The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship program is three years of training designed specifically to prepare qualified pediatricians for an academic career in infectious diseases.

During the first month of fellowship, all new fellows complete a comprehensive orientation program. This includes an immersive experience in our state-of-the-art clinical microbiology laboratories as well as the SHEA Online Fellows’ Course and IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Curriculum. Orientation also comprises a core curriculum of Pediatric ID topics led by pediatric infectious disease and immunology faculty.

The remainder of the first year of training is an intensive clinical experience, with about five months on the inpatient consultation services (general and immunocompromised ID). Fellows also spend about five months on the outpatient clinical service. This service is comprised of patient care in the pediatric infectious diseases clinics and the pediatric HIV clinic, participation in other specialized clinics (e.g., Ortho ID), phone consultation with community pediatricians and meetings with the Infection Prevention group and Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Fellows can also spend time with the SLCH Antimicrobial Stewardship Team during these months.

During Year 1, each fellow is also provided a month of protected time dedicated to exploring research opportunities throughout the Washington University Medical Center with the goal of identifying a scholarly project and mentor.

In Years 2 and 3 of the program, fellows gain autonomy in their clinical training, spending four to eight weeks per year on the inpatient consultation service. The second and third years of the fellowship are largely protected for scholarly activity, during which time fellows develop and conduct a mentored scholarly project, culminating in a manuscript for submission. Fellows present their scholarship annually at the division research conference and in departmental forums. Fellows are also expected to present their data at regional and national meetings:

Optional additional clinical experiences are also available, including rotations in pediatric immunology/rheumatology, adult infectious diseases, clinical microbiology, pediatric dermatology, The SPOT (a center providing free medical and social services to youth aged 13-24) and various international sites.