Background: Hospital medicine is a rapidly growing specialty within internal medicine, offering diverse career opportunities in clinical practice, teaching, research, innovation, and quality improvement (QI). As with any other specialty within Internal Medicine, residents interested in Hospital Medicine need specialty guidance, mentorship, and professional development when considering careers in Hospital Medicine. The Hospital Internal Medicine leadership team recognized the need for initiatives to guide residents’ professional development early in their residency training to support their transition to successful careers in hospital medicine.
Purpose: The Hospital Internal Medicine interest group (HIMIG) was created to develop a structured system that fosters career development for internal medicine (IM) residents interested in hospital medicine. From PGY1 to PGY3, the group provides a structured framework that addresses residents’ career goals while facilitating mentorship, resource access, and skill-building opportunities.
Description: HIMIG comprises mid-career academic hospitalists (serving as mentors) and internal medicine residents (PGY1-PGY3 and chief residents) interested in hospital medicine. The initiative was implemented in August 2024 and includes 12 HIMIG residents (3 PGY1, 4 PGY2, 4 PGY3 and 1 chief resident). HIMIG curriculum offers career growth and development through resource integration, skill-building, scholarly productivity and longitudinal support through mentorship. Resource Integration: Includes a curated compilation of articles (including clinical practice and effective teaching), Mayo Clinic online courses and hospital medicine conferences traditionally reserved only for hospitalists, built to address diverse career tracks such as clinical practice, teaching, research, innovation, artificial intelligence and QI. Skill-Building: HIMIG provides access to Division of Hospital Medicine’s workshops, education, quality improvement and research projects; HIMIG leadership positions, effective teaching courses, research methodologies, QI certifications and participation in Mayo Clinic Hospital medicine committees. Scholarly Productivity: The HIMIG strongly promotes and helps facilitate resident participation in hospital medicine division research, QI projects, and conference presentations, as well as publication, contributing to the academic mission of the institution and their individual professional growth and development. Longitudinal Support and Mentorship: Each HIMIG resident is paired with an academic hospitalist whose career aligns with their specific interests. This 1:1 mentorship fosters personalized guidance, skill development and networking. Residents receive continuous feedback and guidance to ensure alignment with their evolving goals to develop individual career roadmaps, enabling successful transitions into hospital medicine.
Conclusions: Creation of a HIMIG addresses a critical gap in the career development of internal medicine residents by providing a structured, resource-rich framework tailored to hospital medicine. Through mentorship and targeted skill-building opportunities, HIMIG empowers residents to explore diverse career pathways and prepare the next generation of hospitalists to meet the challenges and opportunities of the hospitalist career during residency.