New years typically start with goals and preparations for things to come. We caught up with several SHM chapter leaders and asked about their chapters’ goals, what they’re looking forward to (professionally and/or personally), and what they think the biggest challenge in health care will be for 2024. Here’s what they had to share.
Atlanta chapter president Mohamad Moussa, MD, SFHM
Hospitalist at Emory University in Atlanta, and site director of Emory Johns Creek Hospital in Johns Creek, Ga.
Dr. Moussa
Chapter goals: Our goal is to expand our reach by intentionally planning meetings with academic sessions outside the Atlanta metropolitan area, to come near where hospitalists are. We hope to attract more members who might get more involved with the SHM mission and vision.
I’m looking forward to: Getting more involved in SHM national committees and learning more about the steps taken by SHM to improve the well-being of hospitalists nationwide. On the local level, I am looking forward to nurturing and mentoring more leaders to ensure the continuous growth of leadership at our chapter.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: The biggest challenge is becoming more efficient by cutting the cost of care without compromising quality and satisfaction. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, health care systems across the nation have suffered financially due to the great resignation, inflation, and the high cost of locum nurses and ancillary services, which make it hard to survive even for nonprofit institutions.
Hampton Roads chapter president Gwendolyn R. Williams, MD, FHM
Hospitalist at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Va.
Dr. Williams
Chapter goals: This will be a year of transformation for our chapter. We expanded leadership opportunities and will have a new governing board in 2024. Our chapter members extend across a large geographic region, and we aim to fulfill a myriad of interests through chapter meetings and community engagement.
Beyond the clinical lectures, we’re looking forward to bringing speakers to engage and educate members on topics such as billing, documentation, health policy, advocacy, trauma-informed ethical care, and moral injury. We’re focused on improving the well-being of hospitalists and will launch quarterly Reset, Refresh, and Recharge immersive activities that members and their loved ones can engage in.
Our chapter strives to cultivate a culture that prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging intertwined with self-compassion and compassion as these elements are essential and at the very core of transforming ourselves and our world, to alleviate suffering, increase well-being, and inspire cultural humility. We are also looking forward to partnering with community organizations and inviting members to participate in local events. Our mantra for 2024 is “Life is a journey, not a destination,” and we will work intentionally and mindfully on embracing change and thriving in our evolution.
I’m looking forward to: Personally and professionally, I am looking forward to living in the now. When I became president of the chapter, I also became president of the Sentara CarePlex Hospital Medical Executive Committee, along with many other leadership positions, while also having an infant daughter. In 2024 I’m looking forward to prioritizing what is truly important and being intentional in the decisions I make. Cultivating mindfulness, compassion, and emotional intelligence will allow me to forge pathways to personal and professional purpose. I am looking forward to embracing the pauses and enjoying the beauty of life around me. I am looking forward to an inspirational change in my professional life and the soul-growing transformation that will accompany it.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: As physicians and health care professionals, the erosion of trust is an insidious and pervasive threat, and a critical issue facing our profession today. How we address this problem will shape the future of medicine. In our time, trust has been broken, abused, misplaced, and violated in all facets of society, and mistrust has grown. Trust is essential, not only to the practice of medicine but to the survival of all human civilization, as every kind of peaceful cooperation is primarily based on mutual trust. To restore trust in science and medicine, we need to evolve individually, and collectively we need to work together to reform the systems we work in. We must restore confidence in the integrity of health care because it cannot survive without the support of those it serves and the health care professionals who give it life. We cannot allow the human dimension of patients, physicians, and leaders to be lost.
Hawaii chapter president, Lisa Tan, MD, MBA, SFHM
Hospitalist at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu
Dr. Tan
Chapter goals: Our goals are to provide a supportive space for hospitalists to share ideas, promote physician wellness, and provide education.
I’m looking forward to: Promoting hospitalist wellness and making it a sustainable profession.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: Physician burnout is spiking to an all-time high of more than 50%. COVID-19 continues to stress hospitalists and the health care system. The current health care system may not be sustainable, and there are a lot of opportunities for improvement.
Kansas chapter president, Ali Rafiq, MD, FACP
Hospitalist with Sound Physicians, at Ascension’s Via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kan.
Dr. Rafiq
Chapter goals: The Kansas chapter aims to continue its growth in 2024. We are looking forward to expanding our leadership structure by creating a specific position for advanced practice practitioners. This will be in addition to our resident champion position. We will continue our outreach efforts with in-person presentations to various hospital medicine groups across the state. These presentations help highlight the value of SHM membership and encourage the recruitment of prospective members. We will also encourage members to consider applying for fellowships, as this designation highlights their commitment to SHM.
