Early-Career Hospitalists’ Perspectives on Hospital Medicine-Focused Education

Background: Acknowledging that a successful career in hospital medicine (HM) requires specialized skills, residency programs have developed hospital medicine-focused education (HMFE) programs. Surveys of internal medicine residency leaders have described HMFE curricula but are limited to that specialty and lack perspectives from early career hospitalists (ECHs) who recently completed this training. Therefore, we surveyed multi-specialty ECHs to evaluate their preferences for HMFE and to identify gaps in standard residency training and career development that HMFE can bridge. Methods: From February-March 2021, ECHs (defined as hospitalists within 0-5 years from residency) were surveyed using the Society of Hospital Medicine’s listserv. Respondents identified as having participated in HMFE or not during residency (defining them as HMFE participants or non-HMFE participants). Findings: From 257 respondents, 84 (33%) ECHs met inclusion criteria. Half (n=42) were HMFE participants. ECHs ranked clinical hospitalist career preparation (86%) and mentorship from HM faculty (85%) as the most important gaps in standard residency training and career development that HMFE can bridge. Other key components of HMFE included exposure to quality improvement, patient safety, and high-value care (67%); provision of autonomy through independent rounding (54%); and preparation for the job application process (70%). Discussion and Conclusion: Multi-specialty ECHs describe HMFE as positively influencing their decision to pursue a hospitalist career and increasing their preparedness for practice. HMFE may be particularly well-suited to foster advanced clinical skills such as independent rounding, critical thinking, and self-reflection. Our study provides novel insights which may assist in the development of HMFE programs nationwide.