Q: What is the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: I don’t know, probably because I just ignored it.
Q: Where do you see the field in five to 10 years?
A: I think the field of hospital medicine needs to be cautious of the pace [at which] we are growing, and some of the limitations and demands we have been trying to put on it. I think we need to embrace the growth and embrace what people are asking us to do. I think the role of hospitalists will get bigger and bigger. I think what has really happened is that we have transitioned into two types of physicians in general, and I think that is because of the hospitalist movement. Medical staffs will be made up of outpatient physicians and inpatient physicians.
Q: Any concerns about that growth?
A: I think we need to be cautious as we grow that we don’t overspecialize the hospital and that we realize that what has allowed us to grow is our flexibility. The ‘scope creep’ of what we cover and what we do is going to continue, and we’re going to have to work with it and seize that opportunity.
Richard Quinn is a freelance writer in New Jersey.