Drs. Jenifir J. Bruno and Suzanne L. Wilson, both hospitalist physicians at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, have earned the Fellow in Hospital Medicine (FHM) designation from the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).

"Until now, hospitalists have not had a way to distinguish themselves from their colleagues," said Dr. Larry Wellikson, CEO of SHM. "The FHM designation gives them a chance to set themselves apart and be recognized for all of their work that continues to make hospital medicine the fastest-growing medical specialty in history."

Hospitalists are hospital-based general physicians who assume the care of patients only while they are hospitalized. They do not have medical practices outside the hospital.

To be designated as a Fellow in Hospital Medicine, an applicant must be a hospitalist for five years, a member of SHM for three years, and demonstrate his/her dedication to quality and process improvement, commitment to organizational teamwork and leadership as well as lifelong learning and education.

About 500 hospitalists, including Bruno and Wilson, will be inducted in the inaugural class of SHM Fellows at Hospital Medicine 2009 in May in Chicago.

Bruno has been with Moore Regional's Hospitalist Medicine program for six years. She received her medical training at the Creighton University School of Medicine in Nebraska, and completed her internship and residency at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

As assistant medical director of the MRH Hospitalist Service, she both leads and participates in several committees that are working to improve quality throughout the FirstHealth of the Carolinas system.

A hospitalist with Moore Regional since July 2008, Wilson earned her medical degree from the Indiana School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency at the Indiana University Medical Center. Before joining the Moore Regional program, she was a hospitalist with Pinehurst Medical Clinic. Wilson participants in many hospital committees working toward process improvement in the FirstHealth system.

Both Bruno and Wilson are board certified in Internal Medicine.