A decade of the Society of Hospital Medicine: A remarkable beginning and bright future

Founded in 1997 by 2 community-based hospitalists, Win Whitcomb and John Nelson, the National Association of Inpatient Physicians was renamed the Society of Hospital Medicine in 2003 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Evolving from the enthusiastic engagement by the attendees at the first hospital medicine CME meeting in the spring of 1997, this new organization has grown into a robust voice for improving the care of hospitalized patients. The Society has actively attempted to represent a big tent welcoming participation from everyone involved in hospital care. The name change to the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) reflected the recognition that a team is needed to achieve the goal of optimizing care of the hospitalized patient. Merriam-Webster defines “society” as “companionship or association with one’s fellows” and “a voluntary association of individuals for common ends; especially an organized group working together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or profession.” The hospital medicine team “working together” includes nurses, pharmacists, case managers, social workers, physicians, and administrators in addition to dieticians, respiratory therapists, and physical and occupational therapists. With a focus on patient-centered care and quality improvement, SHM eagerly anticipates future changes in health care, seeking to help its membership adapt to and manage the expected change. As an integral component of the hospital care delivery team, physicians represent the bulk of membership in SHM. Thus, development of hospital medicine as a medical specialty has concerned many of its members. Fortunately, progress is being made, and Bob Wachter is chairing a task force on this for the American Board of Internal Medicine. Certainly, content in the field is growing exponentially, with textbooks (including possibly 3 separate general references for adult and pediatric hospital medicine), multiple printed periodicals, and this successful peer-reviewed journal listed in MEDLINE and PubMed. In addition, most academic medical centers now have thriving groups of hospitalists, and many are establishing or plan separate divisions within their respective departments of medicine (eg, Northwestern, UC–San Francisco, UC–San Diego, Duke, Mayo Clinic). These events confirm how hospital medicine has progressed to become a true specialty of medicine and justify the publication of its own set of core competencies. We believe some form of certification is inevitable. This will be supported by development of residency tracks and fellowships in hospital medicine. Most remarkable about the Society of Hospital Medicine has been its ability to collaborate with multiple medical societies, governmental agencies, foundations, and organizations seeking to imE D I T O R I A L