Thank you, SHM Staff
As I sit here in the Grand Ballroom waiting for Bob Wachter to take the stage, I am again struck with the incredible enormity of the sheer amount of work involved in putting something like this together. All of us in SHM owe all those folks who “wake up each morning wondering how they can make Larry [Wellikson] look good today” a huge ‘Thank You’. I joined the NAIP as a resident in either it’s first or second year, and I’ve been privileged to be at a number of these Annual Conferences now. Every one has been better than the one before. If there were growing pains in adjusting for the near-exponential rise in attendance from year to year, they certainly have not shown. I’ve always felt the key to success was to surround yourself with the right people, then just get out of their way and let them do what they do best and by that measure, Larry surely has been a great success. I clearly make the right decision each year when I choose to come to SHM and skip both ACP and AAP in order to be able to afford to do so. The only other body that even comes close to doing this good a job is the AAHPM, which tends to be my other main yearly conference.
The sheer breadth and width of talent that SHM manages to attact – both in lecturers and attendees – is nothing short of impressive. This morning I was able to catch up on practice management (What Have You Done for me Lately) and medical management (Heme/Onc emergencies/urgencies and Updates in diagnosis and managment of CAD), and soon I’ll hear from Bob Wachter on managing accountability in a no-blame environment. It looks like a lot of folks have aready left – a shame, that.
Anyway, this will likely be my last blog post from HM09. I want to thank the SHM/The Hospitalist staff for allowing me this voice and a chance to participate as more than just a face in the crowd.
Safe travels, everyone. See you next year at HM10 in DC (closer to my little corner of the nation).
And I still have trouble believing that Larry can’t remember all 10,000 of our names.
