Oregon Health & Science University NW Regional Hospital Medicine Conference 2024

Advanced Practical Inpatient Medicine Updates for Hospitalists & Internal Medicine Clinicians

Modern hospital medicine has evolved into one of the most demanding areas in clinical practice. Hospitalists and inpatient providers are now expected to manage increasingly complex patients with multiple comorbidities, escalating acuity, diagnostic uncertainty, and rapidly shifting evidence-based guidelines—all while balancing efficiency, patient safety, discharge planning, and healthcare resource utilization.

The Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) NW Regional Hospital Medicine Conference 2024 delivers a highly practical and clinically focused review of modern inpatient medicine, emphasizing bedside decision-making, evidence-based management strategies, and real-world hospital workflows for clinicians caring for hospitalized adults. Organized in collaboration with the Oregon Chapter of the Society of Hospital Medicine, the 19th Annual Northwest Regional Hospital Medicine Conference brought together multidisciplinary experts to address some of the most common—and most operationally difficult—problems encountered in daily inpatient practice.

Rather than focusing heavily on theoretical disease review alone, the conference adopts a pragmatic “Do This, Don’t Do That” educational structure centered around actionable clinical management. This practical orientation is particularly valuable in hospital medicine, where clinicians frequently make high-stakes decisions under significant time pressure with incomplete information.

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Course Details

• 17 Video Lectures
• 17 Audio Recordings
• 17 Subtitle Files (.vtt)
• Total Size: 6.19 GB
• Conference Dates: September 19–20, 2024
• Location: Hood River, Oregon

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The Growing Complexity of Modern Hospital Medicine

Hospital medicine continues changing rapidly as inpatient clinicians manage:

• Older and medically fragile patients
• Polypharmacy and medication interactions
• Escalating ICU-level complexity on general wards
• Rising rates of substance use disorders
• Shortened hospital lengths of stay
• Frequent care transitions
• Increasing documentation and throughput demands

In practice, one of the greatest challenges in hospital medicine is not simply recognizing disease—it is prioritizing what matters most at a given moment.

The conference repeatedly emphasizes that effective inpatient care depends on:

• Clinical efficiency
• Risk stratification
• Avoiding low-value interventions
• Recognizing early deterioration
• Judicious testing
• Safe escalation of care

This clinically grounded philosophy gives the program strong real-world applicability for hospitalists actively managing complex inpatient services.

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“Do This, Don’t Do That” — A Practical Clinical Framework

One of the defining educational strengths of the conference is its focus on avoiding common inpatient management errors.

Many sessions directly address:

• Reflexive overtesting
• Low-value care patterns
• Inappropriate escalation
• Inefficient workflows
• Harmful overtreatment
• Missed opportunities for early intervention

Hospital medicine often involves managing uncertainty rather than absolute diagnostic clarity. The course appropriately acknowledges that many clinical decisions occur before perfect data are available.

Importantly, the faculty repeatedly reinforce that restraint can be as clinically important as intervention.

This balanced approach mirrors the realities of bedside inpatient medicine more accurately than rigid protocol-based teaching alone.

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Sepsis Management & Inpatient Critical Care Updates

Sepsis remains one of the most common causes of inpatient deterioration and mortality.

The sepsis-focused lectures review:

• Early sepsis recognition
• Fluid resuscitation strategies
• Vasopressor timing
• Antibiotic stewardship
• Hemodynamic reassessment
• Escalation decision-making
• Inpatient workflow optimization

The conference moves beyond simplistic “one-size-fits-all” sepsis algorithms and instead explores individualized bedside management strategies.

Many hospitalists struggle with balancing:

• Aggressive intervention
• Volume overload risk
• Diagnostic uncertainty
• ICU resource utilization

The discussions appropriately frame sepsis care as a dynamic process requiring continual reassessment rather than static protocol adherence alone.

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Acute Respiratory Failure for the Hospitalist

The respiratory failure sessions examine practical ward-based management of critically ill patients before ICU transfer becomes necessary.

Topics include:

• Oxygenation strategies
• Non-invasive ventilation
• Escalation thresholds
• Intubation decision-making
• Stabilization outside the ICU
• Monitoring high-risk respiratory patients

One recurring challenge in hospital medicine involves identifying which patients:

• Can safely remain on the floor
• Require immediate escalation
• Are at risk for rapid decompensation

The course appropriately focuses on early recognition and operational decision-making rather than purely theoretical respiratory physiology.

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Chest Pain, ACS & Heart Failure Management

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most common reasons for hospitalization.

