Curriculum

Our program rotates you through consult services at four major hospitals with distinct patient bases, maximizing your experience with common and less common infectious diseases. Our continuity clinic gives you opportunities to care for patients longitudinally, particularly those with HIV.

Many patients you evaluate will have other conditions along with their infections, so you will collaborate extensively, working in care teams with a global approach.

You will take histories, conduct physical examinations and interpret a wide variety of laboratory data. Based on this information, you will formulate approaches to evaluating, diagnosing and treating patients with possible infections.

Over the course of both years, you will spend three months at each of the four major hospitals on the infectious diseases consultation services.

A diverse clinical experience characterizes the first year of your fellowship. You will spend two to three months at each site as well as one month in the clinical microbiology laboratory.

During your continuity clinic, you will spend one morning per week caring for patients at Erie County Medical Center’s AIDS Center/Immunodeficiency Services Clinic.

Two months are allotted for your initial research experience and for vacation.

During your second year, you will spend eight months on your research project.

Additionally, you will complete three months of clinical rotations at each of the four major hospital sites and continue working with outpatients at ECMC’s AIDS Center/Immunodeficiency Services Clinic one morning per week.

At individual fellows’ requests, we also offer electives at a number of specialty sites.

After satisfactorily completing the two years of our fellowship program, you will be considered board-eligible in infectious diseases and will be recommended for admission to the boards.

Your continuity clinic gives you invaluable experience following patients for a prolonged period. As you work with patients at ECMC's AIDS Center/Immunodeficiency Services Clinic, you will learn the principles of longitudinal care, including how to recognize, diagnose, treat and manage complications associated with HIV infection.

Faculty in our division will closely supervise you during your clinical inpatient and outpatient rotations.

In the clinical microbiology laboratory, you will be supervised by Daniel Amsterdam, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology and head of clinical laboratories at ECMC, or a designated laboratory technician.

Your research mentor will supervise you during your research rotations.

Our program regards teaching skills very highly. You’ll have numerous opportunities to teach residents and medical students—who can take four-week electives in infectious diseases at any of our hospital training sites—as well as other physicians and health personnel, patients and their caregivers.

Throughout your experiences, our faculty will instruct you and provide feedback on your communication skills and teaching techniques.

During hospital rotations, you will coordinate the consult team, including medical students and residents. You’ll distribute consultations among residents and students, reviewing cases with them before attending rounds and taking a lead role during daily teaching rounds. In addition, you will find and disseminate clinical articles relevant to cases you encounter.

During your fellowship you will teach physical diagnosis skills to second-year medical students for a single semester in the Clinical Practice of Medicine course.

Occasionally, you may be asked to present a relevant topic to medical students and residents for morning reports.