10. Maintenance of correct attending: This is for the hospitalist whose 15 patients all have a different attending assigned. This gift would ensure that the IT system has my name attached to all my patients at all times. Again, if you receive this gift, please contact me immediately.
In the spirit of being a tad more comprehensive, here are a few gift ideas for hospital medicine in general:
- More primary care physicians. Hospitalists know good primary care prevents hospitalization, but having a physician to refer a patient to after discharge is key.
- Hospital coverage for all U.S. citizens.
- A full understanding of hospital medicine by all hospital administrators.
- Uniform assessment of hospitals, so one can accurately grade/compare hospitals.
- Continued improvement in hospitalist leader skills.
- Continued better pay for hospitalists.
- More mid-level providers in hospital medicine.
- Continued improvement in teamwork amongst hospital personnel.
- Continued improvement in quality and patient safety.
And finally, the best gift of all…more hospitalists!
Happy Holidays! TH
Dr. Cawley is president of SHM.