NONPF 39th Annual Meeting
During the middle 1990's, the role of hospitalist became the known as the replacement for primary care providers following their patient's in the hospital. The hospitalist is best described as a healthcare provider who engages in the practice of internal medicine within the hospital setting, caring for those patients who are acutely ill and require hospital-based care. The purpose of the hospitalist is to provide comprehensive hospital management of acutely ill patients throughout their hospital trajectory from admission to discharge. This comprehensive management includes diagnosis and treatment of patient conditions, collaboration and communication with additional hospital personnel caring for the patient, safe transitioning of the patient within the hospital setting and utilization of hospital resources in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Initially, the role of the hospitalist was filled by the physician but over the past few years, this practice role has transitioned to the nurse practitioner. To provide proficient care to hospitalized patients, it is necessary for the nurse practitioner to understand effective management of the hospitalized patient throughout their hospital admission. Nurse practitioner programs offer limited educational content to prepare students for the management of the patients within the hospital system. In an effort to better prepare the nurse practitioner student interested in hospital medicine, a hospitalist-specific course has been developed as part of a structured curriculum which provides the didactic component of education related to the core competencies of hospitalist practice. Upon completion of the hospitalist course, the nurse practitioner student will have a better understanding of patient care related to hospital practice as well as have enhanced preparation for the hospitalist clinical experience. The hospitalist didactic course serves as the foundation of hospitalist education and prepares the student for additional hospitalist enrichment experiences with progression through the hospitalist sub-specialty curriculum.
