Pediatric Hospitalist Medicine

Things have changed in healthcare over the last 20 years, with more hospitals using people with expertise in hospital medicine, known as hospitalists, to care for patients who are admitted for an inpatient stay.

In the mid-1990s, as pressures increased for general pediatricians to provide outpatient care to large populations, it became less efficient for them to simultaneously care for patients in the hospital. As a result, the field of hospital medicine emerged, with physicians dedicated to the complexity of inpatient care. Fellowship training soon followed to prepare doctors further for excellence in the inpatient ward environment.

Listen to a pediatric hospitalist discuss the field of hospitalist medicine

In today’s episode, we will talk with Mark Brittan, MD about the history of hospitalists, hospitalist training and the future direction of this field of medicine.

Dr. Brittan is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Pediatric Hospital Medicine section and the Fellowship Director for Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In this episode, our expert discusses:

• The history of hospitalist medicine and how it first emerged
• Factors that drove up the demand for hospitalists to care for patients
• How the field of hospitalist medicine has evolved over the last 20 years
• The benefits of extra years of fellowship training for pediatric hospitalist medicine
• Hospitalists’ influence in the growth of research and quality improvement
• Hospital training requirements for hospitalists
• Recommended approach for residents considering a career in pediatric hospital medicine
• The most effective strategies for communicating with primary care providers

Hospitalist medicine at Children’s Colorado

All the hospitalists at Children’s Hospital Colorado are members of the Section of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Each pediatric hospitalist has graduated from medical school and has three or more years of pediatric residency training. We also have a group of highly skilled pediatric nurse practitioners and physician assistants who work closely with our hospitalist physicians to provide excellent care to hospitalized patients.

Refer a patient to Children's Colorado.