March 4th is National Hospitalist Day
This day recognizes the contributions of 60,000 hospitalists nationwide on the first Thursday in March annually. Hospital medicine is a specialty that is growing fast in modern medicines, and those who practice it are well known at hospitals.
Hospitalists manage patient care during their stay as an inpatient and also have proven to reduce readmissions while serving as leaders with quality improvement and patient safety. The term was first introduced in 1996 by Drs. Lee Goldman and Bob Wachter in a New England Journal of Medicine article.
Today hospitalists include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physicians, and practice administrators. They can be certified in many different specialties including family medicine, internal medicine, and more. For the last 20 years, hospitalists have continued to show a drive in improvement. Hospitalists can take different career paths. This can range from a hospital executive team to an academic leader at a medical institution. Some known names in the specialty include US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, CMS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kate Goodrich, and FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
How to Observe #NationalHospitalistDay
To observe this day, learn more about hospital medicine and how hospitalists improve patient care by clicking on the link to the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) website, www.hospitalmedicine.org. On this website you can find printable posters, flyers, and social media graphics on a dedicated National Hospitalist Day page. (www.hospitalmedicine.org/hospitalistday) The page features of outstanding hospitalists from varied backgrounds making notable contributions to the specialty and to the healthcare landscape. Use #NationalHospitalistDay and #HowWeHospitalist to recognize a hospitalist you know on social media. Share success stories and reasons why you are proud to be a hospitalist.
History
The Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) founded National Hospitalist Day to recognize the growing number of dedicated hospitalists in the country, in 2019. SHM is a non-profit medical society that serves the entire hospital medicine care team. The mission of SHM is to promote care for hospitalized patients through quality improvement initiatives, education, advocacy, research, and more. This day is especially important this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to recognize the hard work of medical workers and professionals during this uncertain time.
National Hospitalist Day is observed on the first Thursday in March every year.
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