Growing up in Annapolis, MD, Dr. Eric Howell was fascinated by solving puzzles and finding out how things worked. He often took things apart so he could try to put them back together – from hair dryers to the transmission in his father's car.SHM CEO Dr. Larry Wellikson talks with Dr. Howell about the various career choices he considered – from commercial pilot to electrical engineer – and ultimately what led him to becoming the Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, MD.Hired as the fourth hospitalist at Johns Hopkins Bayview, he has helped the program to grow to 190 hospitalists across three hospitals. An active member and past president of SHM, Dr. Howell is the Senior Physician Advisor to SHM's Center for Hospital Innovation and Improvement.