To my fellow hospitalists: It’s the time we look forward to all year long—our annual reunion at SHM Converge! We are eager to welcome you to Nashville later this month. Each year, SHM Converge serves as a cornerstone for advancing our field, bringing together clinicians, educators, researchers, and leaders to exchange ideas, share breakthroughs, and strengthen the practice of hospital medicine.
A Thoughtfully Redesigned Conference Experience
Our Annual Conference Committee has worked diligently to create a dynamic, comprehensive program for 2026. This year’s schedule includes clinical updates, evidence-based practice discussions, workshops, and keynote presentations. Each session is designed to deliver timely, high-value education to support your work and professional growth while giving you a chance to connect with peers and leaders from across the country. No matter your role or level of experience, you will find meaningful and applicable content to bring back to your institution.
Over the years, many of you have shared that difficult choices between concurrent sessions sometimes limit your ability to attend everything that interests you. We heard you. For 2026, we are pleased to introduce a redesigned schedule with more content types offered each day and tracks more evenly distributed throughout the conference. This approach reduces topic fatigue and allows you to move more freely between sessions without feeling conflicted.
New Tracks: AI & Technology and POCUS
Artificial intelligence (AI) and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) are at the forefront of many conversations in hospital medicine, and they play a key role in our conference schedule.
In our expanded AI & Technology track, you will hear from leaders in hospital medicine discussing novel AI techniques and extensions of informatics competencies that many hospitalists already own as part of their roles. You can explore how AI can help you in your daily practice, even in patient-facing areas that expand beyond diagnostics.
You may have seen Dr. Will Small on SHM’s AI-related webinar in January, and he will be presenting two sessions in the AI track alongside respected colleagues: Review of Large Language Model (LLM) Summarization Tools for Clinical Care and Operations, and Byte-Sized Breakthroughs: Updates and Insights from Generative AI on the Wards. You will also find AI-related content woven throughout other tracks because of how commonplace it is becoming across hospitalist practice.
Our new POCUS track features sessions like The Ultrasound-Assisted Physical Exam, about an important subset of POCUS use in hospitalized patients, and To Stick or Not to Stick: A Guide to Ultrasound Guided Procedural Safety, where you can engage with real cases to identify complex findings on ultrasound and recognize how these findings affect the approach to bedside procedures.
Hot Topics: Things We Do for No Reason™ and Clinical Updates
It wouldn’t be SHM Converge without the return of attendee favorite sessions, including Best of Things We Do for No Reason™ with Drs. Tony Breu and Lenny Feldman. I’m also looking forward to hosting the Updates in Clinical Guidelines session on the second day of the main conference as a primer for the always-popular Update in Hospital Medicine later in the afternoon.
SHM Converge is your home for clinical updates, with a dedicated track led by experts across key areas of practice. Sessions include Updates in Heart Failure with Dr. Dustin Smith, Updates in Pneumonia with Drs. Claire Ciarkowski and Valerie Vaughn, and Update in Anticoagulation with Dr. Scott Kaatz—and that’s just the beginning!
Featured Speakers: Dr. Robert Wachter and Rachel Tenenbaum
We are honored to welcome Dr. Robert Wachter, often called the Father of Hospital Medicine, who coined the term “hospitalist” in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article with Dr. Lee Goldman, back to the Main Stage on the first day of SHM Converge. During his keynote, A Giant Leap: Lessons from the Early Days of Generative AI-Meets-Healthcare, he will explore how healthcare is shifting from its initial, electronic health record era of digitization toward an AI-driven future that could fundamentally reshape medical practice.
NeuroTransformational coach and founder of The Reset Room, Rachel Tenenbaum, will deliver our closing keynote on the final day of the conference, When Your Team Is Running on Empty: Practical, Science-Based Strategies for the 7-on Reality. She will guide attendees through practical, science-backed strategies that strengthen clarity, connection, and resilience in the moments that matter most.
Connect With Your Community
Reconnecting with colleagues and friends is one of the most meaningful aspects of SHM Converge, and we are continuing to expand ways for you to spend time with your fellow hospitalists. From Chapter MeetUps and Special Interest Forums to the Scientific Abstract Competition Reception and the SHM Fellows Lounge, we have created countless opportunities for connection.
We are also proud to offer a Give Back Activity in Nashville. During breakfast on the first and second days, you can join the Strings for Hope Unwind Experience, a hands-on opportunity to sort and prepare recycled guitar strings. These strings are transformed into sustainable jewelry by survivors of substance use disorder, interpersonal violence, and human trafficking.
Join Us Early for Advanced Learning Courses
Looking to jumpstart your experience? Join us for a full day of advanced learning courses before the main conference begins. Whether it is Evolving Medicine—Getting Up to Speed with Cutting-Edge Care, or Leadership Essentials for Emerging Leaders in Hospital Medicine, we have something to prime you for our main conference experience.
New this year, in addition to our Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Fundamentals for Hospitalists advanced learning course, we are thrilled to introduce Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Beyond the Basics to immerse attendees in next-level ultrasound diagnostic skills. You can register for this course alone or combine it with the morning fundamentals session to further enhance your ultrasound learning experience.
Let’s Make This the Best Converge Yet!
As course director, I am continuously inspired by the enthusiasm and commitment of our hospital medicine community. SHM Converge is not just a conference; it is a shared space for learning, reflection, innovation, and connection. Whether you are attending for the first time or are a long-time attendee, I invite you to immerse yourself fully: ask questions, engage with faculty, collaborate with peers, and explore new ways to elevate our patient care.
Thank you for choosing to spend time with us in Nashville. I look forward to an outstanding conference and to the conversations, insights, and relationships that will shape the future of our specialty and healthcare as a whole.
If you haven’t registered, visit SHM Converge to secure your spot!
See you in Nashville!
Dr. Burger
Dr. Burger is a hospitalist and senior associate program director for the internal medicine residency at Mount Sinai Morningside/West and professor of medicine and medical education at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, both in New York.