Welcome to SHM Converge 2024!
A message from Kris Rehm, MD, SFHM, President of the Society of Hospital Medicine.
Welcome to SHM Converge 2024! The single largest gathering of hospitalists each year is here. For many of you, as it is for me, it is one of the best weekends of the year. Take advantage of the amazing content and opportunities to connect with friends and colleagues from across the globe as you stroll the halls of the San Diego Convention Center and along the shore of beautiful, sunny San Diego.
As you settle in, make sure to download the SHM Converge app, a resource that puts the conference at your fingertips. You can create a custom schedule, chat with your fellow attendees, check out FAQs, claim CME from the main conference, and more.
If you’re new to SHM or a first-time attendee, we hope you’ll stop by the First-Time Attendee & New Member Breakfast in Converge Central (Hall F), from 7 to 8 a.m. I look forward to seeing you later this morning at my President’s Address during the Opening Session, which begins at 8 a.m. on the Main Stage (Hall E). You will hear from me, our incoming president, Flora Kisuule, MD, MPH, SFHM, and SHM CEO, Eric Howell, MD, MHM, as we discuss our visions for the future of SHM and our specialty. We will also induct our newest class of Fellows and Senior Fellows and three outstanding Masters in Hospital Medicine.
This afternoon, at 1:30 p.m., we are honored to welcome acclaimed mindset expert, inspiring keynote speaker, and award-winning patient advocate Parul Somani as our keynote speaker on the Main Stage (Hall E). In her session, “The Kinetic Life: Your Power to M.O.V.E. Through Change With Intention,” Parul will guide us on an introspective and actionable journey that will inspire us to better navigate uncertainty and lead with intention in all areas of our lives.
Today and tomorrow, be sure to attend one of 32 Special Interest Forums, where you can connect with peers and thought leaders in a variety of hospital medicine domains. Chapters will be meeting up in the Chapter Corner in Converge Central, Hall F, throughout Days 1 and 2, so we invite you to take time to chat with others in your local hospital medicine community if you haven’t already. It will make it even easier to maintain this forward momentum we all feel on site after you return home.
Converge Central is back this year in Hall F and is the hub for the Chapter Corner, Social Circle, Fellows Lounge, and the ePoster Gallery—and some fun photo opportunities that are perfect for social media. (Don’t forget to use the #SHMConverge24 hashtag!) Tonight, at 6 p.m. in Converge Central, we hope you’re able to attend the Scientific Abstract Competition reception.
I’d like to thank our many partners who have traveled from near and far to join us in the Engagement Arena, Hall GH. We invite you to take the time to visit and chat with them during your breaks, including at 8:45 a.m., 11:50 a.m., and 4:10 p.m. Their support is essential to bringing SHM Converge to life each year. While you’re in the Engagement Arena, stop by the SHM Pavilion #624 to meet with SHM staff, learn about how you can make the most of your membership, and maybe even win a special prize. If you’re new to SHM and want to learn more or are considering joining, please say hello!
We wouldn’t be here in San Diego today without the amazing Annual Conference Committee and SHM staff, who have worked together to build this year’s program and make sure everyone feels at home in the San Diego Convention Center. Please join me in expressing sincere gratitude for their dedication and tireless efforts.
I look forward to seeing you throughout the next few days. Please feel free to stop me and say hello. For the Board of Directors, and for me as the outgoing president, it is also a time of transition, and I can think of no one more deserving—or more capable—to take over as president than Dr. Flora Kisuule! Please look for her as she walks the halls of the San Diego Convention Center because she wants to meet you and hear from you how we, the Board, can lead this fine organization for the 2024-2025 year and beyond.
Once again, I thank you for taking the time to learn and grow with us in San Diego. Now, get ready to enjoy your time here with a few thousand of your hospital medicine friends!
Visit SHM Meeting News Central for more coverage.