The field of hospital medicine arose in the 1990’s in response to hospitals’ need for greater access to primary care physicians. Hospitalists specifically coordinate patient care from admission to discharge. As Ratelle et al pointed out, there are now over 30,000 such inpatient practitioners, with organizations like the National Association of Inpatient Physicians and Society of Hospital Medicine. The field continues to grow, but it requires proficiency in multiple medical disciplines, as a day in the life of a hospitalist includes any number of tasks across the health care spectrum.

Hospitalist Duties

Hospitalists specialize in not having a specialization. In particular, they are experts in patient management and leadership of care personnel. According to Pak and Jones, they must have multiple skills on top of standard clinical expertise, including:

• The ability to communicate clearly with patients, families, and personnel,
• Problem-solving skills for prompt evaluation and treatment,
• Leadership of patients, staff, and hospital administrators,
• Teaching skills in analyzing and interpreting medical information,
• Compassion and interpersonal skills to provide comfort and care,
• And stamina to work long and wide-ranging shifts.

Altogether, these abilities ensure that hospitalists are able to balance, manage, and optimize the hospital health care system. In particular, they work to coordinate patients, family, residents and interns, nursing staff, healthcare professionals, and hospital administrators.

Educational Requirements

Until relatively recently, hospital medicine has been an uncommon career track. However, as Ratelle et al show, around a tenth of current internal medicine residents will end up in this growing field, with specializations in Family Medicine or Pediatric Internal Medicine. The Society of Hospital Medicine details how to become a hospitalist, as follows.

• Start by attaining a Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Then, complete 4 years at an E.S.-accredited medical school,
• Train for 3 to 9 years in a hospital residency of 3 to 8 years,
• Pursue other training, such as post-residency fellowships,
• Get a state license to practice, although standards vary,
• Lastly, pursue an optional board certification for specializations.

Licensing may require background checks, training, tests, or fees, and you must renew your credentials every 10 years. An increasing number of residency programs also offer hospital medicine specializations, as the number of related fellowship programs rises each year, as well.

Work Conditions & Compensation

Graduating hospitalists confront a growing and competitive market. However, as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics explains, compensation is high because the work requires fast decision-making in high-stress situations. In general, hospitalists work 12-hour days each day of the week, with every other week off, although schedules can be erratic. Usually, 3 to 4 hospitalists will work on day shifts, with only one at night, and each will care for 15 to 20 patients each day.

In 2014, the Society of Hospital Medicine estimated that there were around 44,000 practicing hospitalists in the United States. Since then, the field has only grown, and wages reflect growing need. In particular, the Medical Group Management Association’s recent survey found that hospitalists earn around $180,000 annually, with variation by location, teaching status, and practice size. In particular, Internal Medicine hospitalists on average earn $218,066 a year, while Pediatric specialists earn $160,038 per year.

The work of hospitalists is essential to coordinating hospital care. You should consider this field if your interests and abilities align with those detailed above. However, it is important to keep in mind that hospital medicine continues to evolve, with hospitalists taking on teaching positions and positions of authority in administration. Although their work is high-stress, hospitalists are essential members of health care teams and play a powerful role in shaping the quality and future of care in hospital contexts.

—

Would you like to join Elliot Health System as a hospitalist? Browse our open hospitalist career opportunities today.

When you first embark on a medical career, there seems to be no limit to the practice options available. Specializations such as cardiology, neurology and orthopedics gain much of the attention, of course. However, callings such as family practice and internal medicine, while less glamorous, are no less meaningful or important. Depending on who you are and how you want your professional life to look, internal medicine may be the ideal physician career for you.

If a career that involves long-term relationships, experience with a wide range of health care issues, and continuity of care appeals to you, then being an internist may be the right path for you. However, even if your goal is to specialize, internal medicine may still be a good fit if you’re unsure of which specialty to pursue. Practicing as an internist can provide you with multiple opportunities to help you make that choice. Cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases or pulmonology are among the specialties commonly entered by internal medicine physicians. 

In addition, the American College of Physicians lists the following subspecialties that are available to internists upon completion of the requisite residency training:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Cardiovascular Disease 
• Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology
• Interventional Cardiology
• Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
• Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
• Gastroenterology 
• Transplant Hepatology
• Hematology
• Infectious Disease
• Nephrology
  
• Oncology 
• Pulmonary Disease
• Rheumatology 

Patients generally don’t understand that there is a difference between internists and family practitioners. Although both can serve as primary care providers, which one you want to be depends in part on who you want your patients to be. If you want to see “families” who present family problems, you’ll likely be providing health care to a large number of children during your time in practice. If, however, you prefer working with adults, than being an internist may be the better choice. 

Although internal medicine is not a specialty per se, it still involves the diagnosis, care and treatment of certain diseases and medical conditions. These include such afflictions as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, kidney and liver disease, and substance abuse. Family practitioners, on the other hand, are sought after more for wellness checks and less serious medical problems. 

