Pathways: Academic Hospitalists: Patient Care and Teaching
Emily Horvath, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Teaching is really the core of patient care. As physicians, we are constantly teaching our patients about their health and diseases. As an academic hospitalist, we not only teach our patients, but we have the responsibility to teach our residents and students as well. The best way to learn something is to teach it. My patients and learners are the best sources of my own learning for this reason. As they reflect my teachings back to me, I can see my own weak points and try to continually improve my patient care.
The culture of the Department of Internal Medicine is an environment of respect, curiosity, and support.
I have always loved that as a medicine team, we are constantly learning from each other. The students learn from the residents. The residents learn from the attendings. The attendings learn from the subspecialists. But the attendings also learn just as much from the students and residents!
Medicine is such a broad field that it is absolutely limitless as far as knowledge goes. Every day, something challenges me in a new way, and I find this so exciting and extraordinary. As an attending, my role is to create an environment where learners are free and encouraged to think, challenge themselves and myself, and utilize their strengths to develop their own style of practicing medicine.
If I could go back to medical school and choose my career path over again, I would choose academic internal medicine every time. It is such a fun, fulfilling, and interesting field – I can truly say that there is never a dull day on our service.
Manajyoti Yadav, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
A teaching hospitalist’s work requires a thoughtful balance between delivering high quality patient care and actively engaging in the education of medical students and residents. These responsibilities are deeply interconnected, and some of the most meaningful teaching moments occur right at the bedside.
Those moments are incredibly rewarding and highlight the trust patients place in the teaching mission.
Teaching challenges me to continually refine my own clinical reasoning, communication, and bedside manner.
At the same time, serving as a role model for learners inspires me to uphold the highest standards in patient care. Ultimately, the dual role of physician and educator makes me a more thoughtful, attentive, and reflective clinician.
The teaching hospitalist team feels like a close-knit work family where everyone genuinely cares for one another. Faculty members set the tone by modeling collaboration, empathy, and respect, which residents then amplify to create an inclusive and encouraging environment for medical students.
One of the most valuable aspects of our teaching hospitalist program is the unique set of clinical learning opportunities it offers. Learners are exposed to a wide spectrum of medical conditions, including some of the most complex and challenging cases, referred to us from small regional hospitals from all over central Illinois. By managing patients with multifaceted medical needs in a supportive, team-based environment, students and residents gain the confidence and competence they need to care for future patients with skill and ease.
This article is part of the Summer 2025 issue of Pathways magazine.