The Society of Hospital Medicine Launches Annual Conference Entirely Online: Hospital Medicine 2020 (HM20) Virtual

HM20 Virtual to Feature Entirely Digital Schedule with New Interactive Learning Experiences

For the first time in its history, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) will host its Annual Conference, Hospital Medicine 2020 (HM20), virtually. Known for its cutting-edge education and networking opportunities, SHM will bring the excitement of San Diego, where Hospital Medicine 2020 was intended to take place, to attendees’ homes and offices.

"This year’s conference is something new. To meet the ever-changing challenges that 2020 has brought on, HM20 Virtual has addressed one of the limitations of an online conference: personal interactions. With Simulive sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to chat with fellow participants and interact with the expert faculty in real time,” stated Eric E. Howell, MD, MHM, CEO of the Society of Hospital Medicine. “We also know that patients depend on hospital medicine professionals to have pertinent, updated and timely information for their acute care needs. HM20 Virtual will provide the information our attendees need to stay abreast this complex and evolving year.”

The HM20 Virtual schedule features several enhancements in response to past attendee feedback and current events, including new course offerings with additional networking opportunities and access to educational content on demand. SHM has also incorporated Simulive sessions, an opportunity for attendees to chat with fellow participants and interact with expert faculty of some of the HM20 Virtual sessions, Special Interest Forums (SIFs) and a virtual 5K.

In addition, the course content at HM20 Virtual spans a variety of pressing themes, including racial bias in medicine and COVID-19. Nathan Chomilo, MD, the Medicaid medical director for the state of Minnesota and assistant adjunct professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, will be leading a session entitled “Structural Racism and Bias in Hospital Medicine During Two Pandemics.”

“As hospitalists, COVID-19 has shown us first-hand how structural racism has led to conditions in which Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other historically under-resourced communities do not have the same opportunity as white communities in the United States,” stated Dr. Chomilo. “I hope attendees leave our session with a better historical understanding of how medicine has upheld structural racism and contributed to racist health disparities as well as have a few ways we as physicians can become more antiracist and drive our health care system to do the same.”

Popular tracks from previous years are returning to HM20 Virtual, including Rapid Fire, Clinical Updates and High-Value Care.

With more than 35 virtual educational sessions, 6 unique tracks and 45 speakers from across the country, HM20 Virtual is the ideal conference for hospital medicine professionals seeking one-of-a-kind opportunities to learn from renowned leaders in the industry and to digitally connect with like-minded professionals within this vibrant, expansive community.

“This pandemic has shaken up the status quo and laid bare a lot of our country’s long and deep-seated issues – from massive economic inequities to ongoing racial disparities to immigration concerns. It’s woken a lot of our valued hospitalists to the fact that the old ways of doing things just don’t work,” explained Benji Mathews, MD, Course Director of HM20 Virtual. “I want to encourage all of us to use the immense network of our hospitalist communities to comfort each other, learn, grow and engage.”

For more information about HM20 Virtual and how you can register, please visit the official HM20 Virtual website. If you are interested in obtaining a press pass for HM20 Virtual, please email media@hospitalmedicine.org

If participants are unable to participate in the simulive sessions, attendees will also be able to access the recordings and the available PDFs once all sessions are available as on-demand content through the SHM Learning Portal on August 31, 2020.