Remarks to Hospital Medicine Town Hall

Abstract

I have been asked to address the issue of Subspecialty Status for Hospital Medicine and I appreciate the opportunity to do so. Before I begin, I have a few disclaimers to share. You already know that I am the President of the Academic Pediatric Association. I am also a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Pediatrics, and a member of the Residency Review Committee for Pediatrics. My remarks today do not represent official positions of any of these organizations; however, my thoughts have certainly been influenced by the work I do with them. I have read summaries of the Hospital Medicine Strategic Planning documents, and I listened to the presentation of the planning chairs, Drs Maloney and Mendez, last night. I am impressed by the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the analysis that has been done by the Strategic Planning Group. The decision before you is not an easy one, and simplistic answers are unlikely to be persuasive. One thing you may not know about me is that along with my good friend, Jane Knapp, I was one of the first fellows in Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) in the United States from 1981 until 1983. Jane trained in Kansas City, and I trained in Philadelphia. Obviously, this was nonaccredited training. One of my mentors was Stephen Ludwig, who has been helpful in supporting the development of Hospital Medicine as well. As I have watched the development of Hospital Medicine, I have been struck by the many parallels with the developmental issues that PEM faced in the 1980s, and I will say a …