Hospital Medicine 19

Every year the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Annual Conference Committee examines prior attendee surveys, reviews the content presented the preceding year, and asks itself what new areas of learning are needed by hospitalists, said Dustin Smith, MD, SFHM, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and HM19 course director.

“The conference’s schedule-at-a-glance of content can be overwhelming, so we have tried to use distinct educational tracks to provide focus and clarity for conference attendees,” he said. “Every year there are a few areas where questions often come up about complex clinical situations where established medical guidelines aren’t much help.”

As a result, for HM19 an educational mini-track called “Between the Guidelines” was developed to gather up several of these areas of clinical complexity where what’s available in established clinical practice guidelines doesn’t offer clear answers, Dr. Smith said. These include controversies around antithrombotic therapy in patients with major bleeds, and a debate on controversial aspects of guidelines to direct inpatient care.

Another planned session, “The History of Hospitals via Arts and Stories,” fits nicely into this mini-track, Dr. Smith noted.

“It’s a history lesson you can’t glean from medical guidelines, which maybe points us toward what to incorporate and what not to repeat from across the history of hospitals,” he said. “That could help us better appreciate the work hospitalists are doing today and into the future.”

Jordan Messler, MD, a hospitalist with the Morton Plant Hospitalist group in Clearwater, Fla., will lead the session and thinks that modern physicians can learn a lot from both the history of medicine and the evolution of hospitals, starting with the ancient Greek physician, Galen (129-200 AD), who directed the celebrated Asclepeion or hospital in Pergamon (present-day Bergama, Turkey). Dr. Messler said this ancient hospital’s treatment of disease also addressed the senses, the emotions, and the spirit – an early prototype for whole-person care – with an emphasis on self-therapy through rest, relaxation, exercise, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.¹

A different perspective on hospitals

“People used to travel to Pergamon for healing at the Asclepeion, next to the amphitheater, where plays and music were presented, and to be outdoors in the natural elements. Now we’re seeing hospitals being built with healing gardens, and a new emphasis on how artwork and music and environmental design can assist in healing,” Dr. Messler said.

Dr. Messler explained that his “History of Hospitals” presentation will also survey the advent of more recent hospitals in France in the 18th century, pioneering work done at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Bellevue Hospital in New York, and the influence on the modern hospital of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). Dr. Messler said she helped improve hospitals in her day, which still influences their modern design, and fundamentally changed the role of nursing in hospitals, introducing professional training standards for nurses.

He also noted that the portico of the beautiful 15th century Hospital of the Innocents in Florence, Italy, the first organic creation of Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), marks the birth of Renaissance architecture in Florence. The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, founded in 1288, is the oldest hospital still active in Florence.

Part of the goal for this new annual conference session is to take a break from more clinically focused presentations, and to think about the hospital from a different perspective, Dr. Messler said. His session will emphasize the power of stories and storytelling to inform and inspire medical practice.

“This is not something that can be applied clinically the next day, but lessons from the past can inform the design of hospitals and how we manage patients,” he said. “We need to ask ourselves, ‘How can we analyze hospital history to inform what we do today?’ ”
 

References

“Asclepeion.” Wikipedia. Accessed Jan. 28, 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepeion.

Every year the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Annual Conference Committee examines prior attendee surveys, reviews the content presented the preceding year, and asks itself what new areas of learning are needed by hospitalists, said Dustin Smith, MD, SFHM, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and HM19 course director.

“The conference’s schedule-at-a-glance of content can be overwhelming, so we have tried to use distinct educational tracks to provide focus and clarity for conference attendees,” he said. “Every year there are a few areas where questions often come up about complex clinical situations where established medical guidelines aren’t much help.”

As a result, for HM19 an educational mini-track called “Between the Guidelines” was developed to gather up several of these areas of clinical complexity where what’s available in established clinical practice guidelines doesn’t offer clear answers, Dr. Smith said. These include controversies around antithrombotic therapy in patients with major bleeds, and a debate on controversial aspects of guidelines to direct inpatient care.

Another planned session, “The History of Hospitals via Arts and Stories,” fits nicely into this mini-track, Dr. Smith noted.

“It’s a history lesson you can’t glean from medical guidelines, which maybe points us toward what to incorporate and what not to repeat from across the history of hospitals,” he said. “That could help us better appreciate the work hospitalists are doing today and into the future.”

Jordan Messler, MD, a hospitalist with the Morton Plant Hospitalist group in Clearwater, Fla., will lead the session and thinks that modern physicians can learn a lot from both the history of medicine and the evolution of hospitals, starting with the ancient Greek physician, Galen (129-200 AD), who directed the celebrated Asclepeion or hospital in Pergamon (present-day Bergama, Turkey). Dr. Messler said this ancient hospital’s treatment of disease also addressed the senses, the emotions, and the spirit – an early prototype for whole-person care – with an emphasis on self-therapy through rest, relaxation, exercise, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.¹

A different perspective on hospitals

“People used to travel to Pergamon for healing at the Asclepeion, next to the amphitheater, where plays and music were presented, and to be outdoors in the natural elements. Now we’re seeing hospitals being built with healing gardens, and a new emphasis on how artwork and music and environmental design can assist in healing,” Dr. Messler said.

Dr. Messler explained that his “History of Hospitals” presentation will also survey the advent of more recent hospitals in France in the 18th century, pioneering work done at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Bellevue Hospital in New York, and the influence on the modern hospital of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). Dr. Messler said she helped improve hospitals in her day, which still influences their modern design, and fundamentally changed the role of nursing in hospitals, introducing professional training standards for nurses.

He also noted that the portico of the beautiful 15th century Hospital of the Innocents in Florence, Italy, the first organic creation of Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), marks the birth of Renaissance architecture in Florence. The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, founded in 1288, is the oldest hospital still active in Florence.

Part of the goal for this new annual conference session is to take a break from more clinically focused presentations, and to think about the hospital from a different perspective, Dr. Messler said. His session will emphasize the power of stories and storytelling to inform and inspire medical practice.

“This is not something that can be applied clinically the next day, but lessons from the past can inform the design of hospitals and how we manage patients,” he said. “We need to ask ourselves, ‘How can we analyze hospital history to inform what we do today?’ ”
 

References

“Asclepeion.” Wikipedia. Accessed Jan. 28, 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepeion.

Every year the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Annual Conference Committee examines prior attendee surveys, reviews the content presented the preceding year, and asks itself what new areas of learning are needed by hospitalists, said Dustin Smith, MD, SFHM, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and HM19 course director.

“The conference’s schedule-at-a-glance of content can be overwhelming, so we have tried to use distinct educational tracks to provide focus and clarity for conference attendees,” he said. “Every year there are a few areas where questions often come up about complex clinical situations where established medical guidelines aren’t much help.”

As a result, for HM19 an educational mini-track called “Between the Guidelines” was developed to gather up several of these areas of clinical complexity where what’s available in established clinical practice guidelines doesn’t offer clear answers, Dr. Smith said. These include controversies around antithrombotic therapy in patients with major bleeds, and a debate on controversial aspects of guidelines to direct inpatient care.

Another planned session, “The History of Hospitals via Arts and Stories,” fits nicely into this mini-track, Dr. Smith noted.

“It’s a history lesson you can’t glean from medical guidelines, which maybe points us toward what to incorporate and what not to repeat from across the history of hospitals,” he said. “That could help us better appreciate the work hospitalists are doing today and into the future.”

Jordan Messler, MD, a hospitalist with the Morton Plant Hospitalist group in Clearwater, Fla., will lead the session and thinks that modern physicians can learn a lot from both the history of medicine and the evolution of hospitals, starting with the ancient Greek physician, Galen (129-200 AD), who directed the celebrated Asclepeion or hospital in Pergamon (present-day Bergama, Turkey). Dr. Messler said this ancient hospital’s treatment of disease also addressed the senses, the emotions, and the spirit – an early prototype for whole-person care – with an emphasis on self-therapy through rest, relaxation, exercise, and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.¹

A different perspective on hospitals

“People used to travel to Pergamon for healing at the Asclepeion, next to the amphitheater, where plays and music were presented, and to be outdoors in the natural elements. Now we’re seeing hospitals being built with healing gardens, and a new emphasis on how artwork and music and environmental design can assist in healing,” Dr. Messler said.

Dr. Messler explained that his “History of Hospitals” presentation will also survey the advent of more recent hospitals in France in the 18th century, pioneering work done at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Bellevue Hospital in New York, and the influence on the modern hospital of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). Dr. Messler said she helped improve hospitals in her day, which still influences their modern design, and fundamentally changed the role of nursing in hospitals, introducing professional training standards for nurses.

He also noted that the portico of the beautiful 15th century Hospital of the Innocents in Florence, Italy, the first organic creation of Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), marks the birth of Renaissance architecture in Florence. The Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova, founded in 1288, is the oldest hospital still active in Florence.

Part of the goal for this new annual conference session is to take a break from more clinically focused presentations, and to think about the hospital from a different perspective, Dr. Messler said. His session will emphasize the power of stories and storytelling to inform and inspire medical practice.

“This is not something that can be applied clinically the next day, but lessons from the past can inform the design of hospitals and how we manage patients,” he said. “We need to ask ourselves, ‘How can we analyze hospital history to inform what we do today?’ ”
 

References

“Asclepeion.” Wikipedia. Accessed Jan. 28, 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepeion.

Heart failure remains one of the deadliest chronic medical conditions, with 5-year mortality rates approaching 50%, and is the most common diagnosis for adults aged 65 years and older who are admitted to the hospital, according to Albert J. Hicks III, MD.

Dr. Hicks, a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Tex., will discuss the latest challenges and hottest topics surrounding heart failure in the “Updates in Heart Failure” session on Monday, at HM19.

The growth of an aging population in the United States further emphasizes the importance of heart failure as a topic of interest to clinicians, Dr. Hicks said in an interview. He noted that heart failure is the highest medical expenditure for Medicare, and estimates suggest the condition will cost the U.S. health care system $30 billion by the year 2030, he said. With these numbers in mind, the timing of referring patients to an advanced heart failure team is a key issue.

But the timing of referral for advanced care is just one of the hot topics on the agenda for the “Updates in Heart Failure” session, Dr. Hicks said. Other topics include heart failure epidemiology (incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and disparities); economics of heart failure (burden of care on the U.S. health care system); heart failure hospitalizations and readmissions (risk factors, comorbidities, patient compliance issues); pathophysiology (why heart failure is so deadly); signs and symptoms of heart failure (how to recognize them); treatment of stage C heart failure, with a review of old and new drugs and devices; and treatment of stage D heart failure, including palliative care, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation.

Dr. Hicks’ primary goal for the session is to “increase awareness of the high mortality associated with a heart failure diagnosis,” he said. He also hopes to educate hospitalists about the latest medications, devices, and resources for heart failure patients and to give them the tools and knowledge to help reduce morbidity and mortality in their heart failure patients.

Session attendees also will benefit from Dr. Hicks’ practical advice on identifying warning signs that indicate a heart failure patient may need a medical assist device or a heart transplant and on encouraging early referral of heart failure patients to advanced heart failure specialists before irreversible end-organ damage occurs.

Dr. Hicks hypothesized that the high mortality associated with a heart failure diagnosis, hospital readmission, and late referral will generate the liveliest discussion because issues of costs and resources continue to evolve.

His take-home message: “Early recognition and referral of heart failure patients to a heart failure cardiologist can improve patient costs, morbidity, and survival.

Dr. Hicks had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.

Updates in Heart Failure
Monday, 2:00-2:40 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson

Heart failure remains one of the deadliest chronic medical conditions, with 5-year mortality rates approaching 50%, and is the most common diagnosis for adults aged 65 years and older who are admitted to the hospital, according to Albert J. Hicks III, MD.

Dr. Hicks, a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Tex., will discuss the latest challenges and hottest topics surrounding heart failure in the “Updates in Heart Failure” session on Monday, at HM19.

The growth of an aging population in the United States further emphasizes the importance of heart failure as a topic of interest to clinicians, Dr. Hicks said in an interview. He noted that heart failure is the highest medical expenditure for Medicare, and estimates suggest the condition will cost the U.S. health care system $30 billion by the year 2030, he said. With these numbers in mind, the timing of referring patients to an advanced heart failure team is a key issue.

But the timing of referral for advanced care is just one of the hot topics on the agenda for the “Updates in Heart Failure” session, Dr. Hicks said. Other topics include heart failure epidemiology (incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and disparities); economics of heart failure (burden of care on the U.S. health care system); heart failure hospitalizations and readmissions (risk factors, comorbidities, patient compliance issues); pathophysiology (why heart failure is so deadly); signs and symptoms of heart failure (how to recognize them); treatment of stage C heart failure, with a review of old and new drugs and devices; and treatment of stage D heart failure, including palliative care, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation.

Dr. Hicks’ primary goal for the session is to “increase awareness of the high mortality associated with a heart failure diagnosis,” he said. He also hopes to educate hospitalists about the latest medications, devices, and resources for heart failure patients and to give them the tools and knowledge to help reduce morbidity and mortality in their heart failure patients.

Session attendees also will benefit from Dr. Hicks’ practical advice on identifying warning signs that indicate a heart failure patient may need a medical assist device or a heart transplant and on encouraging early referral of heart failure patients to advanced heart failure specialists before irreversible end-organ damage occurs.

Dr. Hicks hypothesized that the high mortality associated with a heart failure diagnosis, hospital readmission, and late referral will generate the liveliest discussion because issues of costs and resources continue to evolve.

His take-home message: “Early recognition and referral of heart failure patients to a heart failure cardiologist can improve patient costs, morbidity, and survival.

Dr. Hicks had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.

Updates in Heart Failure
Monday, 2:00-2:40 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson

Heart failure remains one of the deadliest chronic medical conditions, with 5-year mortality rates approaching 50%, and is the most common diagnosis for adults aged 65 years and older who are admitted to the hospital, according to Albert J. Hicks III, MD.

Dr. Hicks, a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Tex., will discuss the latest challenges and hottest topics surrounding heart failure in the “Updates in Heart Failure” session on Monday, at HM19.

The growth of an aging population in the United States further emphasizes the importance of heart failure as a topic of interest to clinicians, Dr. Hicks said in an interview. He noted that heart failure is the highest medical expenditure for Medicare, and estimates suggest the condition will cost the U.S. health care system $30 billion by the year 2030, he said. With these numbers in mind, the timing of referring patients to an advanced heart failure team is a key issue.

But the timing of referral for advanced care is just one of the hot topics on the agenda for the “Updates in Heart Failure” session, Dr. Hicks said. Other topics include heart failure epidemiology (incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, and disparities); economics of heart failure (burden of care on the U.S. health care system); heart failure hospitalizations and readmissions (risk factors, comorbidities, patient compliance issues); pathophysiology (why heart failure is so deadly); signs and symptoms of heart failure (how to recognize them); treatment of stage C heart failure, with a review of old and new drugs and devices; and treatment of stage D heart failure, including palliative care, mechanical circulatory support, and heart transplantation.

Dr. Hicks’ primary goal for the session is to “increase awareness of the high mortality associated with a heart failure diagnosis,” he said. He also hopes to educate hospitalists about the latest medications, devices, and resources for heart failure patients and to give them the tools and knowledge to help reduce morbidity and mortality in their heart failure patients.

Session attendees also will benefit from Dr. Hicks’ practical advice on identifying warning signs that indicate a heart failure patient may need a medical assist device or a heart transplant and on encouraging early referral of heart failure patients to advanced heart failure specialists before irreversible end-organ damage occurs.

Dr. Hicks hypothesized that the high mortality associated with a heart failure diagnosis, hospital readmission, and late referral will generate the liveliest discussion because issues of costs and resources continue to evolve.

His take-home message: “Early recognition and referral of heart failure patients to a heart failure cardiologist can improve patient costs, morbidity, and survival.

Dr. Hicks had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.

Updates in Heart Failure
Monday, 2:00-2:40 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson

A new three-session minitrack devoted to the clinical mastery of diagnostic and treatment skills at the hospitalized patient’s bedside should be a highlight of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2019 annual conference.

The “Clinical Mastery” track is designed to help hospitalists enhance their skills in making expert diagnoses at the bedside, said Dustin T. Smith, MD, SFHM, course director for HM19, and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. “We feel that all of the didactic sessions offered at HM19 are highly useful for hospitalists, but there is growing interest in having sessions devoted to learning clinical pearls that can aid in practicing medicine and acquiring the skill set of a master clinician.”

