The Society of Hospital Medicine is now accepting applications for the Young Researchers Award. Applications are due April 14, and the awards will be presented at Hospital Medicine 2011, May 10-13, in Grapevine, Texas. Researchers interested in applying should visit here for details.

The Young Researchers Award provides $25,000 per year, for two years, to two hospitalist researchers. Applicants must demonstrate an innovative approach to research in hospital medicine and institutional support. Physician hospitalists and SHM members are eligible.

SHM's Young Researchers Award addresses a critical need in academic hospital medicine: the initial resources necessary to establish a successful track record in the field. Early in their career, many hospitalists interested in independent academic research lack the ability and guidance to dedicate professional time to non-clinical activity like research. Those initial barriers make it even more difficult for them to achieve the milestones of academic hospitalist research, such as applying for Health and Human Services "K" Awards, Veterans Affairs Career Development Awards or other career development awards.

"To make a lasting impact on the way we care for hospitalized patients, we need new knowledge and innovative approaches to patient care, which comes from research," said Scott Flanders, MD, SFHM, FACP, Director of Hospital Medicine at the University of Michigan and past president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. "SHM is committed to assisting hospitalist investigators who are at the forefront of patient care, designing research that is relevant and can make a powerful impact on patient care."

Last year's winners are using their awards to improve the body of academic research in hospital medicine. Kirsten Kangelaris, MD, a Fellow in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, won for her proposed research on the clinical and biologic genetic risk prediction algorithms that will improve the triage and early management strategies for hospitalized patients with acute inflammatory illness.

Evan Fieldston, MD, MBA, MSHP, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Attending Physician, Division of General Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, won for his proposed research on the impact of dynamic aspects of workload, workforce and quality of care at children's hospitals.

According to Fieldston, the award has given him "the ability to start important foundational work that I believe will be instrumental to my success in obtaining future career development funding and establishing a successful research career in hospital medicine."

"Hospitalists should apply for the Young Researchers Award as a way to advance investigative work of importance to patients, clinicians and society," he says. "Hospitalists are ideally suited to improve healthcare and healthcare delivery, and the award bolsters an individual's ability to do that work in a scholarly manner, while strengthening an application for further career development funding."

SHM's Young Researchers Award is one of many SHM programs designed to support the academic hospitalist community. SHM's annual conference, Hospital Medicine 2011, will feature a curriculum created specifically to advance the career paths of academic hospitalists and a poster competition highlighting the best in research, innovation and clinical vignettes. SHM will also co-host the Academic Hospitalist Academy on October 25-28 in Peachtree, Ga.

Source:
Society of Hospital Medicine