respite, because our attendees are on the front lines right now, and they’re dealing with all types of fatigue and challenging times.”

The annual conference was on target for a banner year in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the in-person conference in San Diego, and SHM Converge is a product of planning that began then, as organizers started considering a virtual event.

“In 2020, we were slated to have the largest conference in person that we have ever had,” said Hayleigh Scott, SHM’s meeting projects manager. “San Diego was going to be our really big year.”

But attendance at last year’s virtual conference was a fraction of what was expected at the in-person conference. This year, that seems poised to improve. There will be many more offerings, with more than 125 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and 45 Maintenance of Certification points possible, Ms. Myers said. Because attendees won’t have to worry about being in two places at once, it will be possible to secure more CME credits at SHM Converge than at any previous SHM annual conference, she said.

The volume of content will be a heavy load on SHM personnel. Last year, three society staff members were on hand at each session to make sure it ran smoothly and to answer questions. With 12 sessions running simultaneously this year, many more staff members will need to be involved. But that is not unfamiliar for the society during meeting week, Ms. Myers said.

“We’re going to need to pull from pretty much our entire staff in order to make this conference happen, which is exciting and daunting,” she said. “It’s always been an all-hands-on-deck program and this is going to be more similar to an in-person conference in that way.”

As Jade Myers set out to help create the virtual platform for SHM Converge, she was aware, through surveys and other communication, that the top wish of members of the Society of Hospital Medicine was an extensive and interactive educational experience.

“People really wanted to get back to the in-person conference,” said Ms. Myers, SHM’s director of meetings. “While we couldn’t do that, we can provide the same caliber and as robust an experience from an educational perspective as we would for an in-person activity.”

That has required significant revamping of the virtual platform compared to the platform for last year’s annual conference. In 2020, there was only one session running live at a time. This year, there will be 12 sessions running at the same time. There will also be more opportunities for networking, as well as other features for enjoyment and a sense of calm.

Here are some features of the SHM Converge platform:

• A host segment to kick-start each day, with an introduction of the day’s sessions and events.
• Nine didactic educational sessions at any given time. These sessions will include a live chat for peer-to-peer engagement, as well as questions and answers throughout the session to continue the discussion between speakers and participants.
• Three workshops at any given time. These sessions – on topics such as communication, gender equity, and clinical guidelines – will provide an opportunity for dynamic small-group discussion.
• A scientific abstract poster competition and reception, with an e-gallery of about 700 posters, providing a networking opportunity and highlighting emerging scientific and clinical cases.
• Special Interest Forums, in the form of live, interactive Zoom conferences. There will be 25 forums, which are designed to build community and facilitate collaboration.
• A variety of games, including trivia and a word scramble.
• Personalized profiles with information such as “Hospitalist in Training,” or “Committee Member.” These will be visible to other attendees to make it easier for people to connect when they have something in common.
• Early- and Mid-Career Speed Mentorship, in which a mentor and mentee can interact one-on-one, with each mentee able to meet with two mentors, with pairings designed for the best mentorship experience.
• Sessions on wellness and resilience.

“People are kind of Zoom fatigued,” Ms. Myers said, “so we’re trying to meet their needs while also offering an opportunity for respite, because our attendees are on the front lines right now, and they’re dealing with all types of fatigue and challenging times.”

The annual conference was on target for a banner year in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the in-person conference in San Diego, and SHM Converge is a product of planning that began then, as organizers started considering a virtual event.

“In 2020, we were slated to have the largest conference in person that we have ever had,” said Hayleigh Scott, SHM’s meeting projects manager. “San Diego was going to be our really big year.”

But attendance at last year’s virtual conference was a fraction of what was expected at the in-person conference. This year, that seems poised to improve. There will be many more offerings, with more than 125 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and 45 Maintenance of Certification points possible, Ms. Myers said. Because attendees won’t have to worry about being in two places at once, it will be possible to secure more CME credits at SHM Converge than at any previous SHM annual conference, she said.

The volume of content will be a heavy load on SHM personnel. Last year, three society staff members were on hand at each session to make sure it ran smoothly and to answer questions. With 12 sessions running simultaneously this year, many more staff members will need to be involved. But that is not unfamiliar for the society during meeting week, Ms. Myers said.

“We’re going to need to pull from pretty much our entire staff in order to make this conference happen, which is exciting and daunting,” she said. “It’s always been an all-hands-on-deck program and this is going to be more similar to an in-person conference in that way.”

The weeks leading up to our Annual Conference always trigger certain rituals for me.

