This blog post submitted by: Joseph Brogan, MD, Medical Instructor in the Department of Medicine, Duke General Internal Medicine.
Set in on the outskirts of Austin, Texas on the serene Lake Travis was where I found myself for the annual Academic Hospitalist Academy this past week. The meeting is jointly sponsored by the Society of Hospital Medicine, Society of General Internal Medicine, and the Association of Chiefs and Leaders of General Internal Medicine, and is best described as a four -day “boot camp” for junior academic hospitalists.
The aims of the meeting were to provide attendees with skills in six core domains essential to academic success in Hospital Medicine; Educational Skills, Mentorship, Leadership, Scholarship, Promotion, and Quality Improvement/Patient Safety. The curricula of this course was active and engaging, as it was composed of a mix of didactic lectures and break out small group workshops. The learning environment was fairly intimate, as total conference attendance was limited to 100 (the largest of the 9 years), and all content was provided by a mere 10 core senior faculty preceptors. Duke was well-represented this year as 11 hospitalists attended under the umbrella of Duke University Hospital, Durham VA Medical Center, and Duke Regional Hospital.
The topics presented were wide ranging including strategies for bedside teaching, how to develop mini lectures, understanding the funding of academic medical centers and using business drivers to leverage academic success, tips on how to be a good mentor or mentee, personal energy management, and more. During break-out sessions, we would hone our craft by practicing a 6 minute lectures or take turns practicing giving feedback to medical student.
I was struck by the passion with which the senior faculty held for this event. They all made an effort to learn your name, sit down with you during meals, or chat over a drink at networking receptions. It was great to meet other hospitalists from institutions all over the country, compare and learn how different programs are modeled, and foster collaborative relationships. I left this conference feeling inspired about my future and the career set forth ahead of me, and I gained a foundational set of skills to achieve success. I would highly recommend this conference to any Hospital Medicine faculty looking to further their career.