I’m looking forward to: Personally, I look forward to 2024 being another year of frequent travel. I am excited about SHM Converge, and it helps that it is in San Diego, a city I have never visited! I also have a pile of books lying on my nightstand that keep staring at me every day, and I hope to give them their due time before the end of the year. I don’t currently anticipate any major changes in my professional role, which mainly revolves around caring for patients at the bedside and being involved in hospital committees to improve the care that we deliver.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: I feel 2024 will continue to be a challenging year for health care. We must make health care equitable for our communities and enjoyable for our clinicians. On top of that, it needs to be delivered sustainably. Moral injury of clinicians should be treated as an emergency, and appropriate reforms should take place to prevent the crisis from worsening. It might be a difficult task to achieve, but I feel the only way forward is if all stakeholders work together on multiple fronts toward a common goal. Technology can play a vital role in that, coupled with the active involvement of health care leaders in shaping public policy. The current state of health care appears to be diseased itself, and the remedy requires a combination of grit and innovation.
Long Island chapter president, Bryant Faria, MD, FACP, FHM
Co-director of inpatient quality, and hospitalist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., and assistant professor of medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in Hempstead, N.Y.
Dr. Faria
Chapter goals: Our chapter’s goals for this year are to foster a return to in-person meetings and engagement. Connecting with colleagues from across the Long Island region face-to-face has been truly invigorating. We aim to continue promoting networking and education throughout our chapter, with a strong focus on addressing health equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our upcoming workshop on microaggressions is sure to be a valuable and engaging experience for our attendees.
I’m looking forward to: On a professional level, I eagerly anticipate the return of in-person meetings and networking as the norm. The personal interactions and collaboration that come with in-person events are invaluable, and I believe they will contribute significantly to our professional growth and development in hospital medicine.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: Looking ahead, the most significant challenge, in my view, will be keeping pace with the ever-evolving world of technology. We need to effectively integrate advances in artificial intelligence into our day-to-day health care practices. Leveraging AI has the potential to provide higher-value care to our patients and may even revolutionize the way we approach professional development for health care workers.
Maine chapter president, Anne Dean, MD, MPHS, FHM
Associate medical director, hospital medicine, Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, and associate professor, Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston
Dr. Dean
Chapter goals: Our goals for 2023-2024 have been to reconnect with members, re-establish a strong foundational structure, and spread the good word of SHM to medical professionals beyond our physicians. We have seen increased engagement with advanced practice professional (APP) membership and hope to embrace more APPs, residents, and medical students while simultaneously increasing access to SHM offerings.
In the past eight months, we have executed two open chapter meetings with good attendance, but still need to grow beyond the usual suspects. Inertia has been stickier than we would like. We’re looking forward to 2024. The chapter leaders would like to reach more members and recruit needed member support for specific roles and special interest groups, as well as establish a predictable meeting calendar that coincides with SHM Converge. We anticipate a symposium with the non-profit leadership group at Hanley to deliver leadership content, promote SHM opportunities, and expand on the professional development SHM offers.
North Carolina Triangle chapter president, Evan Raff, MD
Associate professor of medicine and co-director, UNC School of Medicine foundation phase medical science courses, physician chair, UNC Medical Center adult rapid response committee, and medical director, UNC Home Health, University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Dr. Raff
Chapter goals: We’ve dedicated the past two years to rejuvenating the cohesion among hospitalists in our region. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the local decline in SHM membership and participation was palpable, evident in diminished meetings, fewer professional connections, and a wane in academic, research, and innovative pursuits.
Our mission has been to revive the spirit of hospitalists in our area, a goal we’ve achieved through various initiatives. Notably, we’ve organized social events during the last two SHM Converge conferences, orchestrated CME events at venues conducive for learning and relationship building, and successfully hosted two of the most captivating and well-attended Research, Innovation, and Vignette Competitions in our chapter’s history.
Looking ahead to 2024, our goal is to sustain this momentum. We aim to persistently champion hospitalists as essential contributors to our health care system, supportive and compassionate colleagues, and shining examples of the tremendous rewards a professional career in hospital medicine can offer. In harmony with this vision, our chapter has been honored with a Chapter Initiative Grant to orchestrate the inaugural “Celebrating Local Excellence in Hospital Medicine” Awards Night. This prestigious event will recognize and applaud exceptional local hospitalists for their outstanding contributions to the field.
