Upon completion of a residency program, many physicians may pursue a fellowship program to develop expertise in a medical subspecialty of their choice. For those who are interested in areas such as vector-borne disease, microbial pathogenesis, global health, HIV, public health, transplant infectious diseases, or hospital epidemiology and want to become an infectious diseases doctor, the next step is to complete additional training in infectious diseases.
Why complete a fellowship in infectious diseases?
A fellowship in infectious diseases will expose the learner to a spectrum of diseases in both clinical and research settings. Fellows within the specialty can learn about clinical care and research in the areas of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases; innate immunity; microbial pathogenesis; HIV/AIDS; global health; antimicrobial stewardship and hospital epidemiology; transplant and immunocompromised infectious diseases; substance use disorders and infectious diseases; neuroinfectious diseases; and osteoarticular infections, and many others.
“If you are passionate about serving the underserved and working with marginalized populations, pursing a fellowship in infectious diseases is a way to do that,” said Jaimie Meyer, MD, MS, FACP, associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases), Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and associate program director of Research, Infectious Diseases.
How long is an infectious diseases fellowship?
Infectious Diseases fellowship range from two to four-year programs, depending on the institution. During the program, fellows will undergo in- and outpatient clinical training and rotations, research training, and educational scholarship. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has a set of standards by which programs accredited by the organization must abide. The ACGME Common Program Requirements can be found on their website.
Marwan Azar, MD, FAST, FIDSA, associate professor of medicine (infectious diseases) and laboratory medicine; and fellowship program director, Infectious Diseases, says, “Our program is extremely geared towards developing fellows in the research arena, be it in the clinician educator track, in which we recruit three fellows a year or in the investigator track where we recruit two fellows a year.”
“It is a nice combination of complexity and diversity happening in one of the largest health care systems in the country. As fellows we get great training alongside national and world experts in infectious diseases,” said Francisco Machiavello Roman, MD, fellow, Infectious Diseases.
What is the best infectious diseases fellowship program?
Determining the best program for an individual should be guided by one’s interests. Make sure the program is accredited by the ACGME. Programs who have earned ACGME accreditation have met the standards established by the organization.
A future fellow should weigh many aspects of a program to find the one that is best for their desired outcome. The infectious diseases training at YSM is broken into year segments, depending on the fellow’s interest. Track options include the clinician-educator track, investigator track, and the physician-scientist ABIM research pathway.
“Yale has 60 to 70 faculty members in ID with vast expertise, and a breadth of experience and perspective,” said Barbara Kazmierczak, MD, PhD, Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Research Foundation MD-PhD Program Director and professor of medicine (infectious diseases) and of microbial pathogenesis, and vice chair, Basic Research, Department of Internal Medicine.
Yale’s program is interested in nurturing fellows on whatever path they choose to pursue.
“There is room for everyone. Whether you are a benchside researcher, or a global health epidemiologist, there is room for you. If I could summarize it in three points, you will get great training. And there are amazing mentors. And this will happen in a very collegial environment, said Machiavello Roman.
Learn more about Yale’s fellowship in Infectious Diseases by watching the introductory video.
The Department of Internal Medicine’s Section of Infectious Diseases engages in comprehensive and innovative patient care, research, and educational activities for a broad range of infectious diseases. Learn more at Infectious Diseases.