Deciding which sessions to attend feels like planning an intellectual feast mixed with an exercise in compromise, as I realize there is just no way to attend every session that I want to. Scheduling all my plans to connect over dinner and drinks with current and former colleagues is a logistical challenge I undertake with anticipation and some stress, especially when I’m the one tasked with making restaurant reservations. Thinking about how to pay for it all means digging out the rules around my CME faculty allowance, after first figuring out if I still even have a CME allowance, of course.

In the years that I am presenting, there are the last-minute emails with my co-presenters to arrange a time to run through our slides together on site. The prospect of seeing cherished colleagues and friends from SHM mixes with the fact that I know I will miss my wife and young son while I am away. Overall though, I am filled with a tremendous sense of excitement, a feeling that I enjoy in a sustained way for weeks before the meeting.

My excitement for SHM Converge is just as strong, but different in some great and important ways. The availability of on-demand content means I won’t have to choose one session over another this year – I can have my cake and eat it, too. Without the need to travel, expenses will be considerably less, and I won’t need to be away from my family.

But what I am most thrilled about when I think about SHM Converge is the content. A year of planning by our outstanding SHM staff, leadership, and Annual Conference Committee has produced a lineup of world-class speakers. Our virtual platform will offer a rich interactive and networking experience. Perennial favorite sessions, such as the Great Debate, Rapid Fire, and Update sessions will provide attendees the chance to update their core clinical knowledge across the breadth of hospital medicine.

Many aspects of health equity will be explored. Over 15 sessions and four special-interest forums covering topics such as racial and gender inequities, implicit bias, vulnerable populations, and ethics will help attendees not only understand the issues but also will show them how they can take action to make a difference.

Clinical and operational aspects of COVID-19 will also be covered at SHM Converge as speakers share the tremendous innovation, triumphs, and challenges that have taken place over the past year. Wellness and resilience are, of course, as relevant as ever, and sessions on balancing parenthood and work, learning from personal failures, and how to handle uncertainty and be resilient are among the topics that will be covered.

The essence of what we will do at SHM Converge in May is captured in our new meeting logo, an animation of nodes connecting with each other through lines that travel short and long, and intersect along the way. It’s a great representation of the togetherness, community, and mutual support that is at the core of who we are as SHM – now, more than ever. Thank you for joining us!

Dr. Steinberg is chief patient safety officer at Mount Sinai Downtown, and associate dean for quality/patient safety in GME, Mount Sinai Health System, New York. He is professor of medicine and medical education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and course director of SHM Converge.

The weeks leading up to our Annual Conference always trigger certain rituals for me.

Deciding which sessions to attend feels like planning an intellectual feast mixed with an exercise in compromise, as I realize there is just no way to attend every session that I want to. Scheduling all my plans to connect over dinner and drinks with current and former colleagues is a logistical challenge I undertake with anticipation and some stress, especially when I’m the one tasked with making restaurant reservations. Thinking about how to pay for it all means digging out the rules around my CME faculty allowance, after first figuring out if I still even have a CME allowance, of course.

In the years that I am presenting, there are the last-minute emails with my co-presenters to arrange a time to run through our slides together on site. The prospect of seeing cherished colleagues and friends from SHM mixes with the fact that I know I will miss my wife and young son while I am away. Overall though, I am filled with a tremendous sense of excitement, a feeling that I enjoy in a sustained way for weeks before the meeting.

My excitement for SHM Converge is just as strong, but different in some great and important ways. The availability of on-demand content means I won’t have to choose one session over another this year – I can have my cake and eat it, too. Without the need to travel, expenses will be considerably less, and I won’t need to be away from my family.

But what I am most thrilled about when I think about SHM Converge is the content. A year of planning by our outstanding SHM staff, leadership, and Annual Conference Committee has produced a lineup of world-class speakers. Our virtual platform will offer a rich interactive and networking experience. Perennial favorite sessions, such as the Great Debate, Rapid Fire, and Update sessions will provide attendees the chance to update their core clinical knowledge across the breadth of hospital medicine.

Many aspects of health equity will be explored. Over 15 sessions and four special-interest forums covering topics such as racial and gender inequities, implicit bias, vulnerable populations, and ethics will help attendees not only understand the issues but also will show them how they can take action to make a difference.

Clinical and operational aspects of COVID-19 will also be covered at SHM Converge as speakers share the tremendous innovation, triumphs, and challenges that have taken place over the past year. Wellness and resilience are, of course, as relevant as ever, and sessions on balancing parenthood and work, learning from personal failures, and how to handle uncertainty and be resilient are among the topics that will be covered.

