This year, the Society of Hospital Medicine will induct three new Masters in Hospital Medicine (MHM), the society’s highest professional honor.
SHM first introduced the MHM designation in 2010. The honor is reserved for hospitalists who have uniquely distinguished themselves in the specialty through the excellence and significance of their contributions to hospital medicine specifically and healthcare as a whole. SHM members are nominated for MHM consideration, and the SHM Board of Directors rigorously reviews qualifications and selects each year’s MHM class.
The three hospitalists receiving the MHM designation at SHM Converge 2021 are Dr. Nasim Afsar, Dr. Shaun D. Frost, and Dr. Jeffrey L. Schnipper.
Nasim Afsar, MD, MBA, MHM
Dr. Nasim Afsar has been elected a Master in Hospital Medicine, honoring her unwavering dedication to hospital medicine and the Society as an accomplished medical leader.
Dr. Nasim Afsar
She is known for her accomplishments in establishing and optimizing complex systems of care in the ambulatory and inpatient settings. Her contributions to hospital medicine can be seen through her extensive leadership experience in health care operations, quality, finance, and management.
Dr. Afsar received her MD from the UC Davis School of Medicine, and went on to complete her residency and internship at UCSD and UCLA, internal medicine programs. She currently serves as the chief operating officer for ambulatory care for UCI Health, with the vision of delivering flawless care for the population of patients in Orange County, Calif.
Over her career, Dr. Afsar has led the development and successful implementation of forward-thinking and ambitious healthcare quality strategies across multiple organizations. Her work in patient safety and quality improvement has earned her numerous accolades and awards, including the 2011 John M. Eisenberg Award.
She served on SHM’s Board of Directors from April 2012 through April 2020, including as president and treasurer. During her time on the board, she was instrumental in defining SHM’s role in population health.
Dr. Afsar has held a variety of positions within the Society, including as chair of SHM’s Hospital Quality & Patient Safety Committee, founder and past copresident of SHM’s Los Angeles Chapter, and as faculty at numerous annual conferences. She was an esteemed mentor within SHM’s Project BOOST, a program within SHM’s Center for Quality Improvement focused on care transitions, and served as an associate editor of the Journal of Hospital Medicine for nearly 13 years.
Dr. Afsar is a hospital medicine leader and true champion for our Society and for our specialty. She epitomizes what it means to be a passionate, driven, and accomplished hospital medicine pioneer.
Shaun D. Frost, MD, MHM
Dr. Shaun D. Frost has been elected a Master in Hospital Medicine, celebrating his enduring commitment to hospital medicine and to the Society for more than 20 years.
Dr. Shaun D. Frost
After completing his internal medicine residency at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School in 1998, he launched his career at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he was a clinical assistant professor of internal medicine at Penn State’s College of Medicine.
His contributions to hospital medicine can be seen through his comprehensive leadership background, commitment to medical education, innovation in hospitalist program operations, and various publications. He is also well known for his mentorship of young hospitalist leaders.
Dr. Frost currently serves as the associate medical director of care delivery systems at HealthPartners Health Insurance Plan. He is a practicing hospitalist at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., and is assistant professor at the University of Minnesota’s Medical School. Prior to this role, he worked at the Cleveland Clinic as the director of Nonteaching Inpatient Services for 6 years, and also served as the Northeast Region chief medical officer of Cogent Healthcare from 2006 to 2012 where he standardized program operations through structured leadership training according to phased priorities and critical functions.
Dr. Frost is well known for his expansive contributions to the Society of Hospital Medicine, and was recognized by SHM in 2005 with the National Award for Clinical Excellence.
Dr. Frost joined the Society in 1999, and soon thereafter founded and led the Northeast Ohio Chapter. His influence, leadership, and guidance helped to shape the creation of SHM’s Chapter Program, which is an integral part of the Society, connecting hospitalists at the local level.
He served on SHM’s Board of Directors for 6 years, including as president and treasurer. He has spoken at many of SHM’s annual conferences, participated on annual meeting planning committees, and served as course director for the annual meeting’s Perioperative Medicine Precourse. He also has served as a facilitator at SHM’s Leadership Academies.
Dr. Frost has led and actively participated in numerous SHM committees, councils, and workgroups, including service as the chair of SHM’s Membership Committee for 5 years. In fact, the SHM fellow designations, including this very distinction, the Master in Hospital Medicine, originated within this committee under his leadership.
During his tenure as SHM president in 2012-2013, he helped to focus the organization’s work to define hospital medicine’s strengths and benefits to healthcare, culminating in the publication of the “Key Principles and Characteristics of an Effective Hospital Medicine Group.”
Dr. Frost is a specialty vanguard, innovator, and SHM leader. He demonstrates what it means to be a passionate and dedicated hospital medicine professional in his community and within the field at-large.
Jeffrey L. Schnipper, MD, MPH, MHM
Dr. Jeffrey L. Schnipper has been elected a Master in Hospital Medicine, honoring his commitment to hospital medicine as an accomplished hospitalist, researcher, and quality improvement enthusiast.
Dr. Jeffrey L. Schnipper
He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1996 and went on to receive his master’s degree in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2001. Dr. Schnipper also completed his residency, along with a General Medicine Fellowship, at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2001.
Dr. Schnipper currently serves as the director of clinical research in Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Hospital Medicine Unit. He also serves as the research director of its General Internal Medicine and Primary Care Division and the fellowship director of the Harvard-Brigham Research Fellowship in Hospital Medicine. He is an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
His contributions to hospital medicine are demonstrated through his research efforts focused on improving the quality of healthcare delivery for general medical patients, including inpatient diabetes management, care transitions, medication reconciliation, and hospital at home care. His medication reconciliation research project (known as MARQUIS) was funded through AHRQ and led to a 5+ year partnership with the SHM Center for Quality Improvement. When Dr. Schnipper obtained a second AHRQ grant for the MARQUIS2 study, he also partnered with SHM’s Center for Quality Improvement.
Dr. Schnipper joined the Society in 2005 and remains an engaged member of the Boston Association of Academic Hospital Medicine Chapter. He has been a member of SHM’s Annual Conference Committee and serves on the editorial team of the Journal of Hospital Medicine as an associate editor. He has been invited to speak at numerous SHM annual conferences. His research efforts and impact on the medical field can be found in over 150 peer-reviewed publications including JHM, JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Dr. Schnipper has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including SHM’s Excellence in Research Award in 2013. He is an established researcher, educator, and physician with a broad spectrum of clinical interests that embody what it means to be a hospitalist leader and a top-notch patient care provider.
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