The three clinical mastery sessions at HM19 will address neurologic symptoms, ECG interpretation, and the role of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), currently a hot topic in hospital medicine. Recent advances in ultrasound technology have resulted in probes that can cost as little as $2,000, fit inside a lab coat pocket, and be read from a smartphone – making ultrasound far easier to bring to the bedside of hospitalized patients, said Ria Dancel, MD, FHM, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Dancel will copresent the POCUS clinical mastery track at HM19. “Our focus will be on how POCUS and the physical exam relate to each other. These are not competing technologies but complementary, reflecting the evolution in bedside medicine. Because these new devices will soon be in the pockets of your colleagues, residents, physician assistants, and others, you should at least have the knowledge and vocabulary to communicate with them,” she said.

POCUS is a new technology that is not yet in wide use at the hospital bedside, but clearly a wave is building, said Dr. Dancel’s copresenter, Michael Janjigian, MD, associate professor in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

“We’re at the inflection point where the cost of the machine and the availability of training means that hospitals need to decide if it’s time to embrace it,” he said. Hospitalists may also consider petitioning their hospital’s leadership to offer the machines and training.

“Hospitalists’ competencies and strengths lie primarily in making diagnoses,” Dr. Janjigian said. “We like to think of ourselves as master diagnosticians. Our session at HM19 will explore the strengths and weaknesses of both the physical exam and POCUS, presenting clinical scenarios common to hospital medicine. This course is designed for those who have never picked up an ultrasound probe and want to better understand why they should, and for those who want a better sense of how they might integrate it into their practice.”

While radiology and cardiology have been using ultrasound for decades, internists are finding uses at the bedside to speed diagnosis or focus their next diagnostic steps, Dr. Dancel noted. For certain diagnoses, the physical exam is still the tool of choice. But when looking for fluid around the heart or ascites buildup in the abdomen or when looking at the heart itself, she said, there is no better tool at the bedside than ultrasound.

In January 2019, the SHM issued a position statement on POCUS¹, which is intended to inform hospitalists about the technology and its uses, encourage them to be more integrally involved in decision making processes surrounding POCUS program management for their hospitals, and promote development of standards for hospitalists in POCUS training and assessment. The SHM has also developed a pathway to teach the use of ultrasound, the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate of Completion.

In order to qualify, clinicians complete online training modules, attend two live learning courses, compile a portfolio of ultrasound video clips on the job that are reviewed by a panel of experts, and then pass a final exam. The exam will be offered at HM19 for clinicians who have completed preliminary work for this new certificate – as well as precourses devoted to ultrasound and other procedures – and another workshop on POCUS.

Earning the POCUS certificate of completion requires a lot of effort, Dr. Dancel acknowledged. “It is a big commitment, and we don’t want hospitalists thinking that just because they have completed the certificate that they have fully mastered ultrasound. We encourage hospitalists to find a proctor in their own hospitals and to work with them to continue to refine their skills.”

Dr. Dancel and Dr. Janjigian reported no relevant disclosures.

References

1. Soni NJ et al. Point-of-care ultrasound for hospitalists: A position statement of the Society of Hospital Medicine. J Hosp Med. 2019 Jan 2. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3079.

A new three-session minitrack devoted to the clinical mastery of diagnostic and treatment skills at the hospitalized patient’s bedside should be a highlight of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2019 annual conference.

The “Clinical Mastery” track is designed to help hospitalists enhance their skills in making expert diagnoses at the bedside, said Dustin T. Smith, MD, SFHM, course director for HM19, and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. “We feel that all of the didactic sessions offered at HM19 are highly useful for hospitalists, but there is growing interest in having sessions devoted to learning clinical pearls that can aid in practicing medicine and acquiring the skill set of a master clinician.”

The three clinical mastery sessions at HM19 will address neurologic symptoms, ECG interpretation, and the role of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), currently a hot topic in hospital medicine. Recent advances in ultrasound technology have resulted in probes that can cost as little as $2,000, fit inside a lab coat pocket, and be read from a smartphone – making ultrasound far easier to bring to the bedside of hospitalized patients, said Ria Dancel, MD, FHM, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Dancel will copresent the POCUS clinical mastery track at HM19. “Our focus will be on how POCUS and the physical exam relate to each other. These are not competing technologies but complementary, reflecting the evolution in bedside medicine. Because these new devices will soon be in the pockets of your colleagues, residents, physician assistants, and others, you should at least have the knowledge and vocabulary to communicate with them,” she said.

POCUS is a new technology that is not yet in wide use at the hospital bedside, but clearly a wave is building, said Dr. Dancel’s copresenter, Michael Janjigian, MD, associate professor in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

“We’re at the inflection point where the cost of the machine and the availability of training means that hospitals need to decide if it’s time to embrace it,” he said. Hospitalists may also consider petitioning their hospital’s leadership to offer the machines and training.

“Hospitalists’ competencies and strengths lie primarily in making diagnoses,” Dr. Janjigian said. “We like to think of ourselves as master diagnosticians. Our session at HM19 will explore the strengths and weaknesses of both the physical exam and POCUS, presenting clinical scenarios common to hospital medicine. This course is designed for those who have never picked up an ultrasound probe and want to better understand why they should, and for those who want a better sense of how they might integrate it into their practice.”

While radiology and cardiology have been using ultrasound for decades, internists are finding uses at the bedside to speed diagnosis or focus their next diagnostic steps, Dr. Dancel noted. For certain diagnoses, the physical exam is still the tool of choice. But when looking for fluid around the heart or ascites buildup in the abdomen or when looking at the heart itself, she said, there is no better tool at the bedside than ultrasound.

In January 2019, the SHM issued a position statement on POCUS¹, which is intended to inform hospitalists about the technology and its uses, encourage them to be more integrally involved in decision making processes surrounding POCUS program management for their hospitals, and promote development of standards for hospitalists in POCUS training and assessment. The SHM has also developed a pathway to teach the use of ultrasound, the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate of Completion.

In order to qualify, clinicians complete online training modules, attend two live learning courses, compile a portfolio of ultrasound video clips on the job that are reviewed by a panel of experts, and then pass a final exam. The exam will be offered at HM19 for clinicians who have completed preliminary work for this new certificate – as well as precourses devoted to ultrasound and other procedures – and another workshop on POCUS.

Earning the POCUS certificate of completion requires a lot of effort, Dr. Dancel acknowledged. “It is a big commitment, and we don’t want hospitalists thinking that just because they have completed the certificate that they have fully mastered ultrasound. We encourage hospitalists to find a proctor in their own hospitals and to work with them to continue to refine their skills.”

Dr. Dancel and Dr. Janjigian reported no relevant disclosures.

References

1. Soni NJ et al. Point-of-care ultrasound for hospitalists: A position statement of the Society of Hospital Medicine. J Hosp Med. 2019 Jan 2. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3079.

A new three-session minitrack devoted to the clinical mastery of diagnostic and treatment skills at the hospitalized patient’s bedside should be a highlight of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2019 annual conference.

The “Clinical Mastery” track is designed to help hospitalists enhance their skills in making expert diagnoses at the bedside, said Dustin T. Smith, MD, SFHM, course director for HM19, and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. “We feel that all of the didactic sessions offered at HM19 are highly useful for hospitalists, but there is growing interest in having sessions devoted to learning clinical pearls that can aid in practicing medicine and acquiring the skill set of a master clinician.”

The three clinical mastery sessions at HM19 will address neurologic symptoms, ECG interpretation, and the role of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), currently a hot topic in hospital medicine. Recent advances in ultrasound technology have resulted in probes that can cost as little as $2,000, fit inside a lab coat pocket, and be read from a smartphone – making ultrasound far easier to bring to the bedside of hospitalized patients, said Ria Dancel, MD, FHM, associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Dancel will copresent the POCUS clinical mastery track at HM19. “Our focus will be on how POCUS and the physical exam relate to each other. These are not competing technologies but complementary, reflecting the evolution in bedside medicine. Because these new devices will soon be in the pockets of your colleagues, residents, physician assistants, and others, you should at least have the knowledge and vocabulary to communicate with them,” she said.

POCUS is a new technology that is not yet in wide use at the hospital bedside, but clearly a wave is building, said Dr. Dancel’s copresenter, Michael Janjigian, MD, associate professor in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Health in New York City.

“We’re at the inflection point where the cost of the machine and the availability of training means that hospitals need to decide if it’s time to embrace it,” he said. Hospitalists may also consider petitioning their hospital’s leadership to offer the machines and training.

“Hospitalists’ competencies and strengths lie primarily in making diagnoses,” Dr. Janjigian said. “We like to think of ourselves as master diagnosticians. Our session at HM19 will explore the strengths and weaknesses of both the physical exam and POCUS, presenting clinical scenarios common to hospital medicine. This course is designed for those who have never picked up an ultrasound probe and want to better understand why they should, and for those who want a better sense of how they might integrate it into their practice.”

While radiology and cardiology have been using ultrasound for decades, internists are finding uses at the bedside to speed diagnosis or focus their next diagnostic steps, Dr. Dancel noted. For certain diagnoses, the physical exam is still the tool of choice. But when looking for fluid around the heart or ascites buildup in the abdomen or when looking at the heart itself, she said, there is no better tool at the bedside than ultrasound.

In January 2019, the SHM issued a position statement on POCUS¹, which is intended to inform hospitalists about the technology and its uses, encourage them to be more integrally involved in decision making processes surrounding POCUS program management for their hospitals, and promote development of standards for hospitalists in POCUS training and assessment. The SHM has also developed a pathway to teach the use of ultrasound, the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate of Completion.

In order to qualify, clinicians complete online training modules, attend two live learning courses, compile a portfolio of ultrasound video clips on the job that are reviewed by a panel of experts, and then pass a final exam. The exam will be offered at HM19 for clinicians who have completed preliminary work for this new certificate – as well as precourses devoted to ultrasound and other procedures – and another workshop on POCUS.

Earning the POCUS certificate of completion requires a lot of effort, Dr. Dancel acknowledged. “It is a big commitment, and we don’t want hospitalists thinking that just because they have completed the certificate that they have fully mastered ultrasound. We encourage hospitalists to find a proctor in their own hospitals and to work with them to continue to refine their skills.”

Dr. Dancel and Dr. Janjigian reported no relevant disclosures.

References

1. Soni NJ et al. Point-of-care ultrasound for hospitalists: A position statement of the Society of Hospital Medicine. J Hosp Med. 2019 Jan 2. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3079.

As course director for the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2019 annual conference – Hospital Medicine 2019 (HM19) – to be held March 24-27 in National Harbor, Md., Dustin T. Smith, MD, SFHM, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, tried his best to apply democratic processes to the work of the annual conference committee.

“We created numerous email surveys to go out to the 20 committee members for their vote. So many great topics were proposed for HM19, with so many great faculty, that we had to make hard choices – although we see that as a good problem. It was my job to make sure that we had a process that works,” Dr. Smith explained. “We have planned what we believe will be another well-attended and well-received hospital medicine conference. Every year it’s been great, but every year we try something to make it a little better.”

The SHM annual conference committee meets in person at the conference to kick off planning for the following year’s conference, then holds weekly conference calls for the next 4-5 months, Dr. Smith said. “These are all highly creative leaders in hospital medicine, with voices to be heard and taken under consideration.”

Committee members wear badges at the annual meeting to encourage attendees to offer them feedback and suggestions. “We have our ears to the ground. We look at the session ratings from prior years, speaker ratings, and all of the feedback we have received, and we take all of that into account to come up with new ideas for educational tracks,” Dr. Smith said. New for 2019 are “Between the Guidelines” and “Clinical Mastery”. “We went around the table at our meeting and asked everybody for their ideas for new tracks, and then we voted in the most popular ones.”

One change for 2019 was to “completely open” the call for submission of proposals – and for nominations of content to be covered and who should present it – for all sessions at HM19, not just for the workshop tracks. Dr. Smith said all submissions were peer reviewed by committee members and scored with objective ratings.

“For example, there was a lot of interest in emergency and disaster preparedness for hospitalists in a number of the submissions. Whether we’re talking about wildfires or mass shootings, it affects hospitals, and we are among the frontline practitioners for whatever happens in those hospitals. So we may need to be able to respond to large-scale emergencies,” he said. “But most of us haven’t been trained for that.”

A love of teaching

Dr. Smith’s preparation for being the HM19 course director includes his work teaching medical students, residents, and physicians at Emory University where he also attended medical school. He chairs the Emory division of hospital medicine’s education council, directs hospital medicine grand rounds at Emory, and serves as associate program director for the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory as well as a section chief for education in medical specialty at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Smith has also codirected, since 2012, the annual Southern Hospital Medicine regional conference.

“I have long had an interest in medical education for medical students, trainees, and faculty and I wanted to do more of it – with a number of mentors encouraging me along the way,” he said. “I have planned and coordinated teaching sessions needed for maintenance of board certification, which is similar to what we will present at HM19. Based on that experience, I applied to be on SHM’s annual conference committee, starting in 2012 for the planning of Hospital Medicine 2013. I believe I have been preparing myself all along to take on this role.”

A well-rounded program

The HM19 educational program will be well rounded, Dr. Smith said, offering clinical updates on topics such as sepsis, heart failure, and new clinical practice guidelines.

“You will see a big focus on wellness and how to avoid burnout, as well as other sessions on how to develop and sustain a career in hospital medicine,” he said. Another important HM19 theme will be the delivery of new models of population health and accountable care and their impact on both patients and hospital operations.

The 2019 agenda emphasizes other interactive formats, such as the “Great Debates,” where experts in the field are paired to debate clinical conundrums in hospital medicine. The number of Great Debates has grown from one on perioperative medicine at the 2017 annual conference, to three in 2018, and now to seven planned for 2019. “This format is very popular. We’re also planning ‘Medical Jeopardy,’ with three brilliant master clinicians in a quiz show format, and two ‘Stump the Professor’ sessions with expert diagnosticians,” Dr. Smith said.

It’s important to make every session at the conference interactive to engage attendees in learning from, and talking to, experts in the field, he said. “But it’s also important for some of them to be more entertaining in approach as a way to encourage learning. We know that this actually increases retention of information.”

The annual conference course director typically is selected several years in advance, in order to plan for the time commitment that will be required, and spends the year before this term as assistant course director. “It is a big honor to serve as course director. It’s fun and exciting to work with such a talented and diverse committee, but it’s also a lot of work,” Dr. Smith acknowledged. “I reviewed all 450 session proposals from this year’s open call for course content. The volume of emails is pretty outstanding, and I was extremely busy with conference planning for a season.”

Dr. Smith has continued to pursue his full-time commitments at Emory, without getting dedicated time off for planning the SHM conference. “But as a parent of three young children, I already feel busy all the time,” he said. “I put in a lot of late nights, but I found a way to make it work.”

As course director for the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2019 annual conference – Hospital Medicine 2019 (HM19) – to be held March 24-27 in National Harbor, Md., Dustin T. Smith, MD, SFHM, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, tried his best to apply democratic processes to the work of the annual conference committee.

“We created numerous email surveys to go out to the 20 committee members for their vote. So many great topics were proposed for HM19, with so many great faculty, that we had to make hard choices – although we see that as a good problem. It was my job to make sure that we had a process that works,” Dr. Smith explained. “We have planned what we believe will be another well-attended and well-received hospital medicine conference. Every year it’s been great, but every year we try something to make it a little better.”

The SHM annual conference committee meets in person at the conference to kick off planning for the following year’s conference, then holds weekly conference calls for the next 4-5 months, Dr. Smith said. “These are all highly creative leaders in hospital medicine, with voices to be heard and taken under consideration.”

Committee members wear badges at the annual meeting to encourage attendees to offer them feedback and suggestions. “We have our ears to the ground. We look at the session ratings from prior years, speaker ratings, and all of the feedback we have received, and we take all of that into account to come up with new ideas for educational tracks,” Dr. Smith said. New for 2019 are “Between the Guidelines” and “Clinical Mastery”. “We went around the table at our meeting and asked everybody for their ideas for new tracks, and then we voted in the most popular ones.”

One change for 2019 was to “completely open” the call for submission of proposals – and for nominations of content to be covered and who should present it – for all sessions at HM19, not just for the workshop tracks. Dr. Smith said all submissions were peer reviewed by committee members and scored with objective ratings.