This initiative aligns with the mission and vision of SHM by acknowledging and promoting excellence in hospital medicine across diverse realms, including advocacy, high-value care, education, inclusivity, research and innovation, and chapter engagement. By spotlighting the contributions of hospitalists, the event aims to inspire excellence and cultivate a robust sense of community within the local chapter, thereby reinforcing SHM’s overarching mission of fostering an inclusive community and advancing health care delivery and research.
I’m looking forward to: In the professional realm, my anticipation for 2024 centers on advancing hospitalists as educators. My objective is to exemplify, through tangible actions, the influential role that hospitalists can play as leaders in the education of students and trainees. The distinct nature of our specialty uniquely positions us to excel as experts in various clinical domains, staying abreast of advancements in knowledge and evidence-based practices across specialties. I am enthusiastic about showcasing the potential for hospitalists to emerge as trailblazers in medical education.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: I believe the foremost challenge in health care for 2024 will revolve around sustaining resilience, extending beyond the realm of hospitalists to encompass everyone who works in the medical field. Collectively, we have navigated the turbulent seas of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we emerge from its aftermath, the task ahead involves reconstructing the fragments left in its wake. This process is undoubtedly arduous, yet undeniably invaluable, demanding a continuous commitment to our practice, a collaborative spirit that reinforces mutual support, and a steadfast understanding that our work, caring for others, is what matters above all else.
Rhode Island chapter president, Bradley J. Collins, MD, FACP, SFHM
Associate professor of medicine, clinical educator, at the Alpert Medical School, Brown University, hospitalist at the Miriam Hospital, both in Providence, R.I.
Dr. Collins
Chapter goals: Our goals for 2024 are to increase membership and to continue to deliver high-quality meetings. In 2024 we plan to host Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health and CNN contributor, to talk about the intersection between public health and hospital medicine. We are especially excited to take on more advocacy roles at the state level.
I’m looking forward to: A successful year of taking care of patients and working to improve systems of health care delivery. I am hoping to publish an article for my research as it relates to the fear of asking or answering questions in the medical school clerkship years because of perceived consequences, which will hopefully shine a light on the educational system and how we can improve.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: I think the biggest challenge will continue to be the focus on shifting care delivery to health instead of sickness. Substantively addressing social determinants of health and reducing barriers to care should be top priorities. Hospitals are in crisis because of emergency department overuse and discharge throughput issues. Specifically addressing health and wellness can decrease burdens on hospitals and allow them to be a place to take care of those that need to be there.
San Francisco Bay Area chapter president, William Collins, MD
Hospitalist and clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif.
Dr. Collins
Chapter goals: Continued growth post-COVID-19. Our chapter has had great success returning to in-person events in 2023, and we hope to expand in-person and hybrid events to bring in more interested hospital medicine practitioners and trainees.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: I have two—the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on both patients and providers; and the rise of artificial intelligence in medicine. The first, I think, has still many years to play out, but the mental and physical toll has been high. We still need time and grace to reckon, heal, and move forward. The second is an accelerating disruption to many fields that could be amazing and also could be terrible and probably will be some combination of the two. I’m excited to see hospitalists face these challenges and celebrate the successes along the way.
I’m looking forward to: Meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 recovery and artificial intelligence. We can learn and grow a lot from this experience.
Southwest Florida chapter president, Shaheen Faruque, MD, FACP, FHM
Dr. Faruque
Hospitalist, nocturnist, telenocturnist, and transition care specialist at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, and locum tenens hospitalist and nocturnist in Florida
Chapter goals:
- Organize my cabinet and distribute portfolios to new cabinet members
- Arrange meetings and presentations quarterly
- Work on chapter funding
- Communicate with other chapters to learn and grow
- Work with sponsoring organizations and groups
I’m looking forward to: Becoming a front-line hospitalist leader—a superior-quality, dependable, physician specialist in inpatient medicine. Working to create awareness of the silent suicide epidemic and worsening mental health crisis. Encouraging the use of palliative care in appropriate cases; the practice of meditation and mindfulness to prevent burnout, increase sleep and resilience, and improve long-term memory. Derationalizing fear and anxiety and guarding against disinformation. Championing the importance of voting and supporting and working to sustain democratic norms and peace processes.
Biggest health care challenge in 2024: Sustainable health care coverage for all members of society.