Survey Time
Joe Miller is senior vice president for SHM.
Pittsburgh Chapter
A group of hospitalists representing five area hospitals were in attendance Aug. 22, 2005, at "The Hospitalist Role in the Management of Asthma in Adults and Pediatrics" presentation given by Joseph Geskey, DO, of Pennsylvania State University, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Based on the success of the meeting topic, the chapter agrees to continue to address topics pertinent to both adult and pediatric hospitalists.
NPs and PAs Help Shape SHM Initiatives
By Kevin Whitford, MD
The Nonphysician-Provider Task Force met at SHM’s Annual Meeting in Chicago in April. The meeting marked a significant transition as Mitchell Wilson, MD, concluded his term as chair of the committee. Dr. Wilson’s excellent leadership and organization greatly benefited the task force during its inaugural year. The task force is fortunate to have Dr. Wilson remain as a member.
During the April meeting, the group reviewed the SHM charge to the task force: the responsibility to develop initiatives and programs to promote and define the role of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other hospitalist nonphysician providers in hospital medicine. The task force must recommend an SHM nonphysicianprovider agenda to the SHM Board. The task force is looking for opportunities to encourage nonphysician providers to become active SHM members.
The group prepared a document, “Top Five Roles/Functions for Nonphysician Providers” to present to the SHM Board as a framework for the future.
At the annual meeting the task force pursued strategic planning for 2005 and 2006. The Web-based “Resource Center” development was at the top of the list. The task force has collected job descriptions that include acute care nurse practitioner, hospitalist physician assistant, clinical care coordinator, clinical nurse manager, hospitalist case manager, hospitalist program manager, and medical director.
Competency forms are also posted on the SHM Web site; the forms may be used as models to evaluate hospitalist clinical coordinator, hospitalist physician assistant, hospitalist program manager, and advanced nurse practitioner in hospital medicine. The task force plans to expand this resource area to include staffing models, billing and documentation, frequently asked questions, and a document on the value added by nonphysician providers.
The Nonphysician-Provider Task Force also has a “Hub and Spoke” initiative to broaden the input for nonphysician providers by linking members to the task force with hospitalist nonphysician providers across a broad representation of practices.
Other covered areas include plans for publishing articles in The Hospitalist, membership initiatives, and promoting the development of external relationships with national organizations such as the American Academy of Physician Assistants and American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