“For example, there was a lot of interest in emergency and disaster preparedness for hospitalists in a number of the submissions. Whether we’re talking about wildfires or mass shootings, it affects hospitals, and we are among the frontline practitioners for whatever happens in those hospitals. So we may need to be able to respond to large-scale emergencies,” he said. “But most of us haven’t been trained for that.”

A love of teaching

Dr. Smith’s preparation for being the HM19 course director includes his work teaching medical students, residents, and physicians at Emory University where he also attended medical school. He chairs the Emory division of hospital medicine’s education council, directs hospital medicine grand rounds at Emory, and serves as associate program director for the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory as well as a section chief for education in medical specialty at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Smith has also codirected, since 2012, the annual Southern Hospital Medicine regional conference.

“I have long had an interest in medical education for medical students, trainees, and faculty and I wanted to do more of it – with a number of mentors encouraging me along the way,” he said. “I have planned and coordinated teaching sessions needed for maintenance of board certification, which is similar to what we will present at HM19. Based on that experience, I applied to be on SHM’s annual conference committee, starting in 2012 for the planning of Hospital Medicine 2013. I believe I have been preparing myself all along to take on this role.”

A well-rounded program

The HM19 educational program will be well rounded, Dr. Smith said, offering clinical updates on topics such as sepsis, heart failure, and new clinical practice guidelines.

“You will see a big focus on wellness and how to avoid burnout, as well as other sessions on how to develop and sustain a career in hospital medicine,” he said. Another important HM19 theme will be the delivery of new models of population health and accountable care and their impact on both patients and hospital operations.

The 2019 agenda emphasizes other interactive formats, such as the “Great Debates,” where experts in the field are paired to debate clinical conundrums in hospital medicine. The number of Great Debates has grown from one on perioperative medicine at the 2017 annual conference, to three in 2018, and now to seven planned for 2019. “This format is very popular. We’re also planning ‘Medical Jeopardy,’ with three brilliant master clinicians in a quiz show format, and two ‘Stump the Professor’ sessions with expert diagnosticians,” Dr. Smith said.

It’s important to make every session at the conference interactive to engage attendees in learning from, and talking to, experts in the field, he said. “But it’s also important for some of them to be more entertaining in approach as a way to encourage learning. We know that this actually increases retention of information.”

The annual conference course director typically is selected several years in advance, in order to plan for the time commitment that will be required, and spends the year before this term as assistant course director. “It is a big honor to serve as course director. It’s fun and exciting to work with such a talented and diverse committee, but it’s also a lot of work,” Dr. Smith acknowledged. “I reviewed all 450 session proposals from this year’s open call for course content. The volume of emails is pretty outstanding, and I was extremely busy with conference planning for a season.”

Dr. Smith has continued to pursue his full-time commitments at Emory, without getting dedicated time off for planning the SHM conference. “But as a parent of three young children, I already feel busy all the time,” he said. “I put in a lot of late nights, but I found a way to make it work.”

As course director for the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2019 annual conference – Hospital Medicine 2019 (HM19) – to be held March 24-27 in National Harbor, Md., Dustin T. Smith, MD, SFHM, hospitalist and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, tried his best to apply democratic processes to the work of the annual conference committee.

“We created numerous email surveys to go out to the 20 committee members for their vote. So many great topics were proposed for HM19, with so many great faculty, that we had to make hard choices – although we see that as a good problem. It was my job to make sure that we had a process that works,” Dr. Smith explained. “We have planned what we believe will be another well-attended and well-received hospital medicine conference. Every year it’s been great, but every year we try something to make it a little better.”

The SHM annual conference committee meets in person at the conference to kick off planning for the following year’s conference, then holds weekly conference calls for the next 4-5 months, Dr. Smith said. “These are all highly creative leaders in hospital medicine, with voices to be heard and taken under consideration.”

Committee members wear badges at the annual meeting to encourage attendees to offer them feedback and suggestions. “We have our ears to the ground. We look at the session ratings from prior years, speaker ratings, and all of the feedback we have received, and we take all of that into account to come up with new ideas for educational tracks,” Dr. Smith said. New for 2019 are “Between the Guidelines” and “Clinical Mastery”. “We went around the table at our meeting and asked everybody for their ideas for new tracks, and then we voted in the most popular ones.”

One change for 2019 was to “completely open” the call for submission of proposals – and for nominations of content to be covered and who should present it – for all sessions at HM19, not just for the workshop tracks. Dr. Smith said all submissions were peer reviewed by committee members and scored with objective ratings.

“For example, there was a lot of interest in emergency and disaster preparedness for hospitalists in a number of the submissions. Whether we’re talking about wildfires or mass shootings, it affects hospitals, and we are among the frontline practitioners for whatever happens in those hospitals. So we may need to be able to respond to large-scale emergencies,” he said. “But most of us haven’t been trained for that.”

A love of teaching

Dr. Smith’s preparation for being the HM19 course director includes his work teaching medical students, residents, and physicians at Emory University where he also attended medical school. He chairs the Emory division of hospital medicine’s education council, directs hospital medicine grand rounds at Emory, and serves as associate program director for the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory as well as a section chief for education in medical specialty at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Smith has also codirected, since 2012, the annual Southern Hospital Medicine regional conference.

“I have long had an interest in medical education for medical students, trainees, and faculty and I wanted to do more of it – with a number of mentors encouraging me along the way,” he said. “I have planned and coordinated teaching sessions needed for maintenance of board certification, which is similar to what we will present at HM19. Based on that experience, I applied to be on SHM’s annual conference committee, starting in 2012 for the planning of Hospital Medicine 2013. I believe I have been preparing myself all along to take on this role.”

A well-rounded program

The HM19 educational program will be well rounded, Dr. Smith said, offering clinical updates on topics such as sepsis, heart failure, and new clinical practice guidelines.

“You will see a big focus on wellness and how to avoid burnout, as well as other sessions on how to develop and sustain a career in hospital medicine,” he said. Another important HM19 theme will be the delivery of new models of population health and accountable care and their impact on both patients and hospital operations.

The 2019 agenda emphasizes other interactive formats, such as the “Great Debates,” where experts in the field are paired to debate clinical conundrums in hospital medicine. The number of Great Debates has grown from one on perioperative medicine at the 2017 annual conference, to three in 2018, and now to seven planned for 2019. “This format is very popular. We’re also planning ‘Medical Jeopardy,’ with three brilliant master clinicians in a quiz show format, and two ‘Stump the Professor’ sessions with expert diagnosticians,” Dr. Smith said.

It’s important to make every session at the conference interactive to engage attendees in learning from, and talking to, experts in the field, he said. “But it’s also important for some of them to be more entertaining in approach as a way to encourage learning. We know that this actually increases retention of information.”

The annual conference course director typically is selected several years in advance, in order to plan for the time commitment that will be required, and spends the year before this term as assistant course director. “It is a big honor to serve as course director. It’s fun and exciting to work with such a talented and diverse committee, but it’s also a lot of work,” Dr. Smith acknowledged. “I reviewed all 450 session proposals from this year’s open call for course content. The volume of emails is pretty outstanding, and I was extremely busy with conference planning for a season.”

Dr. Smith has continued to pursue his full-time commitments at Emory, without getting dedicated time off for planning the SHM conference. “But as a parent of three young children, I already feel busy all the time,” he said. “I put in a lot of late nights, but I found a way to make it work.”

There are about as many sessions at HM19 as there are cherry blossoms on the springtime trees in the nation’s capital. Attendees are bound to find something they love – probably too many somethings, in fact.

Fear not. Seasoned experts are here to ease your struggle with suggestions for sessions they consider the best of the best and tips on getting the most out of the conference.

“Download the HM19 At Hand app to plan your conference schedule, rate speakers and sessions, and participate in audience-response systems,” said Dustin Smith, MD, SFHM, the HM19 course director and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. “Read the track descriptions first before reviewing the individual sessions to determine which educational tracks initially pique your interest. Don’t be wedded to one track; pick and choose sessions from the different tracks to curate a schedule that best fits your educational needs.”

SHM staff and Annual Conference committee members will be easily identifiable and eager to help on site, Dr. Smith added.

HM19 was the first Annual Conference for which SHM issued a call for content to members and nonmembers alike. The contributions yielded a few new offerings. A new Clinical Mastery track includes sessions for hospitalists wanting to enhance or refine their skills in an effort to achieve a master clinician designation, Dr. Smith said, while the new Between the Guidelines track explores clinical conundrums and lessons from history that may not be covered in clinical practice guidelines.

There also is a new Palliative Care and Pain Management pre-course and a new course on emergent airway management, Dr. Smith noted. His suggestions for sessions that are new, have a new format, or are particularly timely, are too numerous to list in full but include a fun “Medical Jeopardy” session (Wednesday, 9:10 – 9:50 a.m., Maryland C), sessions on discharge dilemmas (Monday, 11:25 a.m. to 12:05 p.m., Maryland BD/4-6) and LGBTQ health (Wednesday, 10:50 to 11:30 a.m., Maryland BD/4-6) and the workshop “Being Fe(male) in Hospital Medicine Part 2: Diversifying the Discussion” (Tuesday, 2:10 to 3:40 p.m., Potomac 1-3).

The Hospitalist polled its editorial advisory board members for each of their top two suggestions for “must-see” sessions:

Raman Palabindala, MD, SFHM, hospital medicine division chief at the University of Mississippi Medical Center

“A Battle Plan Against Career Inertia: A Blueprint for an Education Series to Retain Hospitalists, Reduce Burnout and Advance Careers” (Monday, 10:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
“I strongly recommend this to all hospitalist leaders – in big or small programs – given the importance of burnout in recent years. [Speaker] Dan Hunt is one of the best,” Dr. Palabindala said.

Special Interest Forums (Monday, 4:30 – 5:25 p.m., Tuesday, 5:30 – 6:25 p.m., multiple rooms)
Dr. Palabindala said these are valuable, small sessions when you have a focused interest in a certain topic – whether IT, academics, policy, or others.
“This is the best place to make contacts with national leaders,” he said. “Be proactive in confirming your spot.”


 

James Kim, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University

“Delirium and Dementia in the Inpatient Setting” (Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Maryland BD/4-6)
“This session is a repeat from previous years, but it is an engaging lecture with a lot of great material,” Dr. Kim said. “It has changed my approach to my practice of inpatients.”

“The Role of Primary Palliative Care in Complex, Chronic Disease Management” (Tuesday, 3:50 – 4:50 p.m., National Harbor 12-13)
“As the population grows older, palliative care’s role in disease management is going to become more important,” he said. “I watched one of Dr. [Aziz] Ansari’s lectures in a previous SHM meeting, and he delivers a dynamic presentation that is both informative and entertaining.”
 

Hyung (Harry) Cho, MD, SFHM, chief value officer at NYC Health + Hospitals

“Tweet your Way to the Top? Social Media as a Career Development Tool in Hospital Medicine” (Monday, 12:45 – 2:15 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
This includes a team of presenters who are experienced in the use of Twitter in conjunction with the Journal of Hospital Medicine, Dr. Cho said.

“Research Shark Tank” (Monday, 1:35 – 2:35 p.m., Baltimore 3-5)
This session involves judging and critiquing the latest research proposals with “contestants” in a Shark Tank format. Among the judges is Andrew Auerbach, MD, SFHM, past editor of the JHM. It “looks very engaging,” Dr. Cho said.

Lonika Sood, MD, FHM, clinical education director of internal medicine at Washington State University

“Making Your Educational Activities Count Twice: What it Takes These Days to Publish in Medical Education Journals” (Wednesday, 8:40 – 9:40 a.m., Baltimore 3-5)
“This is an important topic for clinician educators who are interested in taking a scholarly approach to their teaching,” Dr. Sood said. “Having some form of a framework to guide us in the direction of publishing our hard work will be very helpful.”“Managing the Hidden Curriculum: Do

You Know What You’re Teaching?” (Monday, 10:35 – 11:35 a.m., Baltimore 3-5)
“This is also an important, yet ‘hidden’ topic for the clinician educator when they are in the clinical environment with learners. Having hospitalists be aware of what is actually being ‘learned’ as opposed to what they think is being ‘taught’ on the wards is a critical part of the teaching process.”
 

Raj Sehgal, MD, FHM, clinical associate professor at South Texas Veterans Health Care System and UT Health San Antonio

“Call Night: Common Scenarios Encountered and Strategies to Make It Through the Night” (Monday, 10:35 – 11:15 a.m., Annapolis) and “Nocturnal Admissions: Cases That Keep Me Up at Night” (Monday, 2 – 2:40 p.m., Maryland A/1-3)
“I’m glad to see several different sessions about issues hospitalists face when working nights,” Dr. Sehgal said. “After all, most hours of the week are actually ‘off-hours’ (nights and weekends), so it’s important to focus on how care is delivered during these times. Even though we see the same diagnoses regardless of the time of day, our management is often very different because of external forces, such as the availability of tests and consultants.”

Marina Farah, MD, MHA, a national expert on improving clinical quality, cost, and efficiency

"Delivering Population Health as a Hospitalist in a Value-Based Healthcare Era” (Monday, 3:45 – 4:25 p.m., Maryland A/1-3)
“Hospital care is responsible for a third of the U.S. health care spending,” Dr. Farah said. “Hospitalists serve 75% of total hospital patients and have a unique perspective and power to drive national health care outcomes. This session will offer guidance on what hospitalists can do to improve population health, decrease total cost of care, and succeed under value-based reimbursement models.”

“Things We Do for No Reason: The 2019 Clinical Update for Hospitalists” (Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson)
“Every hospitalist needs to know clinical practices that aren’t evidence-based, costly, and do not improve patient outcomes,” she said.

Amith Skandhan, MD, SFHM, assistant professor and medical director/clinical liaison for clinical documentation improvement at Southeast Health Medical Center

“How To Be a Great Teaching Attending” (Wednesday, 10 – 10:40 a.m., Maryland C)
“Being an academic hospitalist, I look up to great inpatient teachers,” Dr. Skandhan said. “Dr. [Jeffrey] Wiese has an amazing presence when he talks. His book on bedside teaching has been quite a guide for me as I embarked on my journey as a teacher.”

“Amplify Your Impact: Leverage Data to Accelerate Your Efforts in Quality Improvement” (Tuesday, 3:50 – 5:20 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
“Hospital medicine is a fairly new branch of medicine, and we are now the leaders of inpatient quality improvement,” he said. “To understand data and to convert it to useful information that can be utilized in quality improvement strategies would be great.”

Danielle Scheurer, MD, SFHM, physician editor of The Hospitalist and chief quality officer, Medical University of South Carolina

“Top New Guidelines Every Hospitalist Needs to Know in Clinical Practice” (Monday, 10:35 - 11:15 a.m., Woodrow Wilson)
“It’s important to remain up to date on all the new guideline releases.”“

Your Hospital, Your Group and Yourself: Opportunities for Promoting Well Being and Reducing Burnout” (Monday, 1:35 - 2:35 p.m., National Harbor 12-13)
“This session will help you and your teams to garner ideas and tactics for reducing the prevalence of burnout,” she said.

For more information on the HM19 education sessions, check the latest version of the conference schedule at https://shmannualconference.org/interactive-schedule/ .

There are about as many sessions at HM19 as there are cherry blossoms on the springtime trees in the nation’s capital. Attendees are bound to find something they love – probably too many somethings, in fact.

Fear not. Seasoned experts are here to ease your struggle with suggestions for sessions they consider the best of the best and tips on getting the most out of the conference.

“Download the HM19 At Hand app to plan your conference schedule, rate speakers and sessions, and participate in audience-response systems,” said Dustin Smith, MD, SFHM, the HM19 course director and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. “Read the track descriptions first before reviewing the individual sessions to determine which educational tracks initially pique your interest. Don’t be wedded to one track; pick and choose sessions from the different tracks to curate a schedule that best fits your educational needs.”

SHM staff and Annual Conference committee members will be easily identifiable and eager to help on site, Dr. Smith added.

HM19 was the first Annual Conference for which SHM issued a call for content to members and nonmembers alike. The contributions yielded a few new offerings. A new Clinical Mastery track includes sessions for hospitalists wanting to enhance or refine their skills in an effort to achieve a master clinician designation, Dr. Smith said, while the new Between the Guidelines track explores clinical conundrums and lessons from history that may not be covered in clinical practice guidelines.