The essence of what we will do at SHM Converge in May is captured in our new meeting logo, an animation of nodes connecting with each other through lines that travel short and long, and intersect along the way. It’s a great representation of the togetherness, community, and mutual support that is at the core of who we are as SHM – now, more than ever. Thank you for joining us!

Dr. Steinberg is chief patient safety officer at Mount Sinai Downtown, and associate dean for quality/patient safety in GME, Mount Sinai Health System, New York. He is professor of medicine and medical education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and course director of SHM Converge.

The weeks leading up to our Annual Conference always trigger certain rituals for me.

Deciding which sessions to attend feels like planning an intellectual feast mixed with an exercise in compromise, as I realize there is just no way to attend every session that I want to. Scheduling all my plans to connect over dinner and drinks with current and former colleagues is a logistical challenge I undertake with anticipation and some stress, especially when I’m the one tasked with making restaurant reservations. Thinking about how to pay for it all means digging out the rules around my CME faculty allowance, after first figuring out if I still even have a CME allowance, of course.

In the years that I am presenting, there are the last-minute emails with my co-presenters to arrange a time to run through our slides together on site. The prospect of seeing cherished colleagues and friends from SHM mixes with the fact that I know I will miss my wife and young son while I am away. Overall though, I am filled with a tremendous sense of excitement, a feeling that I enjoy in a sustained way for weeks before the meeting.

My excitement for SHM Converge is just as strong, but different in some great and important ways. The availability of on-demand content means I won’t have to choose one session over another this year – I can have my cake and eat it, too. Without the need to travel, expenses will be considerably less, and I won’t need to be away from my family.

But what I am most thrilled about when I think about SHM Converge is the content. A year of planning by our outstanding SHM staff, leadership, and Annual Conference Committee has produced a lineup of world-class speakers. Our virtual platform will offer a rich interactive and networking experience. Perennial favorite sessions, such as the Great Debate, Rapid Fire, and Update sessions will provide attendees the chance to update their core clinical knowledge across the breadth of hospital medicine.

Many aspects of health equity will be explored. Over 15 sessions and four special-interest forums covering topics such as racial and gender inequities, implicit bias, vulnerable populations, and ethics will help attendees not only understand the issues but also will show them how they can take action to make a difference.

Clinical and operational aspects of COVID-19 will also be covered at SHM Converge as speakers share the tremendous innovation, triumphs, and challenges that have taken place over the past year. Wellness and resilience are, of course, as relevant as ever, and sessions on balancing parenthood and work, learning from personal failures, and how to handle uncertainty and be resilient are among the topics that will be covered.

The essence of what we will do at SHM Converge in May is captured in our new meeting logo, an animation of nodes connecting with each other through lines that travel short and long, and intersect along the way. It’s a great representation of the togetherness, community, and mutual support that is at the core of who we are as SHM – now, more than ever. Thank you for joining us!

Dr. Steinberg is chief patient safety officer at Mount Sinai Downtown, and associate dean for quality/patient safety in GME, Mount Sinai Health System, New York. He is professor of medicine and medical education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and course director of SHM Converge.

The Society of Hospital Medicine team (myself included) is very excited to get geared up for the 2021 SHM Annual Conference, now known as SHM Converge. While we all long for a traditional in-person meeting “like the good old days”, there are some significant advantages to a virtual meeting like Converge.

The most significant advantage is the ability to review more content than ever before, as we offer a combination of live and recorded “on-demand” sessions. This allows for incredible flexibility in garnering “top-shelf” content from hospital medicine experts around the country, without having to choose from competing sessions. We are especially looking forward to new sessions this year focused on COVID-19; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and resilience.

The Converge conference will still be offering networking sessions throughout – even in the virtual conference environment. We consider networking a vital and endearing part of the value equation for SHM members. For example, we now can participate in several Special Interest Forums, since many of us have several niche interests and want to take advantage of more than one of these networking opportunities. We also carefully preserved the signature “Update in Hospital Medicine” session, as well as the scientific abstract poster reception and the Best of Research and Innovation sessions. These are long-term favorites at the annual conference and lend themselves well to virtual transformation. Some of the workshops and special sessions have exclusive audience engagement and are not offered on demand, so signing up early for these sessions is highly recommended.

