The growth of hospitalist medicine has profoundly impacted the specialty of Internal Medicine, and the specialty of Family Medicine (though to a lesser extent). As of 2013, over 30% of all IM physicians, and over 7% of all FM physicians, were practicing as Hospitalists. 1
An increasing number of IM physicians practice as Hospitalists, and should continue to do so into the foreseeable future:
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Approximately 50% of medical students intending to specialize in IM planned to work as hospitalists, according to a 2015 AAMC Survey 1
While the training of hospitalists is predominantly Internal Medicine (IM), an increasing number of Family Medicine (FM) physicians are practicing as hospitalists:
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The percentage of Hospitalist Programs with at least one FM physician increased by over 42% from 2014 through 2016 2
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Over 84% of Hospitalist Programs had at least one FM physician in 2016 2
Finally, as the demand for hospitalists continues to outpace the supply, we anticipate a growing number of medical sub-specialists will gravitate into hospitalist roles.
Sources:
1 Association of American Medical Colleges Analysis in Brief Vol 16 Number 5
2 Society of Hospital Medicine 2016 Survey
