The Pros and Cons of becoming a Hospitalist

There are plenty of advantages in being a Hospitalist, both to the Hospitalist himself and the hospital for which he works - if he works in a hospital environment. And there we have the nub - a Hospitalist has a choice of working environments. A Hospitalist will have a board certified qualification as an internist, or an internal medicine physician. This means he has completed medical school, his residency training and his board certification examination. He is also called a 'Sub Specialist' and is in a position in which he can choose to do Hospitalist work, such as following a job path of an Intensive Care Doctor, practice as a Pulmonologist (Lung specialist) or decide to practice as a Nephrologists (Kidney Specialist), - and many more.

Having a Hospitalist job in the hospital is very beneficial to the hospital itself. Because he is there on site all day and every day, he has a lot of experience in dealing with patients who may have complicated diseases or be particularly difficult patients. Anytime the relatives and family need to speak with him, he is there for them. A doctor in private practice seeing a patient in the hospital would probably order tests and then only follow up he next day, the Hospitalist can follow up the same day and get new treatment into place immediately should it be necessary. There is no delay waiting for the 'treating' doctor to arrive.

Similarly, because the Hospitalist's office is 'the hospital', he is often completely au fait with the hospital procedures, activities and policies. Being a member of most of the hospital committees would be beneficial to him and he would have first hand knowledge of all that is going on in the hospital. Issues like patient safety, reducing medical mistakes and improving communication between doctors and staff will be issues with which he is familiar.

For the Hospitalist working in the hospital environment is great for him as he has all the benefits like medical insurance and paid vacation time unlike a general practitioner who has to worry about those things himself and how much money he will loose if he goes away as he then has to pay a Locum to come in for him! A Hospitalist also does not have to worry about paying a receptionist or a nurse as they fall under the hospital staff like he does. A doctor working on his own has those additional costs to consider.

The main point against a Hospitalist is that he is not a familiar doctor to the patients - he is not their family doctor and will not be familiar with their case history. Sometimes the primary doctor forgets these details at his practice, so the Hospitalist needs to start investigation from scratch again. The patient's family doctor and the Hospitalist will compare notes when the patient is admitted and when the patient goes home. This means that the Hospitalist never really has time to develop a relationship with his patients, so in a way, he is missing out on that familiar connection between doctor and patient.