The term “Hospitalist” was coined by Dr. Robert Wachter in 1996. The article in the New England Journal of Medicine authored by him and Dr. Lee Goldman highlighted the emergence and importance of this new specialty.1 Hospital medicine or dedicated inpatient medicine has since been a significant part of clinical practice in the USA. Hospitalist Programs have had varying emphasis based on their location and influence of their stakeholders.
In the first few years of hospital medicine, the primary emphasis was on clinical competence to safely fill the void created by primary care physicians opting to limit themselves to their outpatient practices. The National Association of Inpatient Physicians (NAIP), formed in 1997 and subsequently transitioned to the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) in 2003, ensured that annual meetings had many sessions dedicated to disseminating best practice models for hospitalized patients. New focus areas were quickly developed as Length of Stay (LOS) data gained interest from hospitals and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Over the past two decades, the value of hospital medicine has been demonstrated in quality, patient safety, and efficient management of resources by addressing some of the bottlenecks in healthcare systems. More recently, the much-needed exponential emphasis has been placed on medical education in academic medical centers.
Hospital medicine at Warren Alpert Medical school-affiliated hospitals began over 25 years ago with programs at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) and The Miriam Hospital (TMH). The TMH group started interacting with medical residents in 2000. Subsequently, hospitalist programs were started at Newport Hospital and Hasbro Children’s hospital. In 2007, the academic mission was enhanced by having hospitalists responsible for residents’ and students’ medical education during their rotations at TMH. Over the past 13 years, several steps to strengthen medical education and mentor students and residents have been undertaken. Medical students and residents have assisted in many research articles, which have been presented at regional and national meetings, and published in several peer-reviewed journals.
The need to codify and disseminate pertinent medical information is at the core of this endeavor. The Brown Journal of Hospital Medicine or BJHM seeks to create another significant forum for inpatient clinical expertise to be disseminated and to promote scholarly activities of medical students and residents. This Department of Medicine effort will harness current relationships and expertise of other inpatient specialties to achieve these goals. Constitutive to this endeavor, there will be sections on Humanism in Medicine, advocacy, and other contemporary issues.
“To study the phenomenon of disease without books is to sail in unchartered seas” is one of the many aphorisms of Sir William Osler.2 With this online journal which will simultaneously provide timely, and remote access to many others, we hope to add to the many nautical miles of unchartered seas. The pandemic has galvanized us into a new realm of academia even as we take steps to be identified by our dreams and inspirations, not our fears. To have striven, made an effort, and been faithful to certain ideals- this alone is worth the struggle.2
This academic initiative serves as a thank you gift to all the past and present Hospital Administrators and the Chiefs of the Department of Medicine who provided unflinching support for hospital medicine at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and its affiliated hospitals. To my colleagues, this is an audacious venture. Still, with the support of many of our colleagues in other disciplines, we will make this journal a trustworthy resource for the medical community. As stated by Victor Hugo, “there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” The time for BJHM has come, and the time is now.
Corresponding author:
Kwame Dapaah-Afriyie
Professor of Medicine, Clinician Educator
Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University
Division of Hospital Medicine
The Miriam Hospital, 164 Summit Avenue, Providence, RI 02906
Tel: 401-793-2104
Fax: 401-793-4047
Email: kdapaahafriyie@lifespan.org