With the total number of hospitalists in the U.S. nearing 28,000 and hospitalists now working in four out of every five large hospitals, the issues affecting hospitalists continue to expand and become more complex.

That’s the rationale behind expanding SHM’s national conference, “Hospital Medicine 2009,” to a four-day schedule. Previous SHM annual conferences were limited to three days; HM09 runs May 14-17 in Chicago.

“Hospitalists are continually looking for opportunities for professional development, and we’re expecting another record-breaking attendance,” says Todd Von Deak, SHM’s vice president for membership and marketing. “We’re thrilled that we can offer additional courses and still give attendees plenty of time for other sessions and networking with thousands of hospitalists and colleagues. Ultimately, the expansion makes it easier for hospitalists to bring best practices back to their hospitals and patients.”

HM09 will feature keynotes from a pair of leaders in healthcare quality:

• Mark R. Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH, president of The Joint Commission and an expert on improving the safety and quality of healthcare; and
• Robert M. Wachter, MD, professor and chief of the division of hospital medicine at the University of California San Francisco, a former SHM president, and author of the blog “Wachter’s World”.