DO - Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

photos by Lee Ann Yahle
Jose Torres, D.O. (‘00), believes the development of hospital medicine core competencies will help forge its course as a specialty.
Moving Forward as a Medical Specialty
Because SHM predicts that the number of hospitalist positions
could reach 30,000 by 2010, the field likely will become the
job of choice for many medical school graduates in coming
years. But despite growing numbers nationwide, hospital
medicine still is not considered a formal medical specialty by
some physicians because it lacks a credentialing body and a
core set of skills and knowledge. SHM is working to change
that, however.
In February, the association, in conjunction with more than
100 hospitalists and other physicians from across the country,
developed The Core Competencies in Hospital Medicine: A
Framework for Curriculum Development, the nation’s first
comprehensive set of guidelines to help medical schools,
postgraduate training programs and continuing medical
education programs develop standardized curricula for
teaching hospital medicine. The goal of the document is to
help assess gaps in current training programs and to set the
stage for any future hospitalist certification programs, says
Steve Pantilat, M.D., SHM president.
Most physicians interested in hospital medicine had to forge
their own educational route, in many cases selecting residency
programs that have a strong basis in hospital care to help
prepare them for their career choice. None of the inpatient
care providers interviewed for this story has formal training
as a hospitalist. In fact, few formal hospitalist training programs
exist even today.
But some hospitalists believe that hospitalist training programs
could take off in coming years as more primary care physicians,
patients and hospitals recognize the benefits. “In the near
future, I would not be surprised to see a larger number of
fellowships and subspecialty board certification in the field,”
Schumacher says.
Torres also believes the development of SHM’s core
competencies will help hospital medicine forge its course
as a medical specialty. “Down the road, I think you’ll be
able to choose a track in internal medicine,” he says. “You’ll
either be able to study to be an inpatient care provider–a
hospitalist–or an outpatient care provider.”
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Contacts
Society of Hospital Medicine
190 Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572
(800) 843-3360
www.hospitalmedicine.org
Society of Critical Care Medicine
701 Lee Street, Suite 200
Des Plaines, IL 60016
(847) 827-6869
www.sccm.org
Growth of Hospitalists in
North America
Year
Number of Hospitalists
Mid 1990s 800
1998 2,000
2002 6,000
2003 8,000
2005 15,000
2010 (projected) 30,000
Source: Society of Hospital Medicine, 2005
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