The goal of the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is to provide subspecialty training in infectious diseases to internists who will become board certified in infectious diseases and pursue productive careers in academic medicine, public health, clinic practice or industry. Applicants must be board eligible or certified in internal medicine by the time they enter the fellowship training program; those who are board eligible must become board certified in internal medicine during the first year of fellowship training.
Two years of fellowship training are required for board certification in infectious diseases. Fellows who are interested in careers in clinical investigation or basic research should plan to continue their training after completion of the two year fellowship. Although funding for additional training usually cannot be guaranteed when the fellow enters the two-year fellowship program, the division has been successful in identifying funding for fellows who desire additional training. Fellowship contracts are offered for one-year periods, and continuation of the contract is dependent on satisfactory performance.
Fellows are assigned to either the clinical or investigator track. Regardless of the track, all fellows are assigned to an HIV/AIDS continuity clinic for the duration of the fellowship. Fellows in the clinical track complete a 2-year clinical fellowship, of which at least 18 months is devoted to clinical training. This includes approximately 15 months of inpatient consultation on the adult infectious diseases service (divided approximately equally between University Hospital and the New Mexico Veterans Heath Care System (NMVHCS) and one month each on pediatric infectious diseases, clinical microbiology and hospital epidemiology. Additional outpatient experience is provided in the bone and joint, travel and STD clinics during an additional ambulatory care month, and fellows are encouraged to take a second month of hospital epidemiology with a research focus. During the remaining months, the fellows are expected to pursue scholarly activity. Examples of the latter include investigation of nosocomial infections, chart reviews or case reports with a review of the literature, and participation in clinical research studies.
Fellows who wish to enter the investigator track must develop a formal training proposal that must be approved by the division. This can be done either before or after acceptance in the ID fellowship program. The formal training proposal must identify: 1) a formal research or training plan for the 11-12 months of protected time during the initial 2-year fellowship, 2) a plan for mentored training (e.g. CRC fellowship, K23, CAP award, etc) or advanced degree work (MPH/PhD) following the initial 2-year fellowship, and 3) long-term career goals as an investigator. Fellows in the investigator track have 9-10 months on the inpatient consult service and one month each in pediatric infectious diseases, clinical microbiology and hospital epidemiology. A month of ambulatory ID is encouraged but not required.
Fellows are asked to identify a graduate training committee during the first six months of the fellowship. This committee must include at least one full-time member of the division and must be comprised of at least two faculty members from the School of Medicine.
