Some have called this the “Year of the Hospitalist,” as it’s the 20th anniversary of the New England Journal of Medicine paper by Dr. Robert Wachter and Dr. Lee Goldman that first used the term “hospitalist” to describe physicians who care for hospitalized patients.
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But the paper was more than just that to Miguel Angel Villagra, MD.
He saw it four years ago while training in internal medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, Texas.
“I was very intrigued,” Dr. Villagra says. “I asked a few of my mentors. They were very skeptical on following a hospitalist career, [but] I saw opportunities for improvement and professional growth in the field, so I decided to jump in. And after four years, I don’t regret my decision of becoming a full-time hospitalist.”
Miguel Angel Villagra, MD
The field doesn’t regret it either. Dr. Villagra was promoted last fall to hospitalist department program medical director at White River Medical Center in Batesville, Ark. And this year, he was named one of eight new members of Team Hospitalist, The Hospitalist’s volunteer editorial advisory board.
Question: Why did you choose a career in medicine?
Answer: At age 11 and after an emergent appendectomy, I decided that I wanted to become a physician. That was one of the best decisions of my life. It is a great combination of art and science, and you get to help people in difficult moments of their life.
Q: Tell us more about your background.
A: I went to medical school in my country of origin at Universidad Autonóma de Nicaragua of Managua, and I did an internal medicine residency at Hospital Militar Escuela Dr. Alejandro Dávila Bolaños. I came to the U.S. for internal medicine residency training at Texas Tech of El Paso. I enjoy learning new skills and this power of knowledge that can help your patients in desperate moments. Most of my challenges during my training involved how to manage stress and sleep deprivation.
Q: Did you have a mentor during your training or early career? If so, who was the mentor, and what were most important lessons you learned from them?
A: Dr. Jorge Cuadra [from Hospital Militar in Nicaragua] and Dr. Manuel Rivera [from Texas Tech], both pulmonologists. They taught me that medicine is a changing field that requires everyday reading. You never end learning new things and approaches. Taking full advantage of your interaction with your patients always improves your clinical skills.
Q: What do you like most about working as a hospitalist?
A: It is an evolving field; we are still trying to “figure it out.” That creates challenges but also opportunities for growth and career development, [for example], how to tackle the readmission problem, how to improve quality at lower cost while keeping patient satisfaction, how to face the burnout challenge and improve physician engagement, just to name a few.
Q: What do you dislike most?
A: In the beginning of my career as a hospitalist, I was exposed constantly to high patient loads that were more than I should have. I also dislike the difficulties at times of electronic medical records. You have to spend excessive time sitting in front of a monitor.
Q: You note the challenges the field of HM is facing. How exciting is it to hopefully be part of the solutions?
A: I feel pumped having been part of this amazing movement of hospital medicine. I think we are leading the change from the acute-care setting front line, helping to take better care of our patients. The current healthcare changes create multiple challenges and, along with that, endless opportunities for professional growth and career development.