5 Must-Do’s for Hospitalists in 2010

The Hospitalist. 2010 January;2010(01):

January 1, 2010 | The Hospitalist

SHM Junior Faculty Development Award

For junior hospitalist faculty at academic hospital centers, making ends meet as you apply for such research grants as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services K Awards or the Veterans Administration’s Career Development Awards can be daunting or even prohibitive.

SHM is launching a program to assist two junior academic hospitalists: the SHM Junior Faculty Development Award. Two successful applicants will be awarded $25,000 a year for two years, and will receive mentoring from senior SHM faculty and the recipients’ host institutions.

To qualify, applicants must have an MD or a DO degree, have completed or be in the final year of a two- to three-year HM fellowship (or an equivalent post-residency program), and submit a research project proposal on a topic related to HM (e.g., QI, patient safety, or critical care). Full eligibility criteria are included in the request for application (RFA).

The program has two main goals: The new award aims to not only promote promising young academic hospitalists in a critical juncture of their careers, but it also aims to generate peer-reviewed research that will help all hospitalists to better practice in the specialty.

The deadline for submissions is Feb. 15. Winners will be notified April 5.

For details about the SHM Junior Faculty Development Award, including the RFA, contact Claudia Stahl at cstahl@hospitalmedicine.org. TH

Brendon Shank is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia.

NPs, pAs to receive half-off membership discount

In an effort to invite more hospital care providers into the SHM fold, physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) joining SHM for the first time will receive a membership fee discount.

The discounted annual rate for first-time PAs and NPs is $125. The new 50%-off membership offer began late last year and will extend through 2012. The discount applies to the first year of membership; dues for subsequent years will be charged to members at the regular rate.

“Hospital medicine is a team sport, and physician assistants and nurse practitioners are an integral part of the team. We wanted to recognize that fact through this special invitation,” says Todd Von Deak, vice president of membership and marketing for SHM. “We hope that our current membership will share this offer with their colleagues.”

The new discount arrangement is exclusive to members of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). In order to qualify for the discount, applicants must provide their membership number from AAPA or AANP.

For those new to SHM, joining is just the beginning, Von Deak says. “In addition to taking advantage of this offer, we hope that they will take advantage of all of SHM’s member benefits, like networking opportunities and the annual boot camp specially designed for PAs and NPs.”