I work as a community hospitalist in a regional medical center. We attend deliveries, staff a Level II NICU, cover newborns and a small pediatric inpatient unit and consult in the ED and for the Family Medicine and surgical services. We have family medicine residents and medical students who rotate with us, so teaching is also an important component of my job. I love the variety of the work and how I need to keep a breadth of pediatric skills sharp; in any given day I can go from helping to stabilize a critically ill child for transport in the ED, to admitting a school-aged kid with an asthma exacerbation, to resuscitating a newborn in the delivery room.

For the past 8 years I have been active with the AAP SOHM Subcommittee on Community Hospitalists, including in my current role as co-chair. The majority of children seeking hospital care do so at their local hospital, and in many parts of the country there is not easy access to a tertiary center. It is therefore critical to advocate for and support pediatric hospitalists working in community settings, so that we can best provide quality care to kids close to home.

I have had several sponsors and mentors who have helped shaped my career and presented me with opportunities I otherwise would not have never sought on my own. Brian Alverson is an important early sponsor, who encouraged my involvement with the SOHM as a resident and brand-new attending, and who recommended me for several projects and committees I felt far form qualified for, but which ultimately helped me grow my knowledge and confidence in the field. Now that I am (slightly) more established in my career, I hope to be able to do the same for others. Knowing that someone believes in you enough to stick out their neck and recommend you goes a long way to support both personal and professional development.

A nice dark roast coffee or espresso, in pretty much any form.