In order to determine whether internal medicine is the right career for you, here are some questions you should ask yourself:

• Do I want to specialize? If so, what are the specialties that interest me? Given that internists have a stronger foundation for specialization, internal medicine would probably be a better fit for you. 
• Do I want my career to involve broad, all-inclusive, family-oriented challenges? If so, family medicine is perhaps more appropriate. 
• Am I interested in the social and community aspects of health care? A family medicine practice offers an environment in which you can develop and expand your responsibility to family and community as well as to your individual patients. 
• Am I the type of person who thrives finding solutions to complicated problems such as diagnosing and treating difficult, confusing or conflicting symptoms? Serving as an internist will provide you ample opportunity to take advantage of and nurture that characteristic.

There are, of course, other factors to be considered. Regardless of which path you choose, be it specialization, family practice or internal medicine, your community will benefit from your dedication, training, and expertise. At the end of the day, isn’t that just what the doctor ordered?

—

Would you like to read more blogs like this? Subscribe.

One of the many advantages of working in the medical field is the fact that there are so many career paths to choose from. Right now a list of the best jobs for doctors includes jobs that pay well, are in high demand, and are challenging.

The field of family medicine
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, salaries in family medicine are on the rise. On average, family physicians can expect to bring in $195,000 per year. That’s a full 10% rise compared to stats from the previous year – and shows the fifth highest growth compared to all specialties.

Salary isn’t the only reason that the field of family medicine is one of the best jobs for doctors. According to the article linked above, 73% of physicians working in family medicine said they’re satisfied with their career – which is the highest of any of the specialties polled.

Emergency medicine
The American College of Emergency Physicians completed a survey of their own members and discovered that they make an average of $301,274 per year. This survey covers more than 1,000 physicians in all states and Washington D.C. About 70% of those polled were staff physicians and the other 30% were directors of emergency departments.

Job growth is another factor that makes emergency medicine one of the best jobs for doctors. 66% of the emergency physicians polled said their departments had hired more physicians in the last year and 56% said they believed their department would hire additional physicians within the next year. The stats vary based on which state you’re looking at but consider that 82% of hospitals in the Northeast have fast tracked emergency physicians.

Internal medicine
According to Medscape, internal medicine salaries vary greatly. For example, the mean salary in this specialty is $185,000 but more than 10% of those in the field earn more than $300,000 a year. Of those surveyed, 20% had received a raise within the previous year which shows this is specialty with potential for salary growth.

More internists say they’re happy with their jobs than those who say they’re not happy – and the percentage of physicians satisfied with this specialty has risen by more than 10% in just three years. As with any career, not everyone is happy but these stats make it clear that conditions are improving.

Internal medicine is also a great job for physicians who’d prefer to spend the majority of their time seeing patients instead of filing paperwork: The greatest percentage of those surveyed said they spend 30 – 40 hours per week seeing patients.

The salaries and roles of each job listed will vary based on where a candidate lives, their experience, and a variety of other factors. However, these are the best jobs for doctors when average salary and job growth are compared.

Would you like to see what’s available at Elliot Health System for Emergency and Internal Medicine? Click the button below!

Elliot Heath System (EHS) is seeking an additional BC/BE Internal Medicine trained physician to join our well-established, highly successful and progressive group located just minutes away from  the main Hospital campus in Manchester, NH.

Weekday call is shared equally among group members and  the group participates with other Elliot internists for a combined weekend call of 1:7. Our physicians enjoy 24/7 hospitalist group coverage for their patients.

EHS is the largest provider of comprehensive healthcare services in Southern New Hampshire. The cornerstone of EHS is Elliot Hospital, a 264-bed acute care facility, Level II Trauma Center, and one of the Top 100 Most Wired Hospitals in the country. Elliot’s commitment to Team STEPPS (a patient safety initiative to ensure the highest quality care for patients for the best possible patient outcome), along with its fully integrated EMR system (EPIC) make it a great place for physicians to Live Better – Work Better.

The Manchester, New Hampshire, area is a thriving metropolitan community, located within an hour’s drive of Boston, Massachusetts, the seacoast, and White Mountains region of New England. It is also home to the Manchester-Boston Regional airport. We invite you to explore the rich heritage, breathtaking beauty and four-season attractions of (tax free) New Hampshire. Come see why Money magazine annually ranks the area one of the nation’s “Best Places to Live.”

Apply  online or interact with us socially at facebook.com/elliotphysicians or on Twitter @ElliotPhysician.

We are an equal opportunity employer embracing the strength that diversity brings to the workplace. We provide a welcoming and supportive environment for employees of all ethnic backgrounds, cultures, ages, lifestyles and physical abilities.

Please apply now!