SHM remains the professional home for hospitalists, and we rely on the annual conference to keep us all informed on current and forward-thinking clinical practice, practice management, leadership, academics, research, and other topics. This is one of many examples of how SHM has been able to pivot to meet the needs of hospitalists throughout the pandemic. Not only have we successfully converted “traditional” meetings into virtual meetings, but we have been able to curate and deliver content faster and more seamlessly than ever before.

Whether via The Hospitalist, the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the SHM website, or our other educational platforms, SHM has remained committed to being the single “source of truth” for all things hospital medicine. Within the tumultuous political landscape of the past year, the SHM advocacy team has been more active and engaged than ever, in advocating for a myriad of hospitalist-related legislative changes. These are just a few of the ways SHM continues to add value to hospitalist members every day.

Although we will certainly miss seeing each other in person, we are confident that the SHM team will meet and exceed expectations on content delivery and will take advantage of the virtual format to improve content access. We look forward to “seeing” you at SHM Converge this year and hope you take advantage of the enhanced delivery and access to an array of amazing content!

Dr. Scheurer is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. She is a hospitalist and chief quality officer, MUSC Health System, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

The Society of Hospital Medicine team (myself included) is very excited to get geared up for the 2021 SHM Annual Conference, now known as SHM Converge. While we all long for a traditional in-person meeting “like the good old days”, there are some significant advantages to a virtual meeting like Converge.

The most significant advantage is the ability to review more content than ever before, as we offer a combination of live and recorded “on-demand” sessions. This allows for incredible flexibility in garnering “top-shelf” content from hospital medicine experts around the country, without having to choose from competing sessions. We are especially looking forward to new sessions this year focused on COVID-19; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and resilience.

The Converge conference will still be offering networking sessions throughout – even in the virtual conference environment. We consider networking a vital and endearing part of the value equation for SHM members. For example, we now can participate in several Special Interest Forums, since many of us have several niche interests and want to take advantage of more than one of these networking opportunities. We also carefully preserved the signature “Update in Hospital Medicine” session, as well as the scientific abstract poster reception and the Best of Research and Innovation sessions. These are long-term favorites at the annual conference and lend themselves well to virtual transformation. Some of the workshops and special sessions have exclusive audience engagement and are not offered on demand, so signing up early for these sessions is highly recommended.

SHM remains the professional home for hospitalists, and we rely on the annual conference to keep us all informed on current and forward-thinking clinical practice, practice management, leadership, academics, research, and other topics. This is one of many examples of how SHM has been able to pivot to meet the needs of hospitalists throughout the pandemic. Not only have we successfully converted “traditional” meetings into virtual meetings, but we have been able to curate and deliver content faster and more seamlessly than ever before.

Whether via The Hospitalist, the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the SHM website, or our other educational platforms, SHM has remained committed to being the single “source of truth” for all things hospital medicine. Within the tumultuous political landscape of the past year, the SHM advocacy team has been more active and engaged than ever, in advocating for a myriad of hospitalist-related legislative changes. These are just a few of the ways SHM continues to add value to hospitalist members every day.

Although we will certainly miss seeing each other in person, we are confident that the SHM team will meet and exceed expectations on content delivery and will take advantage of the virtual format to improve content access. We look forward to “seeing” you at SHM Converge this year and hope you take advantage of the enhanced delivery and access to an array of amazing content!

Dr. Scheurer is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. She is a hospitalist and chief quality officer, MUSC Health System, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

The Society of Hospital Medicine team (myself included) is very excited to get geared up for the 2021 SHM Annual Conference, now known as SHM Converge. While we all long for a traditional in-person meeting “like the good old days”, there are some significant advantages to a virtual meeting like Converge.

The most significant advantage is the ability to review more content than ever before, as we offer a combination of live and recorded “on-demand” sessions. This allows for incredible flexibility in garnering “top-shelf” content from hospital medicine experts around the country, without having to choose from competing sessions. We are especially looking forward to new sessions this year focused on COVID-19; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and resilience.

The Converge conference will still be offering networking sessions throughout – even in the virtual conference environment. We consider networking a vital and endearing part of the value equation for SHM members. For example, we now can participate in several Special Interest Forums, since many of us have several niche interests and want to take advantage of more than one of these networking opportunities. We also carefully preserved the signature “Update in Hospital Medicine” session, as well as the scientific abstract poster reception and the Best of Research and Innovation sessions. These are long-term favorites at the annual conference and lend themselves well to virtual transformation. Some of the workshops and special sessions have exclusive audience engagement and are not offered on demand, so signing up early for these sessions is highly recommended.

