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PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
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Since Wachter and Goldman coined the term hospitalist in 1996,1 the field has undergone tremendous growth and change and is now well established. The Academic Pediatric Association (APA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) are all strongly invested in pediatric hospital medicine. The three organizations each bring significant strengths to individual hospitalists and the field as a whole. All three organizations serve as sponsors of the annual Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) conference, the largest national PHM gathering.
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The APA’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of all children and adolescents by promoting research, advancing a scholarly approach to education, developing innovations in healthcare delivery, advocating for an equitable child health agenda, and fostering leadership and career development of child health professionals. The APA sponsored the first national PHM conference in 2003 and provides PHM-specific content at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies conference through original science presentations and the Hospital Medicine Special Interest Group. Hospitalists are considered a core constituency and have been involved in development of the strategic plan, included as editors of the APA journal Academic Pediatrics, and have served as partial motivation for the change in name from the “Ambulatory” Pediatric Association to its current more inclusive Academic Pediatric Association. APA career development projects such as the Leadership in Academic Pediatrics conferences, the Educational Scholars Program, the Research Scholars Program, and the new Quality Scholars Program actively solicit participation of hospitalists.
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The mission of the AAP is to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. To advance that mission, the AAP has been a strong advocate of PHM. The Section on Hospital Medicine (SOHM) has been the fastest growing section in the AAP over the last 10 years and now counts almost 2000 members. The SOHM sponsored the development of the first journal dedicated to PHM, Hospital Pediatrics, as well as a forthcoming PHM PREP product. The SOHM created the national PHM Fellows Conference, sponsors a day-long program at the AAP National Conference and Exhibit, and supports grants for trainees and international hospitalists to the summer PHM conference. The SOHM was the first sponsor of the APEX (Advancing Pediatric Educator Excellence) Teaching program. The SOHM has seven subcommittees involving all aspects of PHM. The Committee on Hospital Care is a separate AAP entity from SOHM that includes hospitalists as well as other pediatricians involved in the care of hospitalized patients (surgeons, intensivists, etc.). It is charged with addressing AAP policy issues on all hospital care and so addresses many PHM activities. Many other AAP sections, committees and councils impact on care of the hospitalized child and so provide many opportunities for hospitalists to take on leadership roles within the AAP.
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The mission of the SHM is to promote the highest quality of care for all hospitalized patients ...