There also is a new Palliative Care and Pain Management pre-course and a new course on emergent airway management, Dr. Smith noted. His suggestions for sessions that are new, have a new format, or are particularly timely, are too numerous to list in full but include a fun “Medical Jeopardy” session (Wednesday, 9:10 – 9:50 a.m., Maryland C), sessions on discharge dilemmas (Monday, 11:25 a.m. to 12:05 p.m., Maryland BD/4-6) and LGBTQ health (Wednesday, 10:50 to 11:30 a.m., Maryland BD/4-6) and the workshop “Being Fe(male) in Hospital Medicine Part 2: Diversifying the Discussion” (Tuesday, 2:10 to 3:40 p.m., Potomac 1-3).

The Hospitalist polled its editorial advisory board members for each of their top two suggestions for “must-see” sessions:

Raman Palabindala, MD, SFHM, hospital medicine division chief at the University of Mississippi Medical Center

“A Battle Plan Against Career Inertia: A Blueprint for an Education Series to Retain Hospitalists, Reduce Burnout and Advance Careers” (Monday, 10:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
“I strongly recommend this to all hospitalist leaders – in big or small programs – given the importance of burnout in recent years. [Speaker] Dan Hunt is one of the best,” Dr. Palabindala said.

Special Interest Forums (Monday, 4:30 – 5:25 p.m., Tuesday, 5:30 – 6:25 p.m., multiple rooms)
Dr. Palabindala said these are valuable, small sessions when you have a focused interest in a certain topic – whether IT, academics, policy, or others.
“This is the best place to make contacts with national leaders,” he said. “Be proactive in confirming your spot.”


 

James Kim, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University

“Delirium and Dementia in the Inpatient Setting” (Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Maryland BD/4-6)
“This session is a repeat from previous years, but it is an engaging lecture with a lot of great material,” Dr. Kim said. “It has changed my approach to my practice of inpatients.”

“The Role of Primary Palliative Care in Complex, Chronic Disease Management” (Tuesday, 3:50 – 4:50 p.m., National Harbor 12-13)
“As the population grows older, palliative care’s role in disease management is going to become more important,” he said. “I watched one of Dr. [Aziz] Ansari’s lectures in a previous SHM meeting, and he delivers a dynamic presentation that is both informative and entertaining.”
 

Hyung (Harry) Cho, MD, SFHM, chief value officer at NYC Health + Hospitals

“Tweet your Way to the Top? Social Media as a Career Development Tool in Hospital Medicine” (Monday, 12:45 – 2:15 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
This includes a team of presenters who are experienced in the use of Twitter in conjunction with the Journal of Hospital Medicine, Dr. Cho said.

“Research Shark Tank” (Monday, 1:35 – 2:35 p.m., Baltimore 3-5)
This session involves judging and critiquing the latest research proposals with “contestants” in a Shark Tank format. Among the judges is Andrew Auerbach, MD, SFHM, past editor of the JHM. It “looks very engaging,” Dr. Cho said.

Lonika Sood, MD, FHM, clinical education director of internal medicine at Washington State University

“Making Your Educational Activities Count Twice: What it Takes These Days to Publish in Medical Education Journals” (Wednesday, 8:40 – 9:40 a.m., Baltimore 3-5)
“This is an important topic for clinician educators who are interested in taking a scholarly approach to their teaching,” Dr. Sood said. “Having some form of a framework to guide us in the direction of publishing our hard work will be very helpful.”“Managing the Hidden Curriculum: Do

You Know What You’re Teaching?” (Monday, 10:35 – 11:35 a.m., Baltimore 3-5)
“This is also an important, yet ‘hidden’ topic for the clinician educator when they are in the clinical environment with learners. Having hospitalists be aware of what is actually being ‘learned’ as opposed to what they think is being ‘taught’ on the wards is a critical part of the teaching process.”
 

Raj Sehgal, MD, FHM, clinical associate professor at South Texas Veterans Health Care System and UT Health San Antonio

“Call Night: Common Scenarios Encountered and Strategies to Make It Through the Night” (Monday, 10:35 – 11:15 a.m., Annapolis) and “Nocturnal Admissions: Cases That Keep Me Up at Night” (Monday, 2 – 2:40 p.m., Maryland A/1-3)
“I’m glad to see several different sessions about issues hospitalists face when working nights,” Dr. Sehgal said. “After all, most hours of the week are actually ‘off-hours’ (nights and weekends), so it’s important to focus on how care is delivered during these times. Even though we see the same diagnoses regardless of the time of day, our management is often very different because of external forces, such as the availability of tests and consultants.”

Marina Farah, MD, MHA, a national expert on improving clinical quality, cost, and efficiency

"Delivering Population Health as a Hospitalist in a Value-Based Healthcare Era” (Monday, 3:45 – 4:25 p.m., Maryland A/1-3)
“Hospital care is responsible for a third of the U.S. health care spending,” Dr. Farah said. “Hospitalists serve 75% of total hospital patients and have a unique perspective and power to drive national health care outcomes. This session will offer guidance on what hospitalists can do to improve population health, decrease total cost of care, and succeed under value-based reimbursement models.”

“Things We Do for No Reason: The 2019 Clinical Update for Hospitalists” (Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson)
“Every hospitalist needs to know clinical practices that aren’t evidence-based, costly, and do not improve patient outcomes,” she said.

Amith Skandhan, MD, SFHM, assistant professor and medical director/clinical liaison for clinical documentation improvement at Southeast Health Medical Center

“How To Be a Great Teaching Attending” (Wednesday, 10 – 10:40 a.m., Maryland C)
“Being an academic hospitalist, I look up to great inpatient teachers,” Dr. Skandhan said. “Dr. [Jeffrey] Wiese has an amazing presence when he talks. His book on bedside teaching has been quite a guide for me as I embarked on my journey as a teacher.”

“Amplify Your Impact: Leverage Data to Accelerate Your Efforts in Quality Improvement” (Tuesday, 3:50 – 5:20 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
“Hospital medicine is a fairly new branch of medicine, and we are now the leaders of inpatient quality improvement,” he said. “To understand data and to convert it to useful information that can be utilized in quality improvement strategies would be great.”

Danielle Scheurer, MD, SFHM, physician editor of The Hospitalist and chief quality officer, Medical University of South Carolina

“Top New Guidelines Every Hospitalist Needs to Know in Clinical Practice” (Monday, 10:35 - 11:15 a.m., Woodrow Wilson)
“It’s important to remain up to date on all the new guideline releases.”“

Your Hospital, Your Group and Yourself: Opportunities for Promoting Well Being and Reducing Burnout” (Monday, 1:35 - 2:35 p.m., National Harbor 12-13)
“This session will help you and your teams to garner ideas and tactics for reducing the prevalence of burnout,” she said.

For more information on the HM19 education sessions, check the latest version of the conference schedule at https://shmannualconference.org/interactive-schedule/ .

There are about as many sessions at HM19 as there are cherry blossoms on the springtime trees in the nation’s capital. Attendees are bound to find something they love – probably too many somethings, in fact.

Fear not. Seasoned experts are here to ease your struggle with suggestions for sessions they consider the best of the best and tips on getting the most out of the conference.

“Download the HM19 At Hand app to plan your conference schedule, rate speakers and sessions, and participate in audience-response systems,” said Dustin Smith, MD, SFHM, the HM19 course director and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Atlanta. “Read the track descriptions first before reviewing the individual sessions to determine which educational tracks initially pique your interest. Don’t be wedded to one track; pick and choose sessions from the different tracks to curate a schedule that best fits your educational needs.”

SHM staff and Annual Conference committee members will be easily identifiable and eager to help on site, Dr. Smith added.

HM19 was the first Annual Conference for which SHM issued a call for content to members and nonmembers alike. The contributions yielded a few new offerings. A new Clinical Mastery track includes sessions for hospitalists wanting to enhance or refine their skills in an effort to achieve a master clinician designation, Dr. Smith said, while the new Between the Guidelines track explores clinical conundrums and lessons from history that may not be covered in clinical practice guidelines.

There also is a new Palliative Care and Pain Management pre-course and a new course on emergent airway management, Dr. Smith noted. His suggestions for sessions that are new, have a new format, or are particularly timely, are too numerous to list in full but include a fun “Medical Jeopardy” session (Wednesday, 9:10 – 9:50 a.m., Maryland C), sessions on discharge dilemmas (Monday, 11:25 a.m. to 12:05 p.m., Maryland BD/4-6) and LGBTQ health (Wednesday, 10:50 to 11:30 a.m., Maryland BD/4-6) and the workshop “Being Fe(male) in Hospital Medicine Part 2: Diversifying the Discussion” (Tuesday, 2:10 to 3:40 p.m., Potomac 1-3).

The Hospitalist polled its editorial advisory board members for each of their top two suggestions for “must-see” sessions:

Raman Palabindala, MD, SFHM, hospital medicine division chief at the University of Mississippi Medical Center

“A Battle Plan Against Career Inertia: A Blueprint for an Education Series to Retain Hospitalists, Reduce Burnout and Advance Careers” (Monday, 10:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
“I strongly recommend this to all hospitalist leaders – in big or small programs – given the importance of burnout in recent years. [Speaker] Dan Hunt is one of the best,” Dr. Palabindala said.

Special Interest Forums (Monday, 4:30 – 5:25 p.m., Tuesday, 5:30 – 6:25 p.m., multiple rooms)
Dr. Palabindala said these are valuable, small sessions when you have a focused interest in a certain topic – whether IT, academics, policy, or others.
“This is the best place to make contacts with national leaders,” he said. “Be proactive in confirming your spot.”


 

James Kim, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University

“Delirium and Dementia in the Inpatient Setting” (Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Maryland BD/4-6)
“This session is a repeat from previous years, but it is an engaging lecture with a lot of great material,” Dr. Kim said. “It has changed my approach to my practice of inpatients.”

“The Role of Primary Palliative Care in Complex, Chronic Disease Management” (Tuesday, 3:50 – 4:50 p.m., National Harbor 12-13)
“As the population grows older, palliative care’s role in disease management is going to become more important,” he said. “I watched one of Dr. [Aziz] Ansari’s lectures in a previous SHM meeting, and he delivers a dynamic presentation that is both informative and entertaining.”
 

Hyung (Harry) Cho, MD, SFHM, chief value officer at NYC Health + Hospitals

“Tweet your Way to the Top? Social Media as a Career Development Tool in Hospital Medicine” (Monday, 12:45 – 2:15 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
This includes a team of presenters who are experienced in the use of Twitter in conjunction with the Journal of Hospital Medicine, Dr. Cho said.

“Research Shark Tank” (Monday, 1:35 – 2:35 p.m., Baltimore 3-5)
This session involves judging and critiquing the latest research proposals with “contestants” in a Shark Tank format. Among the judges is Andrew Auerbach, MD, SFHM, past editor of the JHM. It “looks very engaging,” Dr. Cho said.

Lonika Sood, MD, FHM, clinical education director of internal medicine at Washington State University

“Making Your Educational Activities Count Twice: What it Takes These Days to Publish in Medical Education Journals” (Wednesday, 8:40 – 9:40 a.m., Baltimore 3-5)
“This is an important topic for clinician educators who are interested in taking a scholarly approach to their teaching,” Dr. Sood said. “Having some form of a framework to guide us in the direction of publishing our hard work will be very helpful.”“Managing the Hidden Curriculum: Do

You Know What You’re Teaching?” (Monday, 10:35 – 11:35 a.m., Baltimore 3-5)
“This is also an important, yet ‘hidden’ topic for the clinician educator when they are in the clinical environment with learners. Having hospitalists be aware of what is actually being ‘learned’ as opposed to what they think is being ‘taught’ on the wards is a critical part of the teaching process.”
 

Raj Sehgal, MD, FHM, clinical associate professor at South Texas Veterans Health Care System and UT Health San Antonio

“Call Night: Common Scenarios Encountered and Strategies to Make It Through the Night” (Monday, 10:35 – 11:15 a.m., Annapolis) and “Nocturnal Admissions: Cases That Keep Me Up at Night” (Monday, 2 – 2:40 p.m., Maryland A/1-3)
“I’m glad to see several different sessions about issues hospitalists face when working nights,” Dr. Sehgal said. “After all, most hours of the week are actually ‘off-hours’ (nights and weekends), so it’s important to focus on how care is delivered during these times. Even though we see the same diagnoses regardless of the time of day, our management is often very different because of external forces, such as the availability of tests and consultants.”

Marina Farah, MD, MHA, a national expert on improving clinical quality, cost, and efficiency

"Delivering Population Health as a Hospitalist in a Value-Based Healthcare Era” (Monday, 3:45 – 4:25 p.m., Maryland A/1-3)
“Hospital care is responsible for a third of the U.S. health care spending,” Dr. Farah said. “Hospitalists serve 75% of total hospital patients and have a unique perspective and power to drive national health care outcomes. This session will offer guidance on what hospitalists can do to improve population health, decrease total cost of care, and succeed under value-based reimbursement models.”

“Things We Do for No Reason: The 2019 Clinical Update for Hospitalists” (Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson)
“Every hospitalist needs to know clinical practices that aren’t evidence-based, costly, and do not improve patient outcomes,” she said.

Amith Skandhan, MD, SFHM, assistant professor and medical director/clinical liaison for clinical documentation improvement at Southeast Health Medical Center

“How To Be a Great Teaching Attending” (Wednesday, 10 – 10:40 a.m., Maryland C)
“Being an academic hospitalist, I look up to great inpatient teachers,” Dr. Skandhan said. “Dr. [Jeffrey] Wiese has an amazing presence when he talks. His book on bedside teaching has been quite a guide for me as I embarked on my journey as a teacher.”

“Amplify Your Impact: Leverage Data to Accelerate Your Efforts in Quality Improvement” (Tuesday, 3:50 – 5:20 p.m., Potomac 1-3)
“Hospital medicine is a fairly new branch of medicine, and we are now the leaders of inpatient quality improvement,” he said. “To understand data and to convert it to useful information that can be utilized in quality improvement strategies would be great.”

Danielle Scheurer, MD, SFHM, physician editor of The Hospitalist and chief quality officer, Medical University of South Carolina

“Top New Guidelines Every Hospitalist Needs to Know in Clinical Practice” (Monday, 10:35 - 11:15 a.m., Woodrow Wilson)
“It’s important to remain up to date on all the new guideline releases.”“

Your Hospital, Your Group and Yourself: Opportunities for Promoting Well Being and Reducing Burnout” (Monday, 1:35 - 2:35 p.m., National Harbor 12-13)
“This session will help you and your teams to garner ideas and tactics for reducing the prevalence of burnout,” she said.

For more information on the HM19 education sessions, check the latest version of the conference schedule at https://shmannualconference.org/interactive-schedule/ .

Hepatology News Tonight: Managing complications of cirrhosis
Sunday, March 24
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., National Harbor 4-5
Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. Dinner Symposium 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Presenters:Robert S. Brown Jr., MD, MPH (Chair), Gladys and Roland Harriman professor of medicine, vice chair for mentorship and academic development, clinical chief of the division of gastroenterology & hepatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; Kimberly Brown, MD, FAST, FAASLD, AGAF, professor of medicine at Wayne State University and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology and associate medical director, Henry Ford Hospital Transplant Institute, Henry Ford Hospital, both in Detroit; Steven Flamm, MD, FAASLD, FACG, chief, liver transplantation program, and professor of medicine and surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago.
Target Audience: This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals who provide care for hospitalized patients with liver disease.
Learning Objectives: After completing this program, participants should be better able to:

• Understand the complications and the consequences of cirrhosis.
• Describe the economic, patient, and caregiver burdens associated with cirrhosis.
• Demonstrate the ability to properly treat the complications of cirrhosis and prevent recurrence.

