Femi Adewunmi, MD, MBA, FHM, has been to five SHM annual meetings, and has attended three pre-courses in that time. As medical director of the hospitalist service at Johnston Medical Center in Smithfield, N.C., he has found the learning sessions on practice management and billing and coding to be the most helpful. He recommends both to first-timers looking to accumulate real-world tips they can apply to their HM practices.
There is “a constant battle that we face trying to justify why you’re asking for more resources,” Dr. Adewunmi says. “To be able to do that convincingly, you need to be able to demonstrate your worth. … For people who have never gone to any of the pre-courses, any of them are a great tool. The amount of knowledge you come away with is pretty phenomenal. You’re given the little nuggets you need to do whatever you need to do.”
Dr. Bossard, a member of Team Hospitalist, estimates he’s been to 10 of the 13 annual meetings. He usually travels with colleagues and makes sure to coordinate educational tracks before the conference begins so that the group avoids redundancy by splitting up sessions.
“Divide and conquer,” Dr. Bossard adds. “We always bring it back to our group in smaller, bullet-type fashion. We all get a taste of sessions we weren’t able to attend.”
Barnes agrees that planning ahead is the key to success. “Do it based on what your primary role is,” she says. “Is your primary role research? Are you an academic hospitalist? Do you have an important role leading quality initiatives? Are you a group leader? At the end of the day, you can follow a track all the way down or you can jump across tracks—whatever is appealing.”
Richard Quinn is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.
PHOTO MATT FENSTERMACHER