Book excerpt: Drs. Robert Wachter and Lee Goldman coined the term hospitalist in their New England Journal of Medicine article in 1996. Hospital Medicine is now the fastest growing medical specialty in the United States, due in part to the evolution of inpatient care. In this issue, the Guest Editor, Dr. Nancy Spector, and Consulting Editor Dr. Bonita Stanton, have assembled expert authors to examine the changing nature of inpatient care, including the major movements and trends that have influenced hospital-based practice, patient centered care, and education in this clinical learning environment. Articles are focused on the following: Quality of Care and Quality Improvement; Evidence-based Medicine; Patient Outcomes and Metrics; Inter-professional Teams; Handoffs; Patient Centeredness; Communication with Patients; Health Literacy; Bedside Rounds; Education in the Inpatient; Clinical Learning Environment and Workplace-based Assessment; Simulation in Medical Education; Feedback; Bedside Teaching and Learning; and Hospital Medicine: State of the Specialty, Looking Forward. The intended audience for this issue are frontline providers that provide care in community hospitals and faculty in academic medical centers. Pediatricians will come away with the information they need to improve patient outcomes with evidentiary support.