The Pediatric Infectious Diseases training program at the University of Minnesota prepares physician graduates of pediatric residency programs for board eligibility and academic careers in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. It also trains post-doctoral PhD scientists in microbial pathogenesis and developmental immunology. Physician trainees pursue patient-oriented or laboratory research, develop medical education skills, and provide clinical subspecialty care to patients. Clinical rotations include two children's hospitals, and emphasize training in diagnosis and management of common childhood infections, infections in the immunocompromised host and pediatric HIV in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Trainees wishing to pursue training in epidemiology or clinical trials may obtain a concurrent MPH degree in the School of Public Health.
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship training is carried out in close collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine. Shared training responsibilities and opportunities include research seminars and journal clubs.
The program offers an excellent opportunity to develop the research, didactic, and clinical skills necessary for success in an academic or industry pediatric infectious disease position. Faculty are committed and experienced in research, education, and clinical care. The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division consists of seven full-time clinical-scientist faculty. Two laboratory scientists in Microbiology, the Director of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, one clinical-scientist in Internal Medicine Infectious Diseases, and one pharmaceutic scientist in the College of Pharmacy to provide teaching and mentor depth as adjunct faculty.
Several faculty members hold joint appointments in other departments of the Medical School including the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Microbiology, Otolaryngology, Medicine, and the School of Public Health. Faculty members also provide services and collaborate with community-based health care organizations including the Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Hennepin County Medical Center, regional health care maintenance organizations, and the Minnesota Department of Health. Several Division faculty oversee nationally and internationally recognized research and clinical laboratories.
Clinical
Clinical training provides a wide range of experiences in neonatal, infant, child and adolescent infectious diseases in both inpatient and outpatient settings. From these experiences trainees are able to identify clinical dilemmas, often using clinical observations as the substrate for laboratory or patient-oriented research. A total of 12 months of inpatient clinical training is provided, and weekly outpatient pediatric infectious diseases clinics extends through the 2-3 years of training. Outpatient training opportunities are available in Immunology, Ear-Nose-Throat, HIV, and International Adoption.
Most inpatient clinical time is spent at the University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview, but opportunities also exist to spend time at Children's Hospitals and Clinics-St. Paul. Inpatients seen at these facilities have a wide range of infections seen in both normal and immunocompromised hosts. During clinical rotations, the trainee will be supported in developing teaching conferences and lectures. These often focus on interesting cases or topics of interest to the clinical service. The trainee acts in a supervisory role for pediatric residents in the inpatient and outpatient settings, developing their preceptor skills.
Clinical microbiology experience is gained by daily rounds with Dr. Ferrieri in the hospital's Clinical Microbiology Laboratory while the fellow is on the inpatient service. In the Laboratory the trainee learns the specialized array of microbiology tests and laboratory features of clinical infectious diseases. A similar experience is available with Dr. Balfour in the Clinical Virology Laboratory.
Research
The trainee meets formally during the first months of training with Division faculty to discuss research goals and possible projects. Following these one-on-one discussions, the trainee will chose a mentor, and start development of a formal laboratory or patient-oriented research project. The outline for this project will be completed before the end of the first year, and then implemented during the second and third years. In some cases, implementation can begin during the first year of training. By the end of the training period, the trainee will have presented the results of the research at a national meeting (such as SPR, ICAAC, or IDSA), prepared a manuscript for publication, under the supervision of their mentor, and prepared a research grant application for external funding.
Throughout the three years of training, the trainee will receive informal and formal training in research methodology, research ethics, biostatistics, scientific publication preparation, and grant writing. It is expected that trainees will acquire the skills to submit strong applications for grant funding.