SHM remains the professional home for hospitalists, and we rely on the annual conference to keep us all informed on current and forward-thinking clinical practice, practice management, leadership, academics, research, and other topics. This is one of many examples of how SHM has been able to pivot to meet the needs of hospitalists throughout the pandemic. Not only have we successfully converted “traditional” meetings into virtual meetings, but we have been able to curate and deliver content faster and more seamlessly than ever before.

Whether via The Hospitalist, the Journal of Hospital Medicine, the SHM website, or our other educational platforms, SHM has remained committed to being the single “source of truth” for all things hospital medicine. Within the tumultuous political landscape of the past year, the SHM advocacy team has been more active and engaged than ever, in advocating for a myriad of hospitalist-related legislative changes. These are just a few of the ways SHM continues to add value to hospitalist members every day.

Although we will certainly miss seeing each other in person, we are confident that the SHM team will meet and exceed expectations on content delivery and will take advantage of the virtual format to improve content access. We look forward to “seeing” you at SHM Converge this year and hope you take advantage of the enhanced delivery and access to an array of amazing content!

Dr. Scheurer is president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. She is a hospitalist and chief quality officer, MUSC Health System, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

SHM is committed to supporting hospitalists and the health care team to safely deliver patient care while maintaining the health and wellbeing of the families and the community they serve. SHM has developed resources for hospitalists as well as compiled a listing of existing resources which you can find on our website. The resources include:

Hospital Medicine COVID-19 Check-in Guide for Self & Peers

This is the first resource produced by SHM’s Wellbeing Taskforce to address the issues of hospitalist burnout and mental health during COVID-19. It is designed to help hospitalists to break the culture of silence around wellbeing, burnout, and mental health during COVID-19 by encouraging open conversation around how they are handling and processing the pandemic. Download the guide at https://bit.ly/3nxikzl.

greenaperture/Getty Images

SHM’s Strategies for Hospitalist Wellbeing Initiatives during COVID-19

This resource was developed based on information shared during an April 2020 webinar on Provider Wellbeing. Included are examples of initiatives currently being implemented by various hospital medicine groups. You can find this resource at https://bit.ly/3seNBKQ.

Webinars

Hear experiences and examples of how hospitalists and hospital medicine grouups are managing their response to the clinical and practice implications of COVID-19. Webinars have included topics related to hospitalist wellbeing. For instance, a recent webinar featured Gail Gazelle, MD, MCC, a physician coach, author, and mentor focused on burnout and resilience. This was a virtual, confidential session created for hospitalists to have a space for honest reflection, support, and the exploration of strategies for navigating the stress and challenges of being on the front lines of the COVID-19 response and in caring for themselves and their families during a pandemic. See upcoming and recorded SHM webinars on the website: www.hospitalmedicine.org/clinical-topics/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-resources-for-hospitalists/webinars.

Other resources not provided directly by SHM include:

Physician Support Line: volunteer psychiatrist-staffed helpline for free and confidential peer support to discuss immediate life stressors. Available 7 days a week, 8:00am-12:00am EST. Contact number: 888-409-0141

Talkspace: virtual therapy tool offering a free month of Unlimited Messaging Plus for health care providers by registering using their NPI. Download app in App Store or Google Play.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: free and confidential crisis hotline for anyone available 24/7 across the United States. Contact number: 800-273-8255.

Headspace Meditation App: app-based meditation tool. Premium version (Headspace Plus) available free for health care providers through 2020 by registering using their National Provider Identifier (NPI). Download app in App Store or Google Play.

Tide: A free app that uses natural sounds to help you sleep, relax, focus, and meditate. Tide also listens to your breathing to play an alarm during your lightest sleep phase, waking you up as gently as possible. Their premium service is available to all health care workers. Download app in App Store or Google Play.




 

SHM is committed to supporting hospitalists and the health care team to safely deliver patient care while maintaining the health and wellbeing of the families and the community they serve. SHM has developed resources for hospitalists as well as compiled a listing of existing resources which you can find on our website. The resources include:

Hospital Medicine COVID-19 Check-in Guide for Self & Peers

This is the first resource produced by SHM’s Wellbeing Taskforce to address the issues of hospitalist burnout and mental health during COVID-19. It is designed to help hospitalists to break the culture of silence around wellbeing, burnout, and mental health during COVID-19 by encouraging open conversation around how they are handling and processing the pandemic. Download the guide at https://bit.ly/3nxikzl.

greenaperture/Getty Images

SHM’s Strategies for Hospitalist Wellbeing Initiatives during COVID-19

This resource was developed based on information shared during an April 2020 webinar on Provider Wellbeing. Included are examples of initiatives currently being implemented by various hospital medicine groups. You can find this resource at https://bit.ly/3seNBKQ.

