Also called: Academic Hospitalist, Associate Chief, Section of Hospital Medicine, Chief of Hospital Medicine, Chief of Internal Medicine, Hospital Medicine Director
Hospitalists provide inpatient care predominantly in settings such as medical wards, acute care units, intensive care units, rehabilitation centers, or emergency rooms. Manage and coordinate patient care throughout treatment.
Diagnose, treat, or provide continuous care to hospital inpatients.
Prescribe medications or treatment regimens to hospital inpatients.
Admit patients for hospital stays.
Order or interpret the results of tests such as laboratory tests and radiographs (x-rays).
Conduct discharge planning and discharge patients.
Refer patients to medical specialists, social services, or other professionals as appropriate.
Write patient discharge summaries and send them to primary care physicians.
Attend inpatient consultations in areas of specialty.
Communicate with patients' primary care physicians upon admission, when treatment plans change, or at discharge to maintain continuity and quality of care.
Participate in continuing education activities to maintain or enhance knowledge and skills.
Direct the operations of short stay or specialty units.
Direct, coordinate, or supervise the patient care activities of nursing or support staff.
Train or supervise medical students, residents, or other health professionals.
Structured versus Unstructured Work — 63% responded "A lot of freedom".
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 64% responded "Extremely important".
Deal With External Customers — 60% responded "Extremely important".
Time Pressure — 75% responded "Every day".
Letters and Memos — 56% responded "Every day".
Coordinate or Lead Others — 44% responded "Extremely important".
Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People — 48% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 40% responded "Every day".
Frequency of Conflict Situations — 50% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
Level of Competition — 38% responded "Highly competitive".
Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — 40% responded "Moderate responsibility".
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 32% responded "Every day".
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 32% responded "Moderate responsibility".
Spend Time Sitting — 44% responded "About half the time".
Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Chemistry
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Category Flexibility
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Flexibility of Closure
The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Speed of Closure
The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Fluency of Ideas
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Perceptual Speed
The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Memorization
The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Number Facility
The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Time Sharing
The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Mathematical Reasoning
The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Originality
The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
