Pediatric Hospital Medicine: A Proposed New Subspecialty

Over the past 20 years, hospitalists have emerged as a distinct group of pediatric practitioners. In August of 2014, the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) received a petition to consider recommending that pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) be recognized as a distinct new subspecialty. PHM as a formal subspecialty raises important considerations related to: (1) quality, cost, and access to pediatric health care; (2) current pediatric residency training; (3) the evolving body of knowledge in pediatrics; and (4) the impact on both primary care generalists and existing subspecialists. After a comprehensive and iterative review process, the ABP recommended that the American Board of Medical Specialties approve PHM as a new subspecialty. This article describes the broad array of challenges and certain unique opportunities that were considered by the ABP in supporting PHM as a new pediatric subspecialty.