Division of Infectious Diseases

Fellowship Training Program

The Fellowship Training Program is based in the Infectious Diseases Division in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The Program is of two years duration with an emphasis on training clinical infectious diseases. Candidates for training should be board eligible or certified in internal medicine. A third year of training is made available in exceptional cases in which the fellow is training in research techniques in preparation to accept a faculty position.

The major training sites include the University of Kansas Hospital, and the Research Medical Center. Microbiology laboratory training is sometimes continued at the Kansas City Veterans Administration Medical Center. Additionally, patients may be seen at the Jackson County Health Department STD clinic for training in the diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted diseases. Fellows may elect to rotate through the Pediatric Infectious Diseases service and the Veterans Administration Medical Center.

A major focus is on outpatient management, inpatient consultations, and home health care management from all medical and surgical disciplines. Outpatient experience is also provided giving general infectious diseases training, HIV experiences, and Lyme and chronic fatigue experiences through the clinics.

While our thrust of training is toward clinical ID practitioners, a research experience is also required and encouraged. Research experiences may be acquired in conjunction with one of the ID faculty, with a basic scientist from the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, with one of the clinical microbiologists, or one of the department of pharmacy practice professors. Clinical trials of antimicrobials is gained by participating in ongoing trails in the division. Research interests of the faculty include leukocyte function, pathogenesis of sepsis, resistant microbes and their pathogenesis. Pathogenesis of SIV HIV and mechanisms of disease production in pneumococcal infections are ongoing projects.

In addition to training in the discipline of infectious diseases, fellows are expected to participate in the education of medical students in physical diagnosis, and in education of students, interns and residents who rotate through the infectious disease service.

The overall objective of the program is to produce well-trained, competent, compassionate physicians who are certified by the ABIM in Infectious Diseases and who will be committed to life-long learning, becoming medical pillars in their communities.

Job Description for Infectious Diseases Fellows

Acceptance into the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program requires board eligible or certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine or American Osteopathic Association.

After acceptance, fellows have the following responsibilities:

• Provision of consultations for suspected infectious diseases in medical and surgical disciplines, including some pediatric experience, and geriatric experience at the University of Kansas Hospitals and Ambulatory Clinics.
• Two half-days weekly are devoted to outpatient evaluations and continuity of care in clinics. Patients are not preselected by disease type, but consist of a mix of HIV, home health care patients, Lyme, occasional STD, chronic fatigue, and general ID problems.
• Attendance and participation is required of each fellow in the monthly case conference, the laboratory microbiology conference, the research conference, the weekly journal club, and the core cirrocumuli didactic conferences in the division. In addition, attendance at the weekly Medical Grand Rounds and the Department of Medicine core curriculum for all trainees is encouraged.
• Teaching medical students and internal medicine residents by fellows and staff, using a core curriculum designed for these trainees, is considered a must.
• Infectious Diseases as a service rarely does procedures. Occasionally trainees may do lumbar punctures or aspiration of lymph nodes or abscesses in the outpatient setting. Trainees are expected to review gram stains, biopsy specimens, cytology, and pertinent radiographs of the patients they are managing.
• Trainees take calls from home with a faculty member as a back-up. All trainees have at least one of seven days free from clinical duties. In addition, trainees have at least 3 to 5 months of protected time without taking call each year.
• Participation in research is expected for each trainee. The division expects preparation of at least one manuscript suitable for publication, submission of at least one abstract to a regional, national, or international meeting, and preparation of at least one lecture prior to completion of the two-year training period.
• Communication between faculty and fellows is essential, especially regarding patient care. Fellows are encouraged to Group Wise electronic communication to update faculty of any interactions by telephone with patients. A printed copy of these is to be saved for the permanent file.

Faculty supervision occurs daily. During the first year of training, trainees review any major changes in therapy or recommendations for invasive procedures with the faculty attending prior to making the recommendation to another physician. During the second year, assuming that the trainee has made satisfactory progress, trainees are given more freedom to make recommendations if he/she is comfortable and confident in the recommendation. Even in the second year, trainee recommendations are reviewed within 24-hours. Trainees are encouraged to contact the attending physician, at any time day or night, if there is doubt in their mind about recommendations. This type of supervision applies to inpatient and outpatient care, home health care management, phone calls from outside physicians or family members. Supervision by a faculty member is expected for all procedures.