Accredited by: Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services
Provided by: Chronic Liver Disease Foundation. Supported by educational grants from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Accreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the New Mexico Medical Society (NMMS) through the joint providership of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (RMCHCS), the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation, and the Texas Gulf Coast Gastroenterological Society. RMCHCS is accredited by the NMMS to provide continuing medical education for physicians. RMCHCS designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Americans with Disabilities Act: The event staff will be glad to assist you with any special needs (such as physical or dietary).
Registration: www.ChronicLiverDisease.org. On-site registration is available. Space is limited, so please arrive by 5:00 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

An evidence-based approach to reducing stroke risk in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
Sunday, March 24
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson BC
Presenter:
Dharmesh Patel, MD, MBBS (London), FACC, FACP, FASPC, FNLA, Stern Cardiovascular Foundation; president of Alliance for Patient Access; past president American Heart Association; past chairman of medicine, Baptist Desoto Hospital, Southaven, Miss.; board member, AHA Southeast America, Memphis, Tenn.
Learning Objectives: This lecture will present options for reducing the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.
Sponsored by: Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Understanding your legal tools: The keys to lawsuit prevention, license protection and tax reduction
​​​​​​Monday, March 25
Noon - 1:00 p.m., National Harbor 2-3
Lunch provided at noon.
Objectives:

• Learn how to protect your license from negative reports to the NPDB following a settlement from your insurance company. If there is no NPD report, it’s unlikely that a board investigation into legal matters will materialize, preventing any sanctions from the state licensing board.
• Learn the best business structure for income tax reduction. Learn about the new tax laws passed in 2018 and how they can benefit you.
• Learn the use of legal tools that will protect your professional and personal assets from lawsuits. (Statistically, not even one in 100,000 are using these tools in the right way.)
• Learn how to protect business, property and personal assets in the event of a judgment in excess of liability insurance.
• Shows how to structure: C-corps, S-corps, FLPs, LLCs, etc. 

Faculty: Art McOmber
Sponsored by: Legally Mine.

Evidence-based approach to COPD management: Exploring new guidelines and treatment options for managing COPD exacerbations
Monday, March 257:00 - 9:30 p.m.,
Cherry Blossom Ballroom
Dinner provided at 7:00 p.m.
Learning Objectives: After completing this program, participants should be better able to do the following:

• Discuss considerations for reducing the risk of exacerbations in the inpatient and ambulatory setting.
• Raise awareness of strategies to improve COPD standardization of care across sites of care.
• Evaluate the role of long-acting bronchodilators to treat underlying pathophysiology of exacerbations.
• Understand the importance of inhaler selection when initiating maintenance therapy or reassessing treatment based on disease progression.

Faculty: Haley M. Hoy, PhD, ACNP, FAANP, The University of Alabama Huntsville, Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Sponsored by: Boehringer Ingelheim.

C. difficile infection: A hospitalist’s roadmap to treatment and prevention of recurrence 
Monday, March 25
7:00 - 9:00 p.m., National Harbor 2-3
Dinner provided at 7:00 p.m.
Program Overview: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) places a significant clinical and economic burden on the health care system. The rising incidence of CDI is attributed to the emergence of a previously rare and hypervirulent strain of C. difficile. Increased toxin production and high-level antimicrobial resistance have allowed this strain to thrive in health care settings. Furthermore, populations previously thought to be at low risk of infection are now being identified as having severe CDI, including those without any exposure to health care facilities.

Fortunately, new diagnostic techniques have been developed to assist clinicians in the accurate and rapid detection of these infections. Additionally, new treatment options are available to clinicians for the management of initial and recurrent episodes of CDI. The prevention and management of CDI involve multiple disciplines responsible for the care of at-risk patients. As a key patient advocate in the hospital, the hospitalist can play a major role in ensuring that appropriate measures are in place for their patients at high risk for CDI. Hospitalists also can ensure that timely and appropriate diagnostic tests are performed at the early signs of CDI and that appropriate treatment selection is based on patient factors.
Faculty: William Ford, MD, SFHM, regional director hospital medicine and clinical associate professor of medicine, Abington (Penn.) Jefferson Health; Jason C. Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, FIDSA, BCPS, clinical professor and clinical specialist, infectious diseases, and director, PGY2 Residency in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia; Ciaran P. Kelly, MD, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and director, gastroenterology fellowship training and director, Celiac Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston.
Registration: www.vemcomeded.com/livemeetings.asp or call 908-704-2400.
Accreditation statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Center for Independent Healthcare Education (Center) and Vemco MedEd. Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit designation: Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co. Jointly provided by Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd.

Hepatology News Tonight: Managing complications of cirrhosis
Sunday, March 24
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., National Harbor 4-5
Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. Dinner Symposium 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Presenters:Robert S. Brown Jr., MD, MPH (Chair), Gladys and Roland Harriman professor of medicine, vice chair for mentorship and academic development, clinical chief of the division of gastroenterology & hepatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; Kimberly Brown, MD, FAST, FAASLD, AGAF, professor of medicine at Wayne State University and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology and associate medical director, Henry Ford Hospital Transplant Institute, Henry Ford Hospital, both in Detroit; Steven Flamm, MD, FAASLD, FACG, chief, liver transplantation program, and professor of medicine and surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago.
Target Audience: This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals who provide care for hospitalized patients with liver disease.
Learning Objectives: After completing this program, participants should be better able to:

• Understand the complications and the consequences of cirrhosis.
• Describe the economic, patient, and caregiver burdens associated with cirrhosis.
• Demonstrate the ability to properly treat the complications of cirrhosis and prevent recurrence.

Accredited by: Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services
Provided by: Chronic Liver Disease Foundation. Supported by educational grants from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Accreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the New Mexico Medical Society (NMMS) through the joint providership of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (RMCHCS), the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation, and the Texas Gulf Coast Gastroenterological Society. RMCHCS is accredited by the NMMS to provide continuing medical education for physicians. RMCHCS designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Americans with Disabilities Act: The event staff will be glad to assist you with any special needs (such as physical or dietary).
Registration: www.ChronicLiverDisease.org. On-site registration is available. Space is limited, so please arrive by 5:00 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

An evidence-based approach to reducing stroke risk in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
Sunday, March 24
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson BC
Presenter:
Dharmesh Patel, MD, MBBS (London), FACC, FACP, FASPC, FNLA, Stern Cardiovascular Foundation; president of Alliance for Patient Access; past president American Heart Association; past chairman of medicine, Baptist Desoto Hospital, Southaven, Miss.; board member, AHA Southeast America, Memphis, Tenn.
Learning Objectives: This lecture will present options for reducing the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.
Sponsored by: Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Understanding your legal tools: The keys to lawsuit prevention, license protection and tax reduction
​​​​​​Monday, March 25
Noon - 1:00 p.m., National Harbor 2-3
Lunch provided at noon.
Objectives:

• Learn how to protect your license from negative reports to the NPDB following a settlement from your insurance company. If there is no NPD report, it’s unlikely that a board investigation into legal matters will materialize, preventing any sanctions from the state licensing board.
• Learn the best business structure for income tax reduction. Learn about the new tax laws passed in 2018 and how they can benefit you.
• Learn the use of legal tools that will protect your professional and personal assets from lawsuits. (Statistically, not even one in 100,000 are using these tools in the right way.)
• Learn how to protect business, property and personal assets in the event of a judgment in excess of liability insurance.
• Shows how to structure: C-corps, S-corps, FLPs, LLCs, etc. 

Faculty: Art McOmber
Sponsored by: Legally Mine.

Evidence-based approach to COPD management: Exploring new guidelines and treatment options for managing COPD exacerbations
Monday, March 257:00 - 9:30 p.m.,
Cherry Blossom Ballroom
Dinner provided at 7:00 p.m.
Learning Objectives: After completing this program, participants should be better able to do the following:

• Discuss considerations for reducing the risk of exacerbations in the inpatient and ambulatory setting.
• Raise awareness of strategies to improve COPD standardization of care across sites of care.
• Evaluate the role of long-acting bronchodilators to treat underlying pathophysiology of exacerbations.
• Understand the importance of inhaler selection when initiating maintenance therapy or reassessing treatment based on disease progression.

Faculty: Haley M. Hoy, PhD, ACNP, FAANP, The University of Alabama Huntsville, Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Sponsored by: Boehringer Ingelheim.

C. difficile infection: A hospitalist’s roadmap to treatment and prevention of recurrence 
Monday, March 25
7:00 - 9:00 p.m., National Harbor 2-3
Dinner provided at 7:00 p.m.
Program Overview: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) places a significant clinical and economic burden on the health care system. The rising incidence of CDI is attributed to the emergence of a previously rare and hypervirulent strain of C. difficile. Increased toxin production and high-level antimicrobial resistance have allowed this strain to thrive in health care settings. Furthermore, populations previously thought to be at low risk of infection are now being identified as having severe CDI, including those without any exposure to health care facilities.

Fortunately, new diagnostic techniques have been developed to assist clinicians in the accurate and rapid detection of these infections. Additionally, new treatment options are available to clinicians for the management of initial and recurrent episodes of CDI. The prevention and management of CDI involve multiple disciplines responsible for the care of at-risk patients. As a key patient advocate in the hospital, the hospitalist can play a major role in ensuring that appropriate measures are in place for their patients at high risk for CDI. Hospitalists also can ensure that timely and appropriate diagnostic tests are performed at the early signs of CDI and that appropriate treatment selection is based on patient factors.
Faculty: William Ford, MD, SFHM, regional director hospital medicine and clinical associate professor of medicine, Abington (Penn.) Jefferson Health; Jason C. Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, FIDSA, BCPS, clinical professor and clinical specialist, infectious diseases, and director, PGY2 Residency in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia; Ciaran P. Kelly, MD, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and director, gastroenterology fellowship training and director, Celiac Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston.
Registration: www.vemcomeded.com/livemeetings.asp or call 908-704-2400.
Accreditation statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Center for Independent Healthcare Education (Center) and Vemco MedEd. Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit designation: Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co. Jointly provided by Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd.

Hepatology News Tonight: Managing complications of cirrhosis
Sunday, March 24
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., National Harbor 4-5
Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. Dinner Symposium 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Presenters:Robert S. Brown Jr., MD, MPH (Chair), Gladys and Roland Harriman professor of medicine, vice chair for mentorship and academic development, clinical chief of the division of gastroenterology & hepatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York; Kimberly Brown, MD, FAST, FAASLD, AGAF, professor of medicine at Wayne State University and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology and associate medical director, Henry Ford Hospital Transplant Institute, Henry Ford Hospital, both in Detroit; Steven Flamm, MD, FAASLD, FACG, chief, liver transplantation program, and professor of medicine and surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago.
Target Audience: This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals who provide care for hospitalized patients with liver disease.
Learning Objectives: After completing this program, participants should be better able to:

• Understand the complications and the consequences of cirrhosis.
• Describe the economic, patient, and caregiver burdens associated with cirrhosis.
• Demonstrate the ability to properly treat the complications of cirrhosis and prevent recurrence.

Accredited by: Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services
Provided by: Chronic Liver Disease Foundation. Supported by educational grants from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Salix Pharmaceuticals.
Accreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the New Mexico Medical Society (NMMS) through the joint providership of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services (RMCHCS), the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation, and the Texas Gulf Coast Gastroenterological Society. RMCHCS is accredited by the NMMS to provide continuing medical education for physicians. RMCHCS designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Americans with Disabilities Act: The event staff will be glad to assist you with any special needs (such as physical or dietary).
Registration: www.ChronicLiverDisease.org. On-site registration is available. Space is limited, so please arrive by 5:00 p.m. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

An evidence-based approach to reducing stroke risk in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
Sunday, March 24
5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Woodrow Wilson BC
Presenter:
Dharmesh Patel, MD, MBBS (London), FACC, FACP, FASPC, FNLA, Stern Cardiovascular Foundation; president of Alliance for Patient Access; past president American Heart Association; past chairman of medicine, Baptist Desoto Hospital, Southaven, Miss.; board member, AHA Southeast America, Memphis, Tenn.
Learning Objectives: This lecture will present options for reducing the risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.
Sponsored by: Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Understanding your legal tools: The keys to lawsuit prevention, license protection and tax reduction
​​​​​​Monday, March 25
Noon - 1:00 p.m., National Harbor 2-3
Lunch provided at noon.
Objectives:

• Learn how to protect your license from negative reports to the NPDB following a settlement from your insurance company. If there is no NPD report, it’s unlikely that a board investigation into legal matters will materialize, preventing any sanctions from the state licensing board.
• Learn the best business structure for income tax reduction. Learn about the new tax laws passed in 2018 and how they can benefit you.
• Learn the use of legal tools that will protect your professional and personal assets from lawsuits. (Statistically, not even one in 100,000 are using these tools in the right way.)
• Learn how to protect business, property and personal assets in the event of a judgment in excess of liability insurance.
• Shows how to structure: C-corps, S-corps, FLPs, LLCs, etc. 

Faculty: Art McOmber
Sponsored by: Legally Mine.

Evidence-based approach to COPD management: Exploring new guidelines and treatment options for managing COPD exacerbations
Monday, March 257:00 - 9:30 p.m.,
Cherry Blossom Ballroom
Dinner provided at 7:00 p.m.
Learning Objectives: After completing this program, participants should be better able to do the following:

• Discuss considerations for reducing the risk of exacerbations in the inpatient and ambulatory setting.
• Raise awareness of strategies to improve COPD standardization of care across sites of care.
• Evaluate the role of long-acting bronchodilators to treat underlying pathophysiology of exacerbations.
• Understand the importance of inhaler selection when initiating maintenance therapy or reassessing treatment based on disease progression.

Faculty: Haley M. Hoy, PhD, ACNP, FAANP, The University of Alabama Huntsville, Vanderbilt Medical Center.
Sponsored by: Boehringer Ingelheim.

C. difficile infection: A hospitalist’s roadmap to treatment and prevention of recurrence 
Monday, March 25
7:00 - 9:00 p.m., National Harbor 2-3
Dinner provided at 7:00 p.m.
Program Overview: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) places a significant clinical and economic burden on the health care system. The rising incidence of CDI is attributed to the emergence of a previously rare and hypervirulent strain of C. difficile. Increased toxin production and high-level antimicrobial resistance have allowed this strain to thrive in health care settings. Furthermore, populations previously thought to be at low risk of infection are now being identified as having severe CDI, including those without any exposure to health care facilities.

Fortunately, new diagnostic techniques have been developed to assist clinicians in the accurate and rapid detection of these infections. Additionally, new treatment options are available to clinicians for the management of initial and recurrent episodes of CDI. The prevention and management of CDI involve multiple disciplines responsible for the care of at-risk patients. As a key patient advocate in the hospital, the hospitalist can play a major role in ensuring that appropriate measures are in place for their patients at high risk for CDI. Hospitalists also can ensure that timely and appropriate diagnostic tests are performed at the early signs of CDI and that appropriate treatment selection is based on patient factors.
Faculty: William Ford, MD, SFHM, regional director hospital medicine and clinical associate professor of medicine, Abington (Penn.) Jefferson Health; Jason C. Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, FIDSA, BCPS, clinical professor and clinical specialist, infectious diseases, and director, PGY2 Residency in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy, Temple University, Philadelphia; Ciaran P. Kelly, MD, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, and director, gastroenterology fellowship training and director, Celiac Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston.
Registration: www.vemcomeded.com/livemeetings.asp or call 908-704-2400.
Accreditation statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Center for Independent Healthcare Education (Center) and Vemco MedEd. Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit designation: Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Supported by an educational grant from Merck & Co. Jointly provided by Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd.

Due to the steadily growing interest of Annual Conference attendees in health care policy and advocacy issues, HM19 will include a mini-track dedicated to policy issues.

Held on Monday, the health policy mini-track will update conference attendees on some of the Washington developments that affect hospitalists, said Josh Boswell, director of government relations at SHM.

“Many of the policy developments in D.C. are directly impacting our members’ practices,” he said. “A couple of years ago, it was decided to add a specific track at the annual conference to cover some of these policy issues, and we’ve generally had positive feedback.”

At HM19, the policy mini-track will consist of two separate sessions, held back to back. “Both sessions are designed to give attendees an entrée into health policy and explain developments that are happening right now in Washington that impact their practice,” said Joshua Lapps, government relations manager at SHM.

The first session – “CMS Policy Update: An Overview of Meaningful Measures and the Quality Payment Program” – will take place from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., and will feature Reena Duseja, MD, MS, the acting director for Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group in the Centers for Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dr. Duseja oversees the development of measures and analyses for a variety of CMS quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs. She is an emergency medicine physician and was an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, in the department of emergency medicine, where she led quality improvement activities.

“The session with Dr. Duseja will be an inside look into the approach that CMS is taking for quality measurement and pay-for-performance programs, specifically looking at the quality payment program that came out of the Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act,” Mr. Lapps said. “It will be a high-level discussion about how the programs affect hospitalists, and how hospitalists participate in the programs. It’s also a chance for attendees to hear some of the thinking inside CMS.”

