Overview
The two-year fellowship program in the Division of Infectious Diseases is designed to expose fellows to a wide range of clinical and laboratory experience.

Educational Goals
The educational objectives of the Infectious Diseases training program include the acquisition of competencies in the care of patients with Infectious Diseases. The training program will ensure that trainees acquire and demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes that characterize the practice of Infectious Diseases. These fundamental objectives will enable them to contribute to the well being of the patients and communities they serve. The program endeavors to prepare trainees to become quality care providers for patients, advocates for the public’s health, researchers and lifelong students, as well as teachers.

Clinical Training
Fellowship training occurs over a two-year period. Designed to develop Infectious Diseases specialists equally capable of pursuing a career in academia or private practice, fellows obtain their training at Loyola University Medical Center and Hines VA Hospital. LUMC and HVA share a common campus in Maywood, Illinois, adjacent to the Stritch School of Medicine of Loyola University of Chicago. Training in these venues allows the fellow to be exposed to the best of both public and private medicine; it provides access to a diverse, multi-cultural population of patients. The spectrum of illness experienced by this population ranges from the mild outpatient treated infectious process through the more complicated hospitalized patient and beyond to those technologically-dependent patients who require intensive care services for their survival.

Inpatient Consultative ID
Fellows spend equal periods of six months of consultative Infectious Diseases at both LUMC and HVA. While at either hospital, fellows supervise the Infectious Diseases consult team under the direct observation and guidance of an Infectious Diseases attending. Beginning in their first month of training, fellows are expected to provide comprehensive, appropriate and compassionate care to patients. They should gather essential and accurate information about their patients; make informed decisions about diagnostic and therapeutic plans; demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate with patients, families, and colleagues; and be able to counsel and educate patients, families students and junior house officers. Monthly assessment of the consult experience is provided by the fellows for both the rotation and the attending teaching ability. Fellows are evaluated monthly on their performance by the attendings.

Outpatient Clinics
All first year fellows spend one-half day per week in the HVA Infectious Diseases clinic as well as one-half day per week in the LUMC – HIV clinic. Second year fellows spend one-half day every other week in the HVA Infectious Disease clinic and can choose from four different general ID clinics at LUMC to attend ½ day each. These clinics are attended by each fellow for the duration of the training period. Each clinic is attended by one or more Infectious Diseases attending and concurrent teaching as well as supervision occurs prospectively for each patient visit. As the Hines VA clinic is a continuity of care clinic, the fellows are assigned to see and follow patients on return visits until such time as either the fellow completes the training program or the patients complete their course of therapy and are discharged from the clinic. Approximately 20% of the fellow’s clinical training occurs in the ambulatory care setting.

Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Practicum
At the onset of their first year of training, all fellows attend and participate in a month –long practicum in Clinical Microbiology. Under the supervision of a PhD microbiologist, fellows learn and practice the fundamentals of clinical microbiology. This is done so that fellows may gain an understanding of the capacity of the laboratory with respect to the diagnostic services it can provide. In addition, the practicum expands the knowledge base of the fellows in the area of clinical microbiology and establishes them as better subspecialists trained to interpret laboratory results and apply them to the clinical setting. The course supervisor provides feedback to the fellow and the Program Director on the fellow’s performance.

Hospital Infection Control Training
Sub specialists within Infectious Diseases are expected to be knowledgeable in hospital infection control. Often, they will assume a level of responsibility for Infection Control as a member of a hospital staff. To provide the necessary training and exposure to the knowledge base within this area, each fellow is expected to complete the IDSA/SHEA sponsored Infection Control course available on-line. This may occur in either year of training. During this phase of training, the fellow is exposed to the principles of Hospital Infection Control, learns and applies the fundamental standards of measurement and methods of surveillance. Fellows may participate in an epidemiologic investigation of an outbreak. The fellows are invited to attend the Hospital Infection Control meetings, monthly and to contribute to the minutes of those meeting with their findings.

Formal Education and Conferences
Fellows attend a variety of conferences weekly. Both within the Division and extra-Divisional conferences are included. The Department of Medicine supports a weekly Grand Rounds, a clinico-pathological conference and an Autopsy Review Conference.

Division –level conferences include the weekly clinical case discussion or Interest Rounds. Fellows coordinate the presentation of current or recently seen patients and prepare or oversee the preparation of a literature review for each case discussed.

In this role, fellows learn not only how to monitor and use the literature for their education, but they also learn to mentor and support the student-learner as well as junior-level house officers.

The monthly conferences conducted by the Division include:

• Infectious Diseases and Immunology Institute (InDII) – InDII consists of a unique collaborative initiative combining basic scientists, translational researchers, and clinicians with its mission to understand microbes, the immune system, and the interactions between them, and to translate this knowledge to clinical applications that will control, treat and prevent diseases caused by human infectious agents. Residents in the Infectious Disease training program participate in the research efforts, teaching and learning opportunities InDII affords. Seminar series, journal clubs, and program meetings have been integrated between existing Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and Immunology seminars and journal club series. Residents will benefit from rich opportunities and new scientific perspectives from among 33 members of the Center, as well as multiple opportunities to pursue their research interests.
  
