Background: Currently, the chest x-ray (CXR) is the first line imaging test for identifying pneumonia and chest CT (CT) is considered the reference standard; however, prior studies have not specifically addressed intermediate results and therefore, the true value of a CXR is not known. The purpose of this study was to calculate the statistical measures [...]

Background: Infectious disease-related factors that may contribute to or complicate falls have received relatively little attention in the literature. Specifically, the prevalence of coexisting systemic infections (CSIs) in patients presenting with a fall and admitted to the hospital has not been previously reported. We, herein, describe the scope and characteristics of CSIs in hospitalized patients [...]

Background: Despite rapidly growing interest in hospital medicine (HM), no prior research has examined the attributes that may be most beneficial to applicants during the HM application, interview and hiring process. We aimed to define the specific qualities that HM interviewers seek in candidates, and to assess interviewer perceptions about important applicant behaviors, attributes and [...]

Background: The field of hospital medicine has grown rapidly since its inception over 20 years ago. In addition to providing vital clinical care, many hospitalists are also engaged in (or interested in pursuing) academic activities such as quality improvement (QI), medical education, clinical research, informatics and innovation, and global health. Mentorship from more senior academic [...]

Background: Hospital medicine groups are often quickly expanding, which causes strategic planning to focus primarily on clinical needs and staffing. It can be difficult to find opportunities for goal setting where consensus within the group can be achieved. This is made even more difficult by the typical hospitalist group providing 24/7/365 coverage, so at no [...]

Background: Black seniors have historically had higher readmission rates than white seniors, and hospitals that treat more black seniors have been disproportionately penalized the Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). Consequently, the policy could exacerbate racial disparities. We sought to determine whether, under the HRRP, trends in 30-day post-discharge mortality differed between black and white [...]

Background: Prevalence of burnout is significantly higher in physicians than general population. Burnout is expected to result in decreased personal well-being, however, relationship between physician burnout and well-being is unexplored. Therefore, our aim was to examine the relationship between burnout and well-being among medical staff physicians of an academic hospital. Methods: All medical staff physicians [...]

Background: Physician burnout has been suggested to be positively associated with the degree of spirituality and negatively associated with empathy; however, sparse data with mixed results are available. Therefore, our objective was to determine if physician burnout is related to spirituality and with empathy. Methods: We surveyed attending physicians, residents, and medical students using an [...]

Background: Treating alcohol withdrawal in the inpatient medical setting requires timely identification of the severity of alcohol withdrawal so appropriate treatment can be administered. Delayed or missed diagnosis can lead to increased morbidity and mortality, increased cost and length of stay, and ICU admissions. CIWA-Ar is the most commonly used scale, but it is lengthy [...]

Background: Women represent half of our new physicians being added to practice, however the growth of women in leadership positions has lagged. Women physicians have higher burnout scores and higher suicide rates than male physicians. Women physicians deliver high quality healthcare as evident in surgical, emergency medicine, and hospital based outcome studies. Studies suggest that [...]