Dr. Duseja is hoping to get feedback from HM19 attendees. “She wants the session to be educational for our members, as well as an opportunity for her to learn from hospitalists,” Mr. Lapps said.

CMS Policy Update: An Overview of Meaningful Measures and the Quality Payment Program
Monday, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Annapolis

Due to the steadily growing interest of Annual Conference attendees in health care policy and advocacy issues, HM19 will include a mini-track dedicated to policy issues.

Held on Monday, the health policy mini-track will update conference attendees on some of the Washington developments that affect hospitalists, said Josh Boswell, director of government relations at SHM.

“Many of the policy developments in D.C. are directly impacting our members’ practices,” he said. “A couple of years ago, it was decided to add a specific track at the annual conference to cover some of these policy issues, and we’ve generally had positive feedback.”

At HM19, the policy mini-track will consist of two separate sessions, held back to back. “Both sessions are designed to give attendees an entrée into health policy and explain developments that are happening right now in Washington that impact their practice,” said Joshua Lapps, government relations manager at SHM.

The first session – “CMS Policy Update: An Overview of Meaningful Measures and the Quality Payment Program” – will take place from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., and will feature Reena Duseja, MD, MS, the acting director for Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group in the Centers for Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dr. Duseja oversees the development of measures and analyses for a variety of CMS quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs. She is an emergency medicine physician and was an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, in the department of emergency medicine, where she led quality improvement activities.

“The session with Dr. Duseja will be an inside look into the approach that CMS is taking for quality measurement and pay-for-performance programs, specifically looking at the quality payment program that came out of the Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act,” Mr. Lapps said. “It will be a high-level discussion about how the programs affect hospitalists, and how hospitalists participate in the programs. It’s also a chance for attendees to hear some of the thinking inside CMS.”

Dr. Duseja is hoping to get feedback from HM19 attendees. “She wants the session to be educational for our members, as well as an opportunity for her to learn from hospitalists,” Mr. Lapps said.

CMS Policy Update: An Overview of Meaningful Measures and the Quality Payment Program
Monday, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Annapolis

Due to the steadily growing interest of Annual Conference attendees in health care policy and advocacy issues, HM19 will include a mini-track dedicated to policy issues.

Held on Monday, the health policy mini-track will update conference attendees on some of the Washington developments that affect hospitalists, said Josh Boswell, director of government relations at SHM.

“Many of the policy developments in D.C. are directly impacting our members’ practices,” he said. “A couple of years ago, it was decided to add a specific track at the annual conference to cover some of these policy issues, and we’ve generally had positive feedback.”

At HM19, the policy mini-track will consist of two separate sessions, held back to back. “Both sessions are designed to give attendees an entrée into health policy and explain developments that are happening right now in Washington that impact their practice,” said Joshua Lapps, government relations manager at SHM.

The first session – “CMS Policy Update: An Overview of Meaningful Measures and the Quality Payment Program” – will take place from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., and will feature Reena Duseja, MD, MS, the acting director for Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentives Group in the Centers for Clinical Standards and Quality at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Dr. Duseja oversees the development of measures and analyses for a variety of CMS quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs. She is an emergency medicine physician and was an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, in the department of emergency medicine, where she led quality improvement activities.

“The session with Dr. Duseja will be an inside look into the approach that CMS is taking for quality measurement and pay-for-performance programs, specifically looking at the quality payment program that came out of the Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act,” Mr. Lapps said. “It will be a high-level discussion about how the programs affect hospitalists, and how hospitalists participate in the programs. It’s also a chance for attendees to hear some of the thinking inside CMS.”

Dr. Duseja is hoping to get feedback from HM19 attendees. “She wants the session to be educational for our members, as well as an opportunity for her to learn from hospitalists,” Mr. Lapps said.

CMS Policy Update: An Overview of Meaningful Measures and the Quality Payment Program
Monday, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.
Annapolis

There’s a senior faculty member you respect, and you want to pick their brain about a career decision you face. How do you go about this? Send an email, cold? What if you don’t hear back? Were they too busy or disinclined, or did it just get overlooked in the heap?

Do you try and catch up with them in the hallway at the annual conference and introduce yourself? What if it’s rushed or awkward?

How about someone plans a lunch for you to attend, and you sit down with this person with a block of time to chat? Now that sounds like a much better option.

This is the idea behind the Resident and Student Luncheon at HM19. At Monday’s luncheon, residents and students can have a conversation, facilitated by Society of Hospital Medicine committee members, with experienced faculty members in quality improvement, pediatrics, informatics, advocacy, and other areas.

Brian Kwan, MD, FHM, chair of the Physicians-in-Training SHM committee, said the event is meant to clear a path to interactions.

“Say you’re attending the tracks – you’ll meet people maybe next to you, but it’s sometimes hard to start those conversations,” he said. “So I think that what the luncheon allows them to do is provide a place [to meet]. And it’s a little bit more formal, because we have a structure to it. We have a program that we follow in order to kind of provide structure. That way it allows people to really get in and make the connection.”

The luncheon is open at no extra charge to resident and student SHM members. It is capped at a total of 100 attendees, including the 10 invited faculty experts – 1 per table – and Physicians-in-Training committee members, who will be there to help make introductions and move the discussion along. Residents and students first will sit at a table and hear faculty introductions – which might give them exposure to an area about which they are unfamiliar – and then have an opportunity to interact with faculty at their table. After that they will move to a table of their choosing for the second half of the event.

The luncheon often involves big names attendees see on stage. The details are still being ironed out for this year, but past luncheon guests have included keynote speakers and Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who is considered the “father of hospital medicine.”

Dr. Kwan said the event can have big implications for a young hospitalist’s career. A current committee member, he said, met their current employer at the luncheon.

The event also is envisioned as a way for students and residents to meet and discuss their career options, Dr. Kwan said.

“It’s an opportunity to both have residents and students connect, but also for them to potentially connect to other aspects of hospital medicine that they might be interested in,” he said.

The luncheon is only one way that HM19 planners have made a point to meet the needs of those who have just embarked on their careers.

The Early-Career Hospitalist track, which runs from 10:35 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. on Monday, includes sessions on common scenarios encountered at night (“Call Night: Common Scenarios Encountered and Strategies to Make it Through the Night,” 10:35 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Annapolis) an introduction to hospitalist billing (“Hospitalist Billing 101,” 11:25 a.m. – 12:05 p.m., Annapolis), and important bedrock literature (“A Whirlwind Tour of Famous Landmark [Articles]: Must-Know Literature to Impress Your Peers and Attendings,” 1:10 p.m. – 1:50 p.m., Annapolis).

An interview workshop is also planned (Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Magnolia 3) and a Trivia Night for residents and students is also being considered, Dr. Kwan said.

Kevin Vuernick, membership engagement manager for SHM, said that these events are a response to feedback gleaned from those early in their career, including focus groups with students and residents.

“One of the things we heard was that they would love opportunities to network with other physicians or with members who have been at the Society for a while and are established in their careers, and how they can break into specifically hospital medicine,” he said. The luncheon is “just an hour but at least it gives them a healthy dose of being able to interact with people one on one or in a smaller setting.”

Resident and Student Luncheon
Monday, 12:00 p.m. –1:00 p.m.
National Harbor 4-5

There’s a senior faculty member you respect, and you want to pick their brain about a career decision you face. How do you go about this? Send an email, cold? What if you don’t hear back? Were they too busy or disinclined, or did it just get overlooked in the heap?

Do you try and catch up with them in the hallway at the annual conference and introduce yourself? What if it’s rushed or awkward?

How about someone plans a lunch for you to attend, and you sit down with this person with a block of time to chat? Now that sounds like a much better option.

This is the idea behind the Resident and Student Luncheon at HM19. At Monday’s luncheon, residents and students can have a conversation, facilitated by Society of Hospital Medicine committee members, with experienced faculty members in quality improvement, pediatrics, informatics, advocacy, and other areas.

Brian Kwan, MD, FHM, chair of the Physicians-in-Training SHM committee, said the event is meant to clear a path to interactions.

“Say you’re attending the tracks – you’ll meet people maybe next to you, but it’s sometimes hard to start those conversations,” he said. “So I think that what the luncheon allows them to do is provide a place [to meet]. And it’s a little bit more formal, because we have a structure to it. We have a program that we follow in order to kind of provide structure. That way it allows people to really get in and make the connection.”

The luncheon is open at no extra charge to resident and student SHM members. It is capped at a total of 100 attendees, including the 10 invited faculty experts – 1 per table – and Physicians-in-Training committee members, who will be there to help make introductions and move the discussion along. Residents and students first will sit at a table and hear faculty introductions – which might give them exposure to an area about which they are unfamiliar – and then have an opportunity to interact with faculty at their table. After that they will move to a table of their choosing for the second half of the event.

The luncheon often involves big names attendees see on stage. The details are still being ironed out for this year, but past luncheon guests have included keynote speakers and Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who is considered the “father of hospital medicine.”

Dr. Kwan said the event can have big implications for a young hospitalist’s career. A current committee member, he said, met their current employer at the luncheon.

The event also is envisioned as a way for students and residents to meet and discuss their career options, Dr. Kwan said.

“It’s an opportunity to both have residents and students connect, but also for them to potentially connect to other aspects of hospital medicine that they might be interested in,” he said.

The luncheon is only one way that HM19 planners have made a point to meet the needs of those who have just embarked on their careers.

The Early-Career Hospitalist track, which runs from 10:35 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. on Monday, includes sessions on common scenarios encountered at night (“Call Night: Common Scenarios Encountered and Strategies to Make it Through the Night,” 10:35 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Annapolis) an introduction to hospitalist billing (“Hospitalist Billing 101,” 11:25 a.m. – 12:05 p.m., Annapolis), and important bedrock literature (“A Whirlwind Tour of Famous Landmark [Articles]: Must-Know Literature to Impress Your Peers and Attendings,” 1:10 p.m. – 1:50 p.m., Annapolis).

An interview workshop is also planned (Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Magnolia 3) and a Trivia Night for residents and students is also being considered, Dr. Kwan said.

Kevin Vuernick, membership engagement manager for SHM, said that these events are a response to feedback gleaned from those early in their career, including focus groups with students and residents.

“One of the things we heard was that they would love opportunities to network with other physicians or with members who have been at the Society for a while and are established in their careers, and how they can break into specifically hospital medicine,” he said. The luncheon is “just an hour but at least it gives them a healthy dose of being able to interact with people one on one or in a smaller setting.”

Resident and Student Luncheon
Monday, 12:00 p.m. –1:00 p.m.
National Harbor 4-5

There’s a senior faculty member you respect, and you want to pick their brain about a career decision you face. How do you go about this? Send an email, cold? What if you don’t hear back? Were they too busy or disinclined, or did it just get overlooked in the heap?

Do you try and catch up with them in the hallway at the annual conference and introduce yourself? What if it’s rushed or awkward?

How about someone plans a lunch for you to attend, and you sit down with this person with a block of time to chat? Now that sounds like a much better option.

This is the idea behind the Resident and Student Luncheon at HM19. At Monday’s luncheon, residents and students can have a conversation, facilitated by Society of Hospital Medicine committee members, with experienced faculty members in quality improvement, pediatrics, informatics, advocacy, and other areas.

Brian Kwan, MD, FHM, chair of the Physicians-in-Training SHM committee, said the event is meant to clear a path to interactions.

“Say you’re attending the tracks – you’ll meet people maybe next to you, but it’s sometimes hard to start those conversations,” he said. “So I think that what the luncheon allows them to do is provide a place [to meet]. And it’s a little bit more formal, because we have a structure to it. We have a program that we follow in order to kind of provide structure. That way it allows people to really get in and make the connection.”

The luncheon is open at no extra charge to resident and student SHM members. It is capped at a total of 100 attendees, including the 10 invited faculty experts – 1 per table – and Physicians-in-Training committee members, who will be there to help make introductions and move the discussion along. Residents and students first will sit at a table and hear faculty introductions – which might give them exposure to an area about which they are unfamiliar – and then have an opportunity to interact with faculty at their table. After that they will move to a table of their choosing for the second half of the event.

The luncheon often involves big names attendees see on stage. The details are still being ironed out for this year, but past luncheon guests have included keynote speakers and Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, chair of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who is considered the “father of hospital medicine.”

Dr. Kwan said the event can have big implications for a young hospitalist’s career. A current committee member, he said, met their current employer at the luncheon.

The event also is envisioned as a way for students and residents to meet and discuss their career options, Dr. Kwan said.

“It’s an opportunity to both have residents and students connect, but also for them to potentially connect to other aspects of hospital medicine that they might be interested in,” he said.

The luncheon is only one way that HM19 planners have made a point to meet the needs of those who have just embarked on their careers.

The Early-Career Hospitalist track, which runs from 10:35 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. on Monday, includes sessions on common scenarios encountered at night (“Call Night: Common Scenarios Encountered and Strategies to Make it Through the Night,” 10:35 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., Annapolis) an introduction to hospitalist billing (“Hospitalist Billing 101,” 11:25 a.m. – 12:05 p.m., Annapolis), and important bedrock literature (“A Whirlwind Tour of Famous Landmark [Articles]: Must-Know Literature to Impress Your Peers and Attendings,” 1:10 p.m. – 1:50 p.m., Annapolis).

An interview workshop is also planned (Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Magnolia 3) and a Trivia Night for residents and students is also being considered, Dr. Kwan said.

Kevin Vuernick, membership engagement manager for SHM, said that these events are a response to feedback gleaned from those early in their career, including focus groups with students and residents.

“One of the things we heard was that they would love opportunities to network with other physicians or with members who have been at the Society for a while and are established in their careers, and how they can break into specifically hospital medicine,” he said. The luncheon is “just an hour but at least it gives them a healthy dose of being able to interact with people one on one or in a smaller setting.”

Resident and Student Luncheon
Monday, 12:00 p.m. –1:00 p.m.
National Harbor 4-5

These small-group sessions take place Monday, 4:30 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. and Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 6:25 p.m.

Monday, March 25 – 4:30 p.m. – 5:25 p.m.

Academic and Research
​​​​​​Shaker Eid, MD, MBA, SFHM; Emily Mallin, MD, FHM
Azalea 3
The Academic and Research forum brings together faculty and researchers to discuss topics of interest to the academic hospital medicine community, such as mentorship, research support, and professional development. Join this collaborative offering of the Academic and Research Committees.

Canadian Hospitalists
Serge Soolsma, MD
Chesapeake K
This forum provides a unique setting for Canadian-based hospitalists to gather as an organized group, network, and discuss common issues.
 

Critical Care
David Aymond, MD
Chesapeake 1
This forum will explore the role of the hospitalist functioning as an intensivist and/or resuscitationist. Discussion items include personal experience, available education, and SHM’s support for this endeavor.

Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine
Patricia Seymour, MD, FHM
Magnolia 2
Participants will network and discuss training, achieving recognition, access in the job market, and national trends related to hospitalists trained in family medicine.
 

Hospital Medicine Administrators
Larissa Smith; Elda Dede
Camellia 2
Practice administrators are important members of the hospitalist team. In this forum, administrators can voice their unique perspectives and hear from their peers.
 

International Hospital Medicine
Guillherme Barcellos, MD, SFHM
Magnolia 1
This forum is designed to provide an opportunity for attendees who practice hospital medicine outside of North America to share issues and ideas.
 

Leadership in Hospital Medicine
Thomas McIlraith, MD, SFHM, CLHM; Rob Zipper, MD, MMM, SFHM
Chesapeake 7-8
Want to be a better leader? A better coach and mentor? Do you want to drive quality improvement at your hospital? We will review, discuss, and shape the resources and programmatic offerings that are needed to promote leadership skill development at all levels. We will also review SHM’s existing programs, including Leadership Academies, the Leadership Certificate Program, e-learning, and the HMX: Leadership Alumni Forum.

Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants
Leah Schmitz, PA-C; Meredith Wold, PA-C
Chesapeake 5-6
Network with your peers and learn about the work of the SHM Committee on Hospitalist Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants.

Oncology Hospitalists
Barbara Egan, MD, SFHM Joshua
Chesapeake 3
This special interest forum will explore the role of hospitalists on oncology services. Discussion items may include personal experiences and how to succeed as an oncology hospitalist.
 

Pediatric Hospitalists
Weijen Chang, MD
Azalea 2
This forum will provide an opportunity for pediatric hospitalists to network, share, and discuss topics of particular interest to them. Topics will include an update on SHM’s pediatric activities and updates on potential paths to specialty certification.
 

