Training Time
Vascular access to a chicken, coding guidelines for NPs and PAs, and a new course to earn points toward the American Board of Internal Medicine’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program were among the highlights as SHM kicked off its annual meeting today in Chicago.
The first of four days at HM09 started with a slate of seven pre-courses to help hospitalists earn CME credit and provide participants a chance to learn about the latest HM trends. CME sessions included best practices for HM group management, critical-care medicine, approaches to clinical teaching, and the ever-popular didactic forum with hands-on procedures training.
“It’s intimidating when you feel like you’ve gotten behind the curve,” says Mark Ault, MD, director of the division of general internal medicine and assistant chairman for clinical affairs of the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “It’s energizing to be brought back up” to speed.
An instructor, Dr. Ault was showcasing ultrasound technology in the crowded procedures session where physicians at his station practiced central-line placement on chickens. Attendance at each of the seven pre-courses was high. In fact, the room hosting the critical care program had half a dozen physicians sitting on the floor.
One of the more popular sessions was the certification pre-course, which featured automated keypads and a daylong sampling of board-like questions. Physicians’ answers to the questions—right and wrong—were displayed and discussed between participants and instructors.