What holiday falls on the first Thursday in March? It’s National Hospitalist Day, which is celebrated on that day, of course. This holiday celebrates the contributions of the tens of thousands of hospitalists who help make hospital medicine one of the fastest-growing specialties in modern medicine.

Hospitalists include doctors, nurse practitioners, practice administrators, and physician assistants who help manage patient care on a regular basis. Hospital medicine professionals are quickly becoming a movement, so maybe it’s time for all of us to take a few moments and recognize the professionals who help make medical care much easier for millions of people.

The History of National Hospitalist Day

The Society of Hospital Medicine, otherwise known as SHM, created this holiday in 2019. It was created to recognize the contributions of hospitalists around the U.S. SHM is a nonprofit medical society whose mission is to promote quality healthcare for hospitalized patients through advocacy, research, education, and quality-of-care improvement initiatives.

Interesting Facts About Hospitalists

Let’s review some interesting facts about hospitalists that we’ve uncovered and see what we can learn from them. Sound good? Good, then let’s get started with the following facts.

• The term “hospitalist” was first used in an article in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1996.
• As of 2021, more than 60,000 physicians practice hospital medicine.
• Every hospital in the United States has a hospitalist program.
• Between 2018 and 2019, there was a 21% increase in the number of searches for hospitalists on the internet.
• Approximately 55% of hospitalists are between the ages of 35 and 49.

Observing National Hospitalist Day

For people who work in a hospital, the best way to observe National Hospitalist Day is by giving their coworkers the recognition they deserve. It’s also a good day for people around the world who have hospitalists as friends or family members to give them the thanks they deserve. To spread goodwill on the internet, people can also use the hashtag #NationalHospitalistDay on their social media accounts.