# COVID-19 and Its Potential Impact on Achieving Pediatric Hospital Medicine Board Certification for Established Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds) Hospitalists

## TL;DR

The pandemic disrupted some Med-Peds hospitalists' ability to meet requirements for pediatric hospital medicine board certification.

## Contribution

Examines how the pandemic impacted Med-Peds hospitalists' eligibility for PHM board certification.

## Key findings

- Many Med-Peds hospitalists shifted to adult care during the pandemic.
- This shift may affect their eligibility for the 2024 PHM subspecialty exam.
- The editorial highlights the evolving role of Med-Peds hospitalists in PHM.

## Abstract

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise in adult hospitalized patients, many internal medicine and pediatrics (Med-Peds) hospitalists volunteered or were required by their hospital employers to transition their practice to caring for hospitalized adult patients only. Some Med-Peds hospitalists had a disruption in their practice that may affect their board eligibility for the pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) subspecialty exam in 2024. In this editorial, we review the rise of Med-Peds hospitalist careers, the evolution of PHM becoming a subspecialty, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on some Med-Peds hospitalists in their quest to become board certified in PHM via the practice pathway.