Background: Assessing vitals at regular intervals can be disruptive to a patient’s rest and unnecessary if the patient is clinically stable. These interruptions may lead to impaired sleep, parental fatigue and anxiety, delayed discharge, and increased cost of care. Moreover, alarm fatigue has been described with over-monitoring of patients, as has the overuse of staff […]

Background: Assessing vitals at regular intervals can be disruptive to a patient’s rest and unnecessary if the patient is clinically stable. These interruptions may lead to impaired sleep, parental fatigue and anxiety, delayed discharge, and increased cost of care. Moreover, alarm fatigue has been described with over-monitoring of patients, as has the overuse of staff […]

Background: The Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) Core Competencies define the expertise required of practitioners in the field and provide a framework for graduate and continuing medical education activities. Since their initial publication in 2010, the scope of practice among pediatric hospitalists has matured. Pediatric hospitalists lead or participate in institutional and national efforts that emphasize […]

Background: The Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) Core Competencies define the expertise required of practitioners in the field and provide a framework for graduate and continuing medical education activities. Since their initial publication in 2010, the scope of practice among pediatric hospitalists has matured. Pediatric hospitalists lead or participate in institutional and national efforts that emphasize […]

Background: Hospitalized patients are consented for procedures on a daily basis, and obtaining informed consent is a core competency in professionalism and medical ethics for hospitalists.  This provides an opportunity for academic hospitalists to evaluate this skill.  AAMC released Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (CEPAER) as a reference for graduating medical students, and […]

Background: The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) population is at higher risk of receiving poorer care and worse health outcomes compared to their English-speaking counterparts. Interpreters should be utilized to help improve these encounters, but physicians are rarely trained on how to work with interpreters effectively. This is reflected in a prior study showing that residents […]

Case Presentation: A 77‐year‐old white man presented to our institution after he was diagnosed with a large right‐sided pleural effusion. His medical history included hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and urethral stricture. He was initially evaluated by his primary care physician (PCP) for a reported history of rectal stenosis. However, he became cyanotic and hypoxic […]

Background: Pediatric venous thromboembolism (VTE), although less common than in adults, is increasingly recognized as a significant and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. There are no universal pediatric VTE guidelines, although the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) limits prophylaxis recommendations to a limited set of risk factors. Multiple centers have published institutional guidelines […]

Background: Each year, 14 million Americans are diagnosed with HPV and 33,700 Americans are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV. The HPV vaccination can prevent 92% of these cancers. In 2018 only 42.74% of adolescents in Wisconsin ages 13-18 had completed the HPV series and only 56.47% had received the first dose. Hospitalization represents […]

Case Presentation: A 65‐year‐old woman presented with acute right flank pain. A CT scan of her abdomen revealed a 4.7‐cm right renal infarction. The patient was hospitalized for 5 days during which her pain resolved. Her workup found no evidence of atrial fibrillation, intracardiac thrombus, or inheritable hypercoagulable state. The decision was made to empirically […]