Shared Experiences Make Us Stronger Together

Dr. Kris Rehm, outgoing SHM president, and Dr. Rachel Thompson, immediate past president, continued The Prez Room series of discussions with members.

As I reflect on our time this year, I want to highlight a few experiences and moments that embody why I’m so grateful to have served as president of our society—some of which, I hope, you’ve shared with me. Since last year’s SHM Converge in Austin, Texas, the SHM staff and Board of Directors have worked to advance the mission, vision, and goals that we shared last year. This has provided us with a clear focus on areas where we should remain engaged and others where we hope to become more involved in the future.

I’ve had many opportunities to meet our members over the past year, which I absolutely love! We’ve met in person in Telluride, Colo., (one of my favorite places on earth), Philadelphia, and Anaheim, Calif. I have personally traveled to chapter meetings across the U.S. as well, in Nebraska and Rhode Island, and to regional meetings in Chicago and Kentucky, to name a few! Our international partners have welcomed our team to Argentina, Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Japan, and Turkey. It is fascinating to hear so many unique points of view about hospital medicine from all around the globe, helping us to keep our finger on the pulse of the field. 

Thanks to the foresight of Dr. Rachel Thompson, our immediate past president, we have continued the series known as “The Prez Room,” an opportunity for our members to gather with our executive committee—our immediate past president, Dr. Rachel Thompson, me, and our incoming president-elect, Dr. Flora Kisuule. Over the past year, we have offered virtual and in-person Prez Room sessions as a chance to have open, honest conversations among our members, the executive committee, and our chief executive officer, Dr. Eric Howell.

In February, we met and shared our outlooks for 2024. We talked about the threats to our systems—including reimbursement, financial difficulties, and resource constraints—and opportunities, like our enthusiasm for new ways to expand hospital at home for lower-cost care. The most significant takeaway from this session—and all Prez Room sessions—has been the value of sharing experiences across the country among like-minded hospitalists! It helps us remember that we are all more alike than different and that our shared experiences can help make us stronger together.

Something I always feel makes us stronger together is humanism. For me, humanism in hospital medicine is a foundational principle that emphasizes the holistic care of patients, focusing not only on their physical ailments but also on their emotional, psychological, and social well-being. At its core, humanism in hospital medicine recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, regardless of their medical condition or background. It promotes compassionate and empathetic interactions between health care practitioners and patients, fostering trust, respect, and collaboration in the healing process. In practice, humanism guides clinicians to listen attentively to patients’ concerns, involve them in decision making, and tailor treatments to align with their values and preferences. It also encourages a supportive environment where health care teams prioritize patient comfort, dignity, and autonomy, ultimately striving to enhance the overall quality of care and patient outcomes in hospital settings.

This year, SHM’s overarching theme for our members is Recognizing the Human in Hospitalist. While we must always remember the significance of humanism for our patients, we must look at our colleagues—and ourselves—as humans, too. At SHM, we strive to help you grow in every aspect of your career, while also celebrating you as an individual and our membership as a community. We hope you participated in our National Hospitalist Day festivities on social media last month when we shined the spotlight on the many things that make our members unique, from passions for hiking, baking, and writing, to the common interest in hospital medicine that unites our membership.   

As I prepare for SHM Converge this month in San Diego, I’m most excited to see our community together once again. For me as president, it is also a time of transition, and I can think of no one more deserving or more capable of taking over as president than Dr. Flora Kisuule! Please look for her—and me—as we walk the halls of the San Diego Convention Center because we want to meet you and hear from you about how we, as members of the Board, can lead this fine organization into the future.

It has been an honor to serve as your president over the past year, and I am extremely optimistic about what the future holds—for SHM and the field of hospital medicine. Thank you for helping to make SHM such a special, welcoming place for our community to learn and thrive. 

Dr. Rehm

Dr. Rehm is the associate chief medical officer of children’s services in the department of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.