Post-Acute Care Providers
Bob Reynolds, MD
Chesapeake 2
This forum provides opportunities for hospitalists who practice in or are interested in learning more about working in or becoming more involved in the post-acute care arena such as SNFs, LTACs, and rehab facilities.
 

Residents & Medical Students
Aram Namavar, MS; Pam Vila
Chesapeake 9
This forum provides an opportunity for SHM Resident and Student Interest Group members to shape the mission and academic-year agenda in line with the goals set forth by the PIT Committee.
 

Rural Hospitalists
Ken Simone, DO, SFHM; Michael Sullivan, MD
Chesapeake J
Hospital medicine groups in rural areas face some unique problems, from recruitment, night call, and staffing to communicating with geographically dispersed primary care physicians. This forum provides an opportunity for hospitalists in rural areas to share their issues and concerns and to see how others have solved similar problems.


Veterans Affairs Hospitalists
Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, MA, FHM;
Peter Kaboli, MD, FHM
Magnolia 3
This forum provides opportunities in networking and discussion for hospitalists who work at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tuesday, March 26 – 5:30 p.m. – 6:25 p.m.

Advocacy & Public Policy
Joshua Lenchus, DO, RPH, SFHM; Josh Boswell, JD
Chesapeake 8
During this forum with SHM’s advocacy leaders and staff, you will learn about the direction of SHM’s Advocacy & Public Policy work and how you can help. Discussion will focus on SHM’s new Advocacy & Public Policy section and how you can participate and share your own ideas.

Care of Vulnerable Populations
Mara Bann, MD; Kristin Knox, MD
Camellia 2
SHM’s Caring for Vulnerable Populations section aims to increase awareness and improve quality of care for vulnerable and underserved patient populations. The principles and skills needed to care effectively for vulnerable patients span practitioners across all health systems, though particularly apply to hospitalists practicing in safety net and resource-limited settings.
 

Diversity and Inclusion
Marisha Burden, MD, SFHM; Areeba Kara, MD, MS
Chesapeake F
SHM is committed to a diverse and inclusive membership. This forum invites hospitalists from any underrepresented group to discuss issues, concerns, and solutions to improve their career opportunities and workforce diversity. This forum would be for HM leaders who would like to discuss strategies for expanding the diversity and inclusion of their HM groups.
 

Ethics in Hospital Medicine
David Alfandre, MD, MSPH
Chesapeake L
This forum serves as a resource for discussion, coaching, and mentorship on common and challenging ethical concerns that hospitalists face. We aim to support SHM members in collaborating on ethics scholarship and projects.
 

Global Health and Human Rights
Jonathan Kirsch, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 9
SHM’s Global Health and Human Rights section has been established to build interest and engagement in global health and human rights work among hospitalists. The section also plans to build long-term collaborations in the United States and abroad.

Health Information Technology​​​​​​​
Cheng-Kai Kao, MD, FHM; Andrew Young, DO, FHM;
Rupesh Prasad, MD, MPH, SFHM
National Harbor 9
This forum provides an opportunity for attendees to offer SHM and the IT Committee input on what would be most beneficial to them regarding implementing, managing, and participating in health/hospital IT initiatives.

Hospital Medicine Disaster Preparedness and Management
Maria (Gaby) Frank, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 6
This forum, new for 2019, will explore the role and address the challenges of hospital medicine in disaster preparedness and management at both a local and national level. We look forward to building a coalition of individuals to help us tackle and provide guidance on this area.
 

Med-Peds Hospitalists​​​​​​​
Keely Dwyer-Matzky, MD, FHM; Susan Hunt, MD
Chesapeake DE
This forum will explore the role of Med-Peds physicians in hospitalist medicine. Discussion items may include personal experiences, how to create more Med-Peds jobs, and how to succeed as a Med-Peds hospitalist.

Multi-Site HMG Leaders
Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM; Ryan Brown, MD, FHM
National Harbor 8
This forum is for physician and administrative leaders who are responsible for managing multiple hospitalist practice sites within the same health system. The number of people with this role has increased significantly in the last few years and comes with challenges that are different from those faced by the lead hospitalist at a single site.
 

Night Medicine​​​​​​​
Kathleen Atlas, MD
Chesapeake H
Connect with night medicine care providers to share experiences and address obstacles unique to working overnight, including best practices, teaching, career development, and wellness.

Palliative Care​​​​​​​
Jeffrey Frank, MD, MBA;
Rab Razzak, MD, MBBS
Chesapeake 1
This special interest forum invites all hospitalists interested in expanding palliative care (PC) at their hospitals as well as improving your own PC skills. This topic includes coordinating PC with your available resources to ensure our patients have access to PC. Share your experiences, barriers, training, and ongoing PC education in your current role as a hospitalist or as a PC provider.

Patient Experience​​​​​​​
Patrick Kneeland, MD
Chesapeake 5
Join the Patient Experience forum to exchange ideas about how hospitalists can enhance patients’ care experiences, while also improving professional satisfaction. Learn about the work of SHM’s Patient Experience Committee and opportunities for getting involved in SHM’s patient experience initiatives.

Perioperative Care
Steven Cohn, MD; Kurt Pfeifer, MD, SFHM
Azalea 3
This forum provides an opportunity for attendees to interact with colleagues involved in various roles in perioperative medicine. The group will develop an active listserv for discussion of interesting or difficult patient management cases, administrative issues related to preoperative clinics and comanagement services, and networking.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
Benji Mathews, MD, CLHM, SFHM; Gordon Johnson, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 4
This forum will discuss opportunities to collaborate and standardize processes for POCUS. The forum will provide further information and answer questions about SHM’s National Certificate of Completion Program in POCUS. In addition, discussion will revolve around privileging at your own institution, gaining skills, and the challenges and successes of using POCUS.
 

Practice Management​​​​​​​
Dea Robinson, MA, FACMPE, CPC;
Dale Wiersma, MD, FHM
Camellia 1
This forum will focus on issues related to the business aspects of hospital medicine and the management of hospital medicine groups. Come hear about successes and challenges related to staffing, scheduling, communication, engagement, and compensation.
 

Quality Improvement​​​​​​​
Mangla Gulati, MD, SFHM;
Matthew Cerasale, MD, MPH, SFHM;
Tulay Aksoy, MD, FACP, FHM
Chesapeake 2-3
This forum provides a venue for connecting with SHM’s QI and patient safety community and engaging with leaders, peers, and collaborators to share ideas and inform SHM’s QI efforts. Discussion during the forum will focus on what hospitalists need to know to become involved with QI at SHM or locally. Hear about SHM’s plans for future QI initiatives.
 

Women in Hospital Medicine
Emily Gottenborg, MD
Chesapeake 7
This forum provides an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to women in hospital medicine and strategies for success/coping. Discussion items may include career satisfaction, occupational stresses, and promoting leadership.
 

These small-group sessions take place Monday, 4:30 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. and Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 6:25 p.m.

Monday, March 25 – 4:30 p.m. – 5:25 p.m.

Academic and Research
​​​​​​Shaker Eid, MD, MBA, SFHM; Emily Mallin, MD, FHM
Azalea 3
The Academic and Research forum brings together faculty and researchers to discuss topics of interest to the academic hospital medicine community, such as mentorship, research support, and professional development. Join this collaborative offering of the Academic and Research Committees.

Canadian Hospitalists
Serge Soolsma, MD
Chesapeake K
This forum provides a unique setting for Canadian-based hospitalists to gather as an organized group, network, and discuss common issues.
 

Critical Care
David Aymond, MD
Chesapeake 1
This forum will explore the role of the hospitalist functioning as an intensivist and/or resuscitationist. Discussion items include personal experience, available education, and SHM’s support for this endeavor.

Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine
Patricia Seymour, MD, FHM
Magnolia 2
Participants will network and discuss training, achieving recognition, access in the job market, and national trends related to hospitalists trained in family medicine.
 

Hospital Medicine Administrators
Larissa Smith; Elda Dede
Camellia 2
Practice administrators are important members of the hospitalist team. In this forum, administrators can voice their unique perspectives and hear from their peers.
 

International Hospital Medicine
Guillherme Barcellos, MD, SFHM
Magnolia 1
This forum is designed to provide an opportunity for attendees who practice hospital medicine outside of North America to share issues and ideas.
 

Leadership in Hospital Medicine
Thomas McIlraith, MD, SFHM, CLHM; Rob Zipper, MD, MMM, SFHM
Chesapeake 7-8
Want to be a better leader? A better coach and mentor? Do you want to drive quality improvement at your hospital? We will review, discuss, and shape the resources and programmatic offerings that are needed to promote leadership skill development at all levels. We will also review SHM’s existing programs, including Leadership Academies, the Leadership Certificate Program, e-learning, and the HMX: Leadership Alumni Forum.

Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants
Leah Schmitz, PA-C; Meredith Wold, PA-C
Chesapeake 5-6
Network with your peers and learn about the work of the SHM Committee on Hospitalist Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants.

Oncology Hospitalists
Barbara Egan, MD, SFHM Joshua
Chesapeake 3
This special interest forum will explore the role of hospitalists on oncology services. Discussion items may include personal experiences and how to succeed as an oncology hospitalist.
 

Pediatric Hospitalists
Weijen Chang, MD
Azalea 2
This forum will provide an opportunity for pediatric hospitalists to network, share, and discuss topics of particular interest to them. Topics will include an update on SHM’s pediatric activities and updates on potential paths to specialty certification.
 

Post-Acute Care Providers
Bob Reynolds, MD
Chesapeake 2
This forum provides opportunities for hospitalists who practice in or are interested in learning more about working in or becoming more involved in the post-acute care arena such as SNFs, LTACs, and rehab facilities.
 

Residents & Medical Students
Aram Namavar, MS; Pam Vila
Chesapeake 9
This forum provides an opportunity for SHM Resident and Student Interest Group members to shape the mission and academic-year agenda in line with the goals set forth by the PIT Committee.
 

Rural Hospitalists
Ken Simone, DO, SFHM; Michael Sullivan, MD
Chesapeake J
Hospital medicine groups in rural areas face some unique problems, from recruitment, night call, and staffing to communicating with geographically dispersed primary care physicians. This forum provides an opportunity for hospitalists in rural areas to share their issues and concerns and to see how others have solved similar problems.


Veterans Affairs Hospitalists
Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, MA, FHM;
Peter Kaboli, MD, FHM
Magnolia 3
This forum provides opportunities in networking and discussion for hospitalists who work at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tuesday, March 26 – 5:30 p.m. – 6:25 p.m.

Advocacy & Public Policy
Joshua Lenchus, DO, RPH, SFHM; Josh Boswell, JD
Chesapeake 8
During this forum with SHM’s advocacy leaders and staff, you will learn about the direction of SHM’s Advocacy & Public Policy work and how you can help. Discussion will focus on SHM’s new Advocacy & Public Policy section and how you can participate and share your own ideas.

Care of Vulnerable Populations
Mara Bann, MD; Kristin Knox, MD
Camellia 2
SHM’s Caring for Vulnerable Populations section aims to increase awareness and improve quality of care for vulnerable and underserved patient populations. The principles and skills needed to care effectively for vulnerable patients span practitioners across all health systems, though particularly apply to hospitalists practicing in safety net and resource-limited settings.
 

Diversity and Inclusion
Marisha Burden, MD, SFHM; Areeba Kara, MD, MS
Chesapeake F
SHM is committed to a diverse and inclusive membership. This forum invites hospitalists from any underrepresented group to discuss issues, concerns, and solutions to improve their career opportunities and workforce diversity. This forum would be for HM leaders who would like to discuss strategies for expanding the diversity and inclusion of their HM groups.
 

Ethics in Hospital Medicine
David Alfandre, MD, MSPH
Chesapeake L
This forum serves as a resource for discussion, coaching, and mentorship on common and challenging ethical concerns that hospitalists face. We aim to support SHM members in collaborating on ethics scholarship and projects.
 

Global Health and Human Rights
Jonathan Kirsch, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 9
SHM’s Global Health and Human Rights section has been established to build interest and engagement in global health and human rights work among hospitalists. The section also plans to build long-term collaborations in the United States and abroad.

Health Information Technology​​​​​​​
Cheng-Kai Kao, MD, FHM; Andrew Young, DO, FHM;
Rupesh Prasad, MD, MPH, SFHM
National Harbor 9
This forum provides an opportunity for attendees to offer SHM and the IT Committee input on what would be most beneficial to them regarding implementing, managing, and participating in health/hospital IT initiatives.

Hospital Medicine Disaster Preparedness and Management
Maria (Gaby) Frank, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 6
This forum, new for 2019, will explore the role and address the challenges of hospital medicine in disaster preparedness and management at both a local and national level. We look forward to building a coalition of individuals to help us tackle and provide guidance on this area.
 

Med-Peds Hospitalists​​​​​​​
Keely Dwyer-Matzky, MD, FHM; Susan Hunt, MD
Chesapeake DE
This forum will explore the role of Med-Peds physicians in hospitalist medicine. Discussion items may include personal experiences, how to create more Med-Peds jobs, and how to succeed as a Med-Peds hospitalist.

Multi-Site HMG Leaders
Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM; Ryan Brown, MD, FHM
National Harbor 8
This forum is for physician and administrative leaders who are responsible for managing multiple hospitalist practice sites within the same health system. The number of people with this role has increased significantly in the last few years and comes with challenges that are different from those faced by the lead hospitalist at a single site.
 

Night Medicine​​​​​​​
Kathleen Atlas, MD
Chesapeake H
Connect with night medicine care providers to share experiences and address obstacles unique to working overnight, including best practices, teaching, career development, and wellness.

Palliative Care​​​​​​​
Jeffrey Frank, MD, MBA;
Rab Razzak, MD, MBBS
Chesapeake 1
This special interest forum invites all hospitalists interested in expanding palliative care (PC) at their hospitals as well as improving your own PC skills. This topic includes coordinating PC with your available resources to ensure our patients have access to PC. Share your experiences, barriers, training, and ongoing PC education in your current role as a hospitalist or as a PC provider.

Patient Experience​​​​​​​
Patrick Kneeland, MD
Chesapeake 5
Join the Patient Experience forum to exchange ideas about how hospitalists can enhance patients’ care experiences, while also improving professional satisfaction. Learn about the work of SHM’s Patient Experience Committee and opportunities for getting involved in SHM’s patient experience initiatives.

Perioperative Care
Steven Cohn, MD; Kurt Pfeifer, MD, SFHM
Azalea 3
This forum provides an opportunity for attendees to interact with colleagues involved in various roles in perioperative medicine. The group will develop an active listserv for discussion of interesting or difficult patient management cases, administrative issues related to preoperative clinics and comanagement services, and networking.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
Benji Mathews, MD, CLHM, SFHM; Gordon Johnson, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 4
This forum will discuss opportunities to collaborate and standardize processes for POCUS. The forum will provide further information and answer questions about SHM’s National Certificate of Completion Program in POCUS. In addition, discussion will revolve around privileging at your own institution, gaining skills, and the challenges and successes of using POCUS.
 

Practice Management​​​​​​​
Dea Robinson, MA, FACMPE, CPC;
Dale Wiersma, MD, FHM
Camellia 1
This forum will focus on issues related to the business aspects of hospital medicine and the management of hospital medicine groups. Come hear about successes and challenges related to staffing, scheduling, communication, engagement, and compensation.
 

Quality Improvement​​​​​​​
Mangla Gulati, MD, SFHM;
Matthew Cerasale, MD, MPH, SFHM;
Tulay Aksoy, MD, FACP, FHM
Chesapeake 2-3
This forum provides a venue for connecting with SHM’s QI and patient safety community and engaging with leaders, peers, and collaborators to share ideas and inform SHM’s QI efforts. Discussion during the forum will focus on what hospitalists need to know to become involved with QI at SHM or locally. Hear about SHM’s plans for future QI initiatives.
 

Women in Hospital Medicine
Emily Gottenborg, MD
Chesapeake 7
This forum provides an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to women in hospital medicine and strategies for success/coping. Discussion items may include career satisfaction, occupational stresses, and promoting leadership.
 

These small-group sessions take place Monday, 4:30 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. and Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 6:25 p.m.

Monday, March 25 – 4:30 p.m. – 5:25 p.m.

