New Society of Hospital Medicine board member Tracy Cardin, ACNP-BC, SFHM, isn’t on the board because she’s a nurse practitioner (NP). But that doesn’t make her election as the first NP or physician assistant (PA) as a voting member of SHM’s oversight panel any less momentous.
Tracy Cardin, ACNP-BC, SFHM
“I can’t describe to you how passionately I believe that [NPs and PAs] have a huge role moving forward,” Cardin says. “I think our representation, our visibility, has sort of been flabby and kind of under the wire for a long time. We can really impact the design of care models at the bedside in a way that’s innovative and more efficient and in a way that’s really huge. I think there’s a transformation that’s going to be coming, and we’re going to be a huge part of it.”
Cardin officially started her new position as a board member in March at HM16 in San Diego. She previously—and fittingly—was chair of SHM’s Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Committee. Last year, she received the society’s Award in Excellence in Hospital Medicine for NPs and PAs. She has worked at the University of Chicago for about 10 years.
SHM Past President Robert Harrington Jr., MD, SFHM, who pushed for her inclusion on the board, says that the value of bringing different perspectives to the society’s board can’t be overstated.
“I’m a family medicine–trained hospitalist, and so from firsthand experience, it was important to me before I ever thought about running for the board that there was some representation of our constituency whether that was at the committee level or at the board level,” Dr. Harrington says. “I think that is part of what drew me to seek a higher voice within SHM. … I thought it was important that somebody represent those growing constituencies.”
Dr. Harrington, who among others refers to SHM as a “big tent organization,” says Cardin’s appointment is evidence of that. He believes that his background in family medicine and her background as an NP show healthcare professionals that SHM is not just a group for doctors.
“It does send a message to the rest of our membership that SHM values those other constituencies and that this is not a physician membership organization but rather a membership organization comprised of people who are interested in improving healthcare for our hospitalized patients,” he says.
In fact, Dr. Harrington says one of the first official actions he took as president was to name Cardin an ex officio member of the board. While that meant she could not vote on issues, her perspective alone helped shape conversations.
“Over the course of the last year, she has proven herself to be exactly what I would have hoped she would be: a voice of an important constituency within our membership,” he says. “And as a result of that, [she] ended up being voted into the board.”
Cardin says the time is perfect for her to bring an added viewpoint to the board. First, the number of NPs and PAs is growing.
“NPs and PAs are such a huge part of all acute-care practices,” says Cardin, a past member of Team Hospitalist, the volunteer editorial advisory group for The Hospitalist. “The State of Hospital Medicine surveys showed that 83% of hospitalist groups are utilizing NPs and PAs. I think that is going to be reflected not only in hospitalist practices but in all acute-care practices—there is going to be more deployment and integration of NPs and PAs into practice.
“[SHM] is ahead of the curve recognizing that value.”