During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitalists were inundated on the front lines, placing patients’ and communities’ needs above their own. As the pandemic evolved, hospitalists realized the need for connection and collaboration with their peers in their local communities, and they turned to SHM chapters to provide them with a space to share their frustrations, successes, and exhaustion. Local chapters have allowed hospitalists to form bonds that have become stronger than ever over the past few years as the landscape of the pandemic—and of health care as a whole—continues to evolve.
To encourage even more hospitalists to experience the benefits of local chapters and SHM on the national level, SHM held a Chapter Recruitment Competition in the fall of 2022, offering a 25% discount to first-time members. The Atlanta Chapter, which has been actively growing over the past several years, brought home the top prize.
SHM’s Atlanta chapter has been among SHM’s most vibrant chapters. Despite having to overcome significant challenges during the early days of the pandemic, including a drop in active membership, the Atlanta chapter currently boasts an all-time high number of members, with 555 hospital medicine professionals in the chapter’s network following the competition.
“In order to maximize the impact of our SHM Atlanta chapter, we wanted to focus on membership growth during 2022, and I think the SHM campaign was a great incentive for our non-members,” said Ingrid Pinzon, MD, FACP, CHCQM-PHYADV, FHM, president of the SHM Atlanta chapter and assistant professor of hospital medicine at Emory Johns Creek Hospital in Johns Creek, Ga. “New members always bring fresh ideas, great energy, and more opportunities to meet.”
To help with their recruitment efforts, Atlanta chapter members developed a personalized flyer (shown above) they distributed to local hospitals, and they hosted an in-person session on perioperative medicine, and a webinar, “Estate Planning 101: Protecting Your Assets and Family,” in collaboration with the Southwest Georgia Chapter. Additionally, in December, the chapter held an in-person networking and trivia event to connect with the local hospital medicine community.
The chapter has been actively engaging with and recruiting members long before the competition period. Chapter leadership has personally reached out to meeting and event attendees, thanking thank them for participating and encouraging them to attend the next gathering. While at events, chapter members often conducted surveys to determine topics of high interest to SHM members.
What’s next? The sky is the limit, according to Dr. Pinzon.
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams, and my dream is for our Atlanta chapter to be one of the biggest in the USA.”