Background: The American opioid epidemic is a public health emergency, with over 100,000 opioid-related overdose deaths occurring in 2021 (1). Harm reduction treatment models, formulated with the goal of reducing the negative consequences of opioid use, have been implemented as an alternative approach in minimizing opioid overdose and mortality (2). With approximately 4-11% of hospitalized […]

Background: Hospitalists routinely precept third year medical students on general internal medicine wards. One of the key patient care tasks for students is to interpret and initiate management for common electrolyte abnormalities. Formal training to achieve this is lacking for students transitioning from preclinical to clinical years. We designed and implemented a module on interpreting […]

Background: Unlike other chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus and heart disease, substance use disorder (SUD) has only recently been recognized by the medical community recently as a medical condition, and stigmatizing beliefs have lingered. Formal teaching about SUD has been shown to foster a more positive attitude towards these patients among medical trainees. Attitudes […]

Background: 15% of hospitalized patients have a documented penicillin (PCN) allergy. However, fewer than 1% of those patients have a true IgE-mediated reaction that necessitates avoidance of beta-lactam antibiotics. Labeling a patient with a PCN allergy is associated with prescribing non beta-lactam (NBL) broad spectrum antibiotics and increased adverse outcomes. Patients with a documented PCN […]

Background: It has been well demonstrated that improving patient health literacy positively impacts patient adherence to their treatment plan as well as patient satisfaction. The time just before hospital discharge is particularly important because the provider can summarize the admission including what the possible etiologies were that prompted admission, in-hospital therapies utilized, and what the […]

Background: Clinical case vignettes (CCVs) help trainees develop academic writing and conference presentation skills while learning clinical reasoning and diagnostic approaches. For hospitalists, CCVs provide academic meeting involvement, scholarly activity, and mentor relationships. Both groups face submission barriers. Heavy clinical burdens may limit hospitalists writing time, whereas students lack case exposure, clinical knowledge and writing […]

Background: Advanced Practice Professionals, APPs (Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants) often practice in variable, undefined capacities in teaching hospitals. APP roles are parallel to teaching faculty led teams, and function to accommodate clinical overflow and adjust to attending specific workflows. This impacts role satisfaction, professional advancement, and creates retention challenges. APPs’ inability to fit in […]

Background: Admitted patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are often placed on sliding scale insulin with four fingerstick blood glucose (FSBG) tests per day, regardless of home insulin use or baseline glycemic control. FSBG testing in the inpatient setting allows for real-time insulin adjustment to protect patients from significant hypo- or hyperglycemia, but FSBG […]