The School of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco offers a fellowship to physicians who wish to subspecialize in Infectious Diseases. The minimum program is two years, but three years are strongly recommended. The first year is devoted to training in clinical Infectious Diseases. An intensive didactic core curriculum, which includes core microbiology didactic sessions, is covered in the first two weeks of the program. Thereafter, fellows rotate for six weeks at each of the three affiliated UCSF hospitals (U.C. Moffitt-Long Hospitals, San Francisco General Hospital, and the Veteran Affairs Medical Center) to manage the Infectious Diseases Consult Service under the supervision of an attending physician. Residents and students in medicine and pharmacy also staff the consultation services. Fellows participate in a didactic teaching conference and a weekly Diagnostic Microbiology conference at each of the hospitals in conjunction with faculty and fellows from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program. Attendance at the Infectious Diseases Clinic, monthly meetings of the Infection Control Committee, and participation in the Bay Area Infectious Diseases Society is also a part of the program. A continuity clinic is maintained a half day a week throughout the first two years of training.
The second and third years are devoted to research in the fellow's area of interest under the guidance of a faculty preceptor at one of the three hospitals. Research training opportunities in basic laboratory research (many with an emphasis in molecular biology techniques) are available in a number of laboratories within the Infectious Diseases program or in laboratories closely associated with the program. Research opportunities that focus on epidemiological methods and population and/or clinical studies are also available through a number of programs at UCSF, offering the opportunity for Master's degree training in Epidemiology. Fellows wishing to become independent investigators, regardless of their area of research, should anticipate two to four years of training beyond the first year. Research interests of the faculty are very diverse and range from molecular and cell biology to epidemiology and clinical trials.
You can apply to our 2011 Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program through ERAS (starting in December 2009). The deadline for completed application and all letters of recommendation is January 15, 2010.
