Get ready for SHM Converge 2025
A message from Course Director Gopi Astik, MD, MS, FACP, SFHM.
At this time of the year, my dedication to my New Year’s resolution is dwindling, and I find looking forward to something is what keeps me sane. SHM Converge 2025, SHM’s annual conference, taking place April 22-25 in Las Vegas, is definitely something to look forward to. If you are already registered or are considering joining us, let me share a few reasons why you should attend the largest event in hospital medicine.
My experience with SHM’s annual conference
I remember my first SHM annual conference in 2016 like it was yesterday. After working for a few years to cover for colleagues attending the conference, I finally had the opportunity to go. I took pictures of the large SHM sign and was so excited for the tote bag. What really struck me, though, was that I was surrounded by thousands of people from all over the country who did the same job. I had so many questions, but even as an extrovert, figuring out where to start was daunting. I looked at the schedule at least 10 times because I couldn’t decide which sessions to go to.
Despite my timidness, I still learned so much. The atmosphere lends itself to meeting new people who you sit near or who are part of your table during a workshop. I was surprised how easy it was especially if I teamed up with a colleague. We challenged each other to meet one or two people per day, but far exceeded that with little effort. These contacts have now become my network of external colleagues, mentors, and sponsors who I reach out to frequently.
Why should you attend SHM Converge?
Attending SHM Converge offers invaluable opportunities for networking, skill enhancement, and knowledge-sharing with your colleagues. It provides a unique platform to connect with peers, industry leaders, and potential collaborators, fostering professional relationships that can lead to future career advancements.
The Annual Conference Committee worked diligently to create a program of workshops, keynote speeches, and panel discussions, allowing attendees to stay updated on the latest topics, technologies, and best practices in hospital medicine. Furthermore, the dynamic environment encourages creative thinking and inspiration, enabling clinicians to return to their workplaces with fresh ideas and perspectives.
More clinical content this year — thanks to your feedback!
You know those evaluations you fill out at the end of the conference, and you wonder if anyone reads them? Well, we do. The first thing we do when we start planning the conference for the next year is review the comments in the evaluations. We solicit feedback from those at the conference too, so look for committee members with an Annual Conference Committee Member ribbon on their lanyards and share your feedback or ideas. The feedback we receive the most is for more clinical content. We’ve added more clinical sessions to cover the general updates in topics like pneumonia, GI, and hepatology, but also specific topics like heart failure management, cardiac biomarkers, and management of immunotherapy. As a geriatrician, I’m excited for the updates in delirium management.
This year, we look forward to welcoming keynote speaker Sandeep Jauhar, MD, PhD, a practicing cardiologist with a PhD in experimental physics. He is also an award-winning author and contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. His session, “Our Emotional Lives Are Written on Our Hearts: Health, Wellness, and Burnout in Clinical Practice Today,” will be another can’t-miss event on the schedule. We are also excited to welcome Dr. Vineet Arora for our closing keynote, “The Dean’s List: Lessons for Succeeding in Hospital Medicine” on the final day of the conference.
Something we celebrate about SHM Converge is that almost all sessions are based on proposals submitted by you. Each proposal is independently reviewed by, at least, three members of the Annual Conference Committee or other delegates from specific SHM committees. After independent review, the scores and reviews are adjudicated by the committee to ensure we have important topics covered along with new and timely topics.
We’re often looking for people to present clinical topics so if you have an interest, I suggest submitting a proposal for 2026. If you choose to submit a proposal, spend time putting it together. What can be accomplished in an hour? How is the session organized? Why is this topic important to all hospitalists? We also look for opportunities to feature junior faculty who have given the same talk at a local or regional conference — this is another tip for those hoping to speak at SHM in the future. We begin accepting applications next month.
Bring on the competition!
What’s a conference without some healthy competition? I’m always amazed by the content at the RIV competition and look forward to hearing about posters during the conference and at the finals. Look ahead at poster content and plan to attend specific posters just like you plan to attend other content. I also strongly recommend going to support your colleagues who are presenting. Standing there alone to present is awkward and vulnerable — everyone needs a hype squad!
The Second-Annual MED-TED Competition is another session I’m so excited about. This is an opportunity for junior faculty to present short chalk-talks to a panel of judges (and a big crowd) to receive feedback. It also might give you the chance to give an invited talk at SHM 2026! Last year’s winner, Dr. Tyler Larsen, will be giving the talk: “Teaching Snapshots: Leveraging Clinical Images to Improve Physical Diagnosis.”
Shark Tank is another fan favorite session where people present project ideas to a panel of esteemed judges. It’s a great way to hear about project ideas, and you can learn so much from the questions and feedback from judges. We hope you will attend some of these sessions!
What are you waiting for?
There’s so much more amazing content at the conference, including POCUS, leadership and QI, and many more! Plus, Las Vegas is always a good time with restaurants, shows, and great weather to enjoy in the evenings.
Visit the SHM Converge website to register. We hope to see you there!
Visit SHM Meeting News Central for more coverage.