Academic and Research
​​​​​​Shaker Eid, MD, MBA, SFHM; Emily Mallin, MD, FHM
Azalea 3
The Academic and Research forum brings together faculty and researchers to discuss topics of interest to the academic hospital medicine community, such as mentorship, research support, and professional development. Join this collaborative offering of the Academic and Research Committees.

Canadian Hospitalists
Serge Soolsma, MD
Chesapeake K
This forum provides a unique setting for Canadian-based hospitalists to gather as an organized group, network, and discuss common issues.
 

Critical Care
David Aymond, MD
Chesapeake 1
This forum will explore the role of the hospitalist functioning as an intensivist and/or resuscitationist. Discussion items include personal experience, available education, and SHM’s support for this endeavor.

Hospitalists Trained in Family Medicine
Patricia Seymour, MD, FHM
Magnolia 2
Participants will network and discuss training, achieving recognition, access in the job market, and national trends related to hospitalists trained in family medicine.
 

Hospital Medicine Administrators
Larissa Smith; Elda Dede
Camellia 2
Practice administrators are important members of the hospitalist team. In this forum, administrators can voice their unique perspectives and hear from their peers.
 

International Hospital Medicine
Guillherme Barcellos, MD, SFHM
Magnolia 1
This forum is designed to provide an opportunity for attendees who practice hospital medicine outside of North America to share issues and ideas.
 

Leadership in Hospital Medicine
Thomas McIlraith, MD, SFHM, CLHM; Rob Zipper, MD, MMM, SFHM
Chesapeake 7-8
Want to be a better leader? A better coach and mentor? Do you want to drive quality improvement at your hospital? We will review, discuss, and shape the resources and programmatic offerings that are needed to promote leadership skill development at all levels. We will also review SHM’s existing programs, including Leadership Academies, the Leadership Certificate Program, e-learning, and the HMX: Leadership Alumni Forum.

Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants
Leah Schmitz, PA-C; Meredith Wold, PA-C
Chesapeake 5-6
Network with your peers and learn about the work of the SHM Committee on Hospitalist Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants.

Oncology Hospitalists
Barbara Egan, MD, SFHM Joshua
Chesapeake 3
This special interest forum will explore the role of hospitalists on oncology services. Discussion items may include personal experiences and how to succeed as an oncology hospitalist.
 

Pediatric Hospitalists
Weijen Chang, MD
Azalea 2
This forum will provide an opportunity for pediatric hospitalists to network, share, and discuss topics of particular interest to them. Topics will include an update on SHM’s pediatric activities and updates on potential paths to specialty certification.
 

Post-Acute Care Providers
Bob Reynolds, MD
Chesapeake 2
This forum provides opportunities for hospitalists who practice in or are interested in learning more about working in or becoming more involved in the post-acute care arena such as SNFs, LTACs, and rehab facilities.
 

Residents & Medical Students
Aram Namavar, MS; Pam Vila
Chesapeake 9
This forum provides an opportunity for SHM Resident and Student Interest Group members to shape the mission and academic-year agenda in line with the goals set forth by the PIT Committee.
 

Rural Hospitalists
Ken Simone, DO, SFHM; Michael Sullivan, MD
Chesapeake J
Hospital medicine groups in rural areas face some unique problems, from recruitment, night call, and staffing to communicating with geographically dispersed primary care physicians. This forum provides an opportunity for hospitalists in rural areas to share their issues and concerns and to see how others have solved similar problems.


Veterans Affairs Hospitalists
Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, MA, FHM;
Peter Kaboli, MD, FHM
Magnolia 3
This forum provides opportunities in networking and discussion for hospitalists who work at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tuesday, March 26 – 5:30 p.m. – 6:25 p.m.

Advocacy & Public Policy
Joshua Lenchus, DO, RPH, SFHM; Josh Boswell, JD
Chesapeake 8
During this forum with SHM’s advocacy leaders and staff, you will learn about the direction of SHM’s Advocacy & Public Policy work and how you can help. Discussion will focus on SHM’s new Advocacy & Public Policy section and how you can participate and share your own ideas.

Care of Vulnerable Populations
Mara Bann, MD; Kristin Knox, MD
Camellia 2
SHM’s Caring for Vulnerable Populations section aims to increase awareness and improve quality of care for vulnerable and underserved patient populations. The principles and skills needed to care effectively for vulnerable patients span practitioners across all health systems, though particularly apply to hospitalists practicing in safety net and resource-limited settings.
 

Diversity and Inclusion
Marisha Burden, MD, SFHM; Areeba Kara, MD, MS
Chesapeake F
SHM is committed to a diverse and inclusive membership. This forum invites hospitalists from any underrepresented group to discuss issues, concerns, and solutions to improve their career opportunities and workforce diversity. This forum would be for HM leaders who would like to discuss strategies for expanding the diversity and inclusion of their HM groups.
 

Ethics in Hospital Medicine
David Alfandre, MD, MSPH
Chesapeake L
This forum serves as a resource for discussion, coaching, and mentorship on common and challenging ethical concerns that hospitalists face. We aim to support SHM members in collaborating on ethics scholarship and projects.
 

Global Health and Human Rights
Jonathan Kirsch, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 9
SHM’s Global Health and Human Rights section has been established to build interest and engagement in global health and human rights work among hospitalists. The section also plans to build long-term collaborations in the United States and abroad.

Health Information Technology​​​​​​​
Cheng-Kai Kao, MD, FHM; Andrew Young, DO, FHM;
Rupesh Prasad, MD, MPH, SFHM
National Harbor 9
This forum provides an opportunity for attendees to offer SHM and the IT Committee input on what would be most beneficial to them regarding implementing, managing, and participating in health/hospital IT initiatives.

Hospital Medicine Disaster Preparedness and Management
Maria (Gaby) Frank, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 6
This forum, new for 2019, will explore the role and address the challenges of hospital medicine in disaster preparedness and management at both a local and national level. We look forward to building a coalition of individuals to help us tackle and provide guidance on this area.
 

Med-Peds Hospitalists​​​​​​​
Keely Dwyer-Matzky, MD, FHM; Susan Hunt, MD
Chesapeake DE
This forum will explore the role of Med-Peds physicians in hospitalist medicine. Discussion items may include personal experiences, how to create more Med-Peds jobs, and how to succeed as a Med-Peds hospitalist.

Multi-Site HMG Leaders
Leslie Flores, MHA, SFHM; Ryan Brown, MD, FHM
National Harbor 8
This forum is for physician and administrative leaders who are responsible for managing multiple hospitalist practice sites within the same health system. The number of people with this role has increased significantly in the last few years and comes with challenges that are different from those faced by the lead hospitalist at a single site.
 

Night Medicine​​​​​​​
Kathleen Atlas, MD
Chesapeake H
Connect with night medicine care providers to share experiences and address obstacles unique to working overnight, including best practices, teaching, career development, and wellness.

Palliative Care​​​​​​​
Jeffrey Frank, MD, MBA;
Rab Razzak, MD, MBBS
Chesapeake 1
This special interest forum invites all hospitalists interested in expanding palliative care (PC) at their hospitals as well as improving your own PC skills. This topic includes coordinating PC with your available resources to ensure our patients have access to PC. Share your experiences, barriers, training, and ongoing PC education in your current role as a hospitalist or as a PC provider.

Patient Experience​​​​​​​
Patrick Kneeland, MD
Chesapeake 5
Join the Patient Experience forum to exchange ideas about how hospitalists can enhance patients’ care experiences, while also improving professional satisfaction. Learn about the work of SHM’s Patient Experience Committee and opportunities for getting involved in SHM’s patient experience initiatives.

Perioperative Care
Steven Cohn, MD; Kurt Pfeifer, MD, SFHM
Azalea 3
This forum provides an opportunity for attendees to interact with colleagues involved in various roles in perioperative medicine. The group will develop an active listserv for discussion of interesting or difficult patient management cases, administrative issues related to preoperative clinics and comanagement services, and networking.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
Benji Mathews, MD, CLHM, SFHM; Gordon Johnson, MD, FHM
Chesapeake 4
This forum will discuss opportunities to collaborate and standardize processes for POCUS. The forum will provide further information and answer questions about SHM’s National Certificate of Completion Program in POCUS. In addition, discussion will revolve around privileging at your own institution, gaining skills, and the challenges and successes of using POCUS.
 

Practice Management​​​​​​​
Dea Robinson, MA, FACMPE, CPC;
Dale Wiersma, MD, FHM
Camellia 1
This forum will focus on issues related to the business aspects of hospital medicine and the management of hospital medicine groups. Come hear about successes and challenges related to staffing, scheduling, communication, engagement, and compensation.
 

Quality Improvement​​​​​​​
Mangla Gulati, MD, SFHM;
Matthew Cerasale, MD, MPH, SFHM;
Tulay Aksoy, MD, FACP, FHM
Chesapeake 2-3
This forum provides a venue for connecting with SHM’s QI and patient safety community and engaging with leaders, peers, and collaborators to share ideas and inform SHM’s QI efforts. Discussion during the forum will focus on what hospitalists need to know to become involved with QI at SHM or locally. Hear about SHM’s plans for future QI initiatives.
 

Women in Hospital Medicine
Emily Gottenborg, MD
Chesapeake 7
This forum provides an opportunity to discuss issues relevant to women in hospital medicine and strategies for success/coping. Discussion items may include career satisfaction, occupational stresses, and promoting leadership.
 

At the 2019 Annual Conference, the Society of Hospital Medicine is building on its commitment to develop global relationships and serve as a resource for hospital-based medicine programs around the world. The International Lounge at HM19 complements a busy day of sessions and offers attendees a chance to unwind and expand their perspective on international hospital medicine.

“Once again SHM will provide a special place for our international attendees at HM 2019 to network and meet with SHM board members, hospitalist leaders, and fellow attendees,” Laurence Wellikson, MD, MHM, CEO of SHM, said in an interview. The International Lounge will be held in National Harbor 3 and will be open on March 26 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

While no formal presentations are scheduled for the International Lounge, the goal is to provide an informal place to gather and communicate, said Dr. Wellikson.

However, some programs and special events related to international hospital medicine are scheduled for other points during the annual conference. A panel discussion on March 25 from 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. will focus on hospital medicine in Brazil, Holland, and the United Arab Emirates and will include information on the growth of hospital medicine internationally. In addition, an International Special Interest Forum will be held on March 25 from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. in Magnolia 1.

“If you are from outside the U.S. or if you are interested in networking with or learning more about the growth of hospital medicine around the world, then consider visiting the International Lounge on March 26 or attending the Special Interest Forum or the panel discussion on March 25,” Dr. Wellikson said.

Hospitalist medicine is the fastest growing specialty in the United States, and the field continues to expand beyond the United States, according to a report published in 2018 in the International Journal of General Medicine.

Reasons for the growth of international hospital medicine remain similar to those in the United States despite differences in cultural norms, regulations, and health care systems, according to the report. Drivers of hospitalist programs abroad include interest in optimizing hospital operations, containing costs, and improving quality and safety of patient care. The report cited lack of training, care transitions, low compensation, and stigma as barriers to the development of hospitalist programs internationally. However, continued support from the United States to support international hospitalist groups as they organize will help support the growth of hospitalist medicine worldwide, the authors noted.

Throughout the year, SHM supports the growth of international chapters under the staff support of Lisa Kroll, and any attendees with questions about international hospital medicine programs can contact her at lkroll@hospitalmedicine.org. Ongoing SHM goals in support of international hospital medicine include an Internet-based regional community on the society’s HMX platform, as well as helping international chapters get organized and develop their own meetings.
 

International Hospital Medicine in U.A.E., Brazil and Holland
Monday, 12:45 – 1:30 p.m.
Potomac ABCD

International Special Interest Forum
Monday, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Magnolia 1

At the 2019 Annual Conference, the Society of Hospital Medicine is building on its commitment to develop global relationships and serve as a resource for hospital-based medicine programs around the world. The International Lounge at HM19 complements a busy day of sessions and offers attendees a chance to unwind and expand their perspective on international hospital medicine.

“Once again SHM will provide a special place for our international attendees at HM 2019 to network and meet with SHM board members, hospitalist leaders, and fellow attendees,” Laurence Wellikson, MD, MHM, CEO of SHM, said in an interview. The International Lounge will be held in National Harbor 3 and will be open on March 26 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

While no formal presentations are scheduled for the International Lounge, the goal is to provide an informal place to gather and communicate, said Dr. Wellikson.

However, some programs and special events related to international hospital medicine are scheduled for other points during the annual conference. A panel discussion on March 25 from 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. will focus on hospital medicine in Brazil, Holland, and the United Arab Emirates and will include information on the growth of hospital medicine internationally. In addition, an International Special Interest Forum will be held on March 25 from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. in Magnolia 1.

“If you are from outside the U.S. or if you are interested in networking with or learning more about the growth of hospital medicine around the world, then consider visiting the International Lounge on March 26 or attending the Special Interest Forum or the panel discussion on March 25,” Dr. Wellikson said.

Hospitalist medicine is the fastest growing specialty in the United States, and the field continues to expand beyond the United States, according to a report published in 2018 in the International Journal of General Medicine.

Reasons for the growth of international hospital medicine remain similar to those in the United States despite differences in cultural norms, regulations, and health care systems, according to the report. Drivers of hospitalist programs abroad include interest in optimizing hospital operations, containing costs, and improving quality and safety of patient care. The report cited lack of training, care transitions, low compensation, and stigma as barriers to the development of hospitalist programs internationally. However, continued support from the United States to support international hospitalist groups as they organize will help support the growth of hospitalist medicine worldwide, the authors noted.

Throughout the year, SHM supports the growth of international chapters under the staff support of Lisa Kroll, and any attendees with questions about international hospital medicine programs can contact her at lkroll@hospitalmedicine.org. Ongoing SHM goals in support of international hospital medicine include an Internet-based regional community on the society’s HMX platform, as well as helping international chapters get organized and develop their own meetings.
 

International Hospital Medicine in U.A.E., Brazil and Holland
Monday, 12:45 – 1:30 p.m.
Potomac ABCD

International Special Interest Forum
Monday, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Magnolia 1

At the 2019 Annual Conference, the Society of Hospital Medicine is building on its commitment to develop global relationships and serve as a resource for hospital-based medicine programs around the world. The International Lounge at HM19 complements a busy day of sessions and offers attendees a chance to unwind and expand their perspective on international hospital medicine.

“Once again SHM will provide a special place for our international attendees at HM 2019 to network and meet with SHM board members, hospitalist leaders, and fellow attendees,” Laurence Wellikson, MD, MHM, CEO of SHM, said in an interview. The International Lounge will be held in National Harbor 3 and will be open on March 26 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

While no formal presentations are scheduled for the International Lounge, the goal is to provide an informal place to gather and communicate, said Dr. Wellikson.

However, some programs and special events related to international hospital medicine are scheduled for other points during the annual conference. A panel discussion on March 25 from 12:45 to 1:30 p.m. will focus on hospital medicine in Brazil, Holland, and the United Arab Emirates and will include information on the growth of hospital medicine internationally. In addition, an International Special Interest Forum will be held on March 25 from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. in Magnolia 1.

“If you are from outside the U.S. or if you are interested in networking with or learning more about the growth of hospital medicine around the world, then consider visiting the International Lounge on March 26 or attending the Special Interest Forum or the panel discussion on March 25,” Dr. Wellikson said.

Hospitalist medicine is the fastest growing specialty in the United States, and the field continues to expand beyond the United States, according to a report published in 2018 in the International Journal of General Medicine.

Reasons for the growth of international hospital medicine remain similar to those in the United States despite differences in cultural norms, regulations, and health care systems, according to the report. Drivers of hospitalist programs abroad include interest in optimizing hospital operations, containing costs, and improving quality and safety of patient care. The report cited lack of training, care transitions, low compensation, and stigma as barriers to the development of hospitalist programs internationally. However, continued support from the United States to support international hospitalist groups as they organize will help support the growth of hospitalist medicine worldwide, the authors noted.

Throughout the year, SHM supports the growth of international chapters under the staff support of Lisa Kroll, and any attendees with questions about international hospital medicine programs can contact her at lkroll@hospitalmedicine.org. Ongoing SHM goals in support of international hospital medicine include an Internet-based regional community on the society’s HMX platform, as well as helping international chapters get organized and develop their own meetings.
 

International Hospital Medicine in U.A.E., Brazil and Holland
Monday, 12:45 – 1:30 p.m.
Potomac ABCD

International Special Interest Forum
Monday, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Magnolia 1