Infectious Diseases

Fellow Roles & Responsibilities

First Year (PGY-4):

The first-year fellow completes all twelve (12) ACGME/RRC-required clinical months during his/her first year at Tulane University Health Sciences Center.  He/she is assigned to one month in the Microbiology Laboratory Tulane University Hospital and Clinic (TUHC), and ten months divided between the Tulane University Hospital & Clinic (TUHC) Infectious Diseases Service (consultation), the MCLNO Infectious Diseases Consult Service, one month of Ambulatory ID and an optional month of Pediatric ID.

One additional month is allocated for vacation, and time is also allowed for sick leave, educational meetings/specialty conferences, board examinations, etc. per the Tulane Residency guidelines.

This fellow serves directly under the supervision of the full-time ID faculty and ID Section Chief/Program Director.  The fellow participates in the evaluation and treatment of each patient admitted or referred to his Service, including primary care and consultation patients.   He/she, with the assistance of the attending, is responsible for directly supervising and teaching all students and residents assigned to the Service.  Rounds are made daily and at least once on weekends with the faculty attending.  Fellows organize, together with their student(s) and/or resident(s), clinical presentations from their respective Services for the weekly ID Conference (1-2 per fellow every 2 months) and Citywide ID Conference (one per fellow every 2-3 months).

While on all rotations, the fellow attends an ID continuity clinic at MCLNO (Tulane ID Clinic at HOP).  Fellows may also participate in the second-year student Physical Diagnosis course, depending on level of interest and need.  Fellows take call from home every third or fourth weekend and after 4 pm weekdays one or two nights per week. 

At the end of the first year, the PGY-4 fellow should understand the basic aspects and clinical features of infectious diseases of all age groups, disease prevention and treatment, host defense mechanisms, and epidemiology.  The fellow should also have achieved a comprehensive understanding of infection control, viruses, parasites, fungi, rickettsiae, chlamydiae, bacteria, and mycobacteria; diseases caused by these microbes; immunologic diseases; geographic medicine; AIDS; principles of antimicrobial therapy; and guidelines for immunization.  Knowledge of infectious diseases encountered in organ transplantation, oncology, infection in childhood, surgical consultations, critical care medicine, and other subspecialties also is essential (ABIM 2002).

Second Year (PGY-5):

Second-year fellows follow one of three pathways: advanced clinical, Masters of Public Health at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (e.g. MPH&TM), or research.  In the latter two pathways, the fellow may spend one to two months on clinical service to further enhance his/her experience and skills in the above-defined aspects of infectious diseases.  The remainder of his/her time is dedicated to graduate school courses, clinical and/or laboratory research.

Advanced clinical fellows spend more time on the clinical services, not only gaining more experience, but also conducting retrospective chart reviews culminating in descriptive or case-control studies for presentation at meetings and publication.  These fellows also gain more experience in the conduct of clinical trials by assisting with the Section's varied HIV/AIDS, antimicrobial, vaccination and tropical medicine clinical trials programs.

All second-year fellows are expected to maintain participation in their weekly continuity ID clinic, where they are expected to assist the supervising attending with guidance of the first-year fellows.  Second-year fellows attend the Section's weekly conferences when possible, serve on a hospital infection control committee, and participate in various teaching exercises including the Hutchinson Clinic, Physical Diagnosis Course, and the second-year student Pathophysiology Course's Microbiology block.  Second-year fellows attend the Wetmore TB Clinic approximately once or twice a month, and also must attend at least 3 sessions of the city Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinic to supplement their experience in this area.

Second-year fellows have the additional responsibility of helping the first-year fellows organize the rotation schedule for the weekly ID conference and Citywide conference.  One second-year fellow is in charge of doing the monthly call schedule.

During their second year, fellows continue to take call from home, approximately once every four or five weekends and after hours on weekdays once a week.

Third Year (PGY-6)

An optional third year is available for fellows who desire additional training in a highly specialized area, or who need more time to complete research, when funding permits