The cardiology sessions review:

• Acute coronary syndrome updates
• Risk stratification strategies
• HFrEF inpatient optimization
• Volume assessment
• Guideline-directed medical therapy
• Transitional discharge planning

The heart failure discussions are particularly practical because inpatient clinicians increasingly must balance:

• Renal dysfunction
• Diuresis
• Hemodynamics
• Medication optimization
• Readmission prevention
• Functional recovery

within very limited hospitalization windows.

The conference emphasizes a broader systems-based approach to heart failure care rather than focusing solely on acute volume management.

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Hyponatremia & Electrolyte Management

Electrolyte disorders remain among the most common—and most misunderstood—problems in inpatient medicine.

The hyponatremia lectures simplify complex concepts involving:

• SIADH
• Hypovolemic hyponatremia
• Hypervolemic states
• Medication-induced abnormalities
• Safe sodium correction
• Diagnostic algorithms

Many clinicians struggle not with identifying low sodium itself, but with determining:

• The underlying mechanism
• Appropriate fluid strategy
• When correction becomes dangerous

The course provides clinically usable bedside frameworks rather than abstract memorization-heavy teaching.

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GI Emergencies, Cirrhosis & Severe Pancreatitis

The gastroenterology-focused sessions review:

• Severe pancreatitis management
• Updated fluid strategies
• Nutrition timing
• Cirrhosis complications
• Hepatic encephalopathy
• SBP management
• Variceal bleeding considerations

One particularly important theme is the avoidance of outdated management habits that persist despite newer evidence.

The faculty repeatedly emphasize evidence-based refinement of inpatient GI care workflows.

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Addiction Medicine & Complex Pain Management

Hospital medicine increasingly overlaps with addiction medicine.

The course addresses:

• Chronic opioid management
• Suboxone treatment considerations
• Acute pain in opioid-tolerant patients
• Substance use disorder hospitalization strategies
• Safer prescribing practices

Many hospitalists now routinely manage medically complex patients with:

• Opioid dependence
• Polysubstance use
• Chronic pain syndromes
• Psychiatric comorbidity

The discussions appropriately balance compassionate care with patient safety and evidence-based prescribing principles.

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Antibiotic Stewardship & Penicillin Allergy Delabeling

The infectious disease sections review:

• Antibiotic selection strategies
• Penicillin allergy reassessment
• Stewardship principles
• Reducing inappropriate antimicrobial use

Inaccurate historical allergy labels remain a major contributor to:

• Broader-spectrum antibiotic use
• Resistance patterns
• Increased healthcare costs
• Inferior antimicrobial selection

The conference highlights how thoughtful inpatient reassessment may substantially improve both safety and antibiotic effectiveness.

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Stroke Care & Neurologic Emergencies

The neurology sessions review:

• Acute stroke recognition
• Escalation workflows
• Time-sensitive intervention pathways
• Hospital-based neurologic stabilization

As modern stroke therapy becomes increasingly time-dependent, hospitalists play a central role in rapid triage and coordination of care.

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Oncology Emergencies & Hematologic Complications

The hematology and oncology discussions focus on:

• Heme malignancy emergencies
• Inpatient oncologic complications
• Risk stratification
• Palliative versus aggressive intervention decisions

These sessions are particularly valuable because inpatient clinicians frequently stabilize critically ill oncology patients before subspecialty evaluation becomes available.

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Practical Clinical Education Over Memorization

A major strength of the conference is its focus on bedside practicality rather than information overload.

The educational format combines:

• Evidence-based lectures
• Case-based clinical reasoning
• Workflow optimization
• Literature updates
• Real-world inpatient scenarios
• Multidisciplinary perspectives

The result is an educational experience that feels directly applicable to day-to-day hospital medicine practice.

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What’s Included

• 17 inpatient medicine video lectures
• 17 downloadable audio recordings
• 17 subtitle files (.vtt)
• Total size: 6.19 GB
• Sepsis, cardiology, GI, neurology, ICU, and addiction medicine updates
• Practical hospital medicine workflows
• Evidence-based inpatient management strategies

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Why This Hospital Medicine Course Matters

Modern hospital medicine requires clinicians to integrate acute care management, systems thinking, diagnostic reasoning, communication, and resource stewardship simultaneously. As inpatient medicine becomes increasingly complex, practical education focused on real-world bedside application becomes far more valuable than purely theoretical review alone.

The OHSU NW Regional Hospital Medicine Conference 2024 delivers exactly that type of clinically grounded education. Through focused discussions, practical inpatient algorithms, and nuanced bedside reasoning, the program provides hospitalists and inpatient clinicians with actionable strategies directly relevant to contemporary hospital practice.