Webinars

Hear experiences and examples of how hospitalists and hospital medicine grouups are managing their response to the clinical and practice implications of COVID-19. Webinars have included topics related to hospitalist wellbeing. For instance, a recent webinar featured Gail Gazelle, MD, MCC, a physician coach, author, and mentor focused on burnout and resilience. This was a virtual, confidential session created for hospitalists to have a space for honest reflection, support, and the exploration of strategies for navigating the stress and challenges of being on the front lines of the COVID-19 response and in caring for themselves and their families during a pandemic. See upcoming and recorded SHM webinars on the website: www.hospitalmedicine.org/clinical-topics/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-resources-for-hospitalists/webinars.

Other resources not provided directly by SHM include:

Physician Support Line: volunteer psychiatrist-staffed helpline for free and confidential peer support to discuss immediate life stressors. Available 7 days a week, 8:00am-12:00am EST. Contact number: 888-409-0141

Talkspace: virtual therapy tool offering a free month of Unlimited Messaging Plus for health care providers by registering using their NPI. Download app in App Store or Google Play.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: free and confidential crisis hotline for anyone available 24/7 across the United States. Contact number: 800-273-8255.

Headspace Meditation App: app-based meditation tool. Premium version (Headspace Plus) available free for health care providers through 2020 by registering using their National Provider Identifier (NPI). Download app in App Store or Google Play.

Tide: A free app that uses natural sounds to help you sleep, relax, focus, and meditate. Tide also listens to your breathing to play an alarm during your lightest sleep phase, waking you up as gently as possible. Their premium service is available to all health care workers. Download app in App Store or Google Play.




 

SHM is committed to supporting hospitalists and the health care team to safely deliver patient care while maintaining the health and wellbeing of the families and the community they serve. SHM has developed resources for hospitalists as well as compiled a listing of existing resources which you can find on our website. The resources include:

Hospital Medicine COVID-19 Check-in Guide for Self & Peers

This is the first resource produced by SHM’s Wellbeing Taskforce to address the issues of hospitalist burnout and mental health during COVID-19. It is designed to help hospitalists to break the culture of silence around wellbeing, burnout, and mental health during COVID-19 by encouraging open conversation around how they are handling and processing the pandemic. Download the guide at https://bit.ly/3nxikzl.

greenaperture/Getty Images

SHM’s Strategies for Hospitalist Wellbeing Initiatives during COVID-19

This resource was developed based on information shared during an April 2020 webinar on Provider Wellbeing. Included are examples of initiatives currently being implemented by various hospital medicine groups. You can find this resource at https://bit.ly/3seNBKQ.

Webinars

Hear experiences and examples of how hospitalists and hospital medicine grouups are managing their response to the clinical and practice implications of COVID-19. Webinars have included topics related to hospitalist wellbeing. For instance, a recent webinar featured Gail Gazelle, MD, MCC, a physician coach, author, and mentor focused on burnout and resilience. This was a virtual, confidential session created for hospitalists to have a space for honest reflection, support, and the exploration of strategies for navigating the stress and challenges of being on the front lines of the COVID-19 response and in caring for themselves and their families during a pandemic. See upcoming and recorded SHM webinars on the website: www.hospitalmedicine.org/clinical-topics/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-resources-for-hospitalists/webinars.

Other resources not provided directly by SHM include:

Physician Support Line: volunteer psychiatrist-staffed helpline for free and confidential peer support to discuss immediate life stressors. Available 7 days a week, 8:00am-12:00am EST. Contact number: 888-409-0141

Talkspace: virtual therapy tool offering a free month of Unlimited Messaging Plus for health care providers by registering using their NPI. Download app in App Store or Google Play.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: free and confidential crisis hotline for anyone available 24/7 across the United States. Contact number: 800-273-8255.

Headspace Meditation App: app-based meditation tool. Premium version (Headspace Plus) available free for health care providers through 2020 by registering using their National Provider Identifier (NPI). Download app in App Store or Google Play.

Tide: A free app that uses natural sounds to help you sleep, relax, focus, and meditate. Tide also listens to your breathing to play an alarm during your lightest sleep phase, waking you up as gently as possible. Their premium service is available to all health care workers. Download app in App Store or Google Play.