• Journal Club – This meeting has been integrated with Infectious Diseases and Microbiology & Immunology through InDII. During these meetings, basic scientists, translational researchers, fellows and attendings discuss in detail pertinent recent articles in the Infectious Diseases and Microbiology & Immunology literature. Discussion and critique follows immediately with other attendings and fellows joining on an ad hoc basis.
   
• Research Conference - This monthly conference is given to review current research projects being performed by members of the Infectious Diseases faculty and fellows as well as InDII basic scientists and translational researchers. The papers presented are original work within the Infectious Diseases Division and InDII and may be of a basic, clinical, health-services research or epidemiologic nature. Second year fellows present quarterly on the progress of their research projects(s). All fellows attend and enter into a discussion of the work presented.
   
• HIV Lectures - This monthly conference is devoted to discussion of HIV-related topics and given by both intra- and extra-divisional speakers. Topics discussed are outside of the immediately clinically applicable and may include such diverse discussions as the impact of HLA type on HIV viral load to basic immunology.
   
• Fellows Seminar – Each fellow presents quarterly a state of the art review on a focused topic within Infectious Diseases. Use of IT support, such as PowerPoint, is strongly encouraged and supported by the Division. A review file is kept for each session, which includes readings for the topic area. Fellows have ready access to the file.
   
• Core Curriculum Conference – this is a series of 54 clinical topics in Infectious Diseases spread out over a two-year period.

ID Fellow Rotations
1st Year

• 8-9 months clinical consult rotation divided between Hines and Loyola
• 1 month clinical microbiology
• 2 half day outpatient clinics
• 2-3 months research

2nd Year

• 3-4 months clinical consult rotation divided between Hines and Loyola
• 1-2 months Pediatrics (1-month mandatory, 2nd month optional)
• 6-7 months research of their choosing – end result will prepare paper for presentation at national meeting and/or for major journal
• 2 half day clinics

Facilities
First year fellows rotate through Loyola University Medical Center and Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital where they are given primary responsibility for consultation services under attending physician supervision. The fellows will have contact with a wide array of infectious disease patients, ranging from community-acquired infections to those diseases requiring the expertise and resources available at a tertiary care academic medical center.

David W. Hecht, MD, MS, MBA
John W. Clarke Professor and Chairman
Department of Medicine
Co-Director, Infectious Disease and Immunology Institute
Research Interests: Molecular genetics of anaerobic bacterial resistance

Joseph R. Lentino, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Training Program Director
Research Interests: Clinical trials, in vitro susceptibility and mechanisms of resistance

Jaime Belmares, MD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: the use of computerized medical databases to solve clinical questions, C-difficile, TB, infections control, public health

Dale N. Gerding, MD
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Hospital epidemiology, C. difficile, antimicrobial resistance, prevention of diarrhea

Stuart B. Johnson, MD
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Clostridium difficile infection, hospital acquired infections, parasitic disease and tropical medicine

Bert Lopansri, MD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Pathophysiological mechanisms of severe malaria in children and adults, human genetic factors which predispose individuals to Staphylococcus aureus infections

J. Paul O’Keefe, MD
Professor of Medicine
Interim Division Director, Infectious Disease
Research Interests: Clinical hospital epidemiology, pneumonias, HIV, surgical wound infections, UTIs, immunocompromised host, travel

Contance T. Pachucki, MD
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests: Respiratory infections, TB, influenza, immunizations, HIV, infection control

Jorge P. Parada, MD, MPH
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Outcomes research, resource utilization, antimicrobial resistance, HIV, TB pneumonias, UTIs, bioterrorism

Application Information

Applicants must have three years of accredited postgraduate education in internal medicine and must be eligible for or have passed the ABIM examination.

To apply for the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program, you need to submit the following through ERAS:

• Application
• Official college, graduate school and medical school transcripts. If originals are not in English, please provide a certified English translation.
• A Dean's letter (medical school).
• An official record of board scores (USMLE, COMLEX).
• Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with your professional qualifications, including one from your internal medicine residency program director.
• A curriculum vitae
• A personal statement
• A photo
• A valid ECFMG certificate (if you graduated from a medical school outside of the United States or Canada).
• Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or possess a valid permanent resident card or J1 visa. No H1B Visas will be accepted.
• All Fellowship candidates must possess a valid permanent Illinois medical license when they start the program.

Only completed files will be considered.

Link to ERAS: www.aamc.org/eras

Contact:

Joseph R. Lentino, MD, PhD
Program Director
Joseph.Lentino@va.gov

Katina Shehie
Program Coordinator
kshehie@lumc.edu
Loyola University Medical Center
Fahey Center, Room 149
2160 South First Avenue
Maywood, Illinois 60153
Phone: 708-216-4807
Fax: 708-216-8198