Dr. Rehm
I love the feeling new beginnings bring. For me, it happens every New Year’s Day and in early July when new interns begin their journeys with the excitement and anxiety that is the start of the new academic year. For the SHM Board, the new year started at SHM Converge 2023, and, personally, I am incredibly honored to begin my term as president of our society.
I’ve been particularly excited for this new beginning and am so grateful to have learned from Dr. Rachel Thompson and all the presidents and leaders who’ve served before me. SHM truly is an organization that strives to recruit and maintain a diverse membership. While there have been past presidents representing family medicine (Dr. Bob Harrington) and med/peds (Drs. Danielle Scheurer and Chris Frost), I’m proud to represent pediatric hospitalists as the first president of the society with a background in pediatrics alone.
These past few years have been incredibly trying, but we are emerging stronger—energized from an amazing conference with a renewed focus on improving the lives of our patients and the well-being of our workforce. One of the biggest benefits of being president is the opportunity to travel to local chapter and regional meetings and represent SHM at meetings with other medical professional societies. I hope I’m able to meet with many of you as I travel over the coming year. Please let me know how I can help your chapter thrive in 2023 and 2024.
In addition to in-person events, Rachel and I have begun hosting a virtual series called The Prez Room, where we’ve met with members like you to understand your needs and learn how SHM can better serve hospitalists. Please be on the lookout for upcoming invitations. All are welcome, and I would enjoy getting the opportunity to have a conversation with you.
As a Board, we’re constantly looking to position SHM for long-term success as hospital medicine evolves. Beginning in May of 2022, the Board began to reimagine our mission, vision, and goals, and we’ve continued to refine these directives over the year in Board meetings and with many of you. Over the past 25 years, we have seen such significant growth in our field, and it was time to consider if our mission and vision were aligned with today’s needs.
After much thoughtful and deliberate discussion, we have arrived at SHM’s revised mission and vision, which we are confident reflects the current and desired future states of our society.
SHM Vision
To be the professional home of hospitalists dedicated to exceptional and equitable care for acutely ill patients.
SHM Mission
- As the home for hospitalists, SHM activates and engages our community to:
- Advocate for our specialty, our members, and the diverse patients we serve.
- Promote high-value care and optimal outcomes for acutely ill patients.
- Meet the evolving educational needs of a dynamic specialty.
- Cultivate an inclusive community for hospitalists and support career growth and well-being.
- Advance the research and innovation of health care delivery, quality, safety, and experience across the care continuum.
We are hopeful these directives can drive our work in meaningful ways for years to come. I’m sure many of you have worked on your home institution’s mission; for us at SHM, it has been incredibly powerful to reflect on the successes of our organization and to also move forward with renewed focus. As we move into considerations for the governance of the organization, I look forward to hearing from you about how SHM can best support you personally and professionally in what I hope will be a really spectacular year.
Dr. Rehm is the associate chief medical officer of children’s services in the department of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.