Tuesday Morning ID Core Didactic Curriculum (7:30-8:30am)
Fellows attend a weekly didactic session over two years that covers a variety of bread-and-butter clinical ID topics. Didactics are taught by faculty within our ID and Global Public Health division, senior fellows, and other experts at UCSD and within the San Diego ID community.
| Syndromic ID | Antimicrobials, Stewardship & Infection Control | HIV, STIs, and related topics | Pathogen-specific | Miscellaneous |
| Skin and soft tissue infections | Antibiotics 1 | HIV | Measles and mumps | Ocular infections |
| Neutropenic fever | Antibiotics 2 | ARVs including DDIs | Hemorrhagic fevers | Pediatric infectious diseases |
| UTI/pyelonephritis | Antibiotics 3 | Non-infectious complications of HIV | Flaviviruses | Infection and pregnancy |
| Liver and intra-abdominal infections | GNR resistance and management | OIs | COVID-19 | Public health 101 |
| Endocarditis | Antimicrobial stewardship 1 | PrEP and PEP | Nematodes | Arboviruses |
CLABSI
| Antimicrobial stewardship 2
| STIs
| Cestodes
| Vaccine and vaccine preventable disease |
| Sepsis | PK/PD
| Gender-affirming care | GI Protozoa | The immune system in infection |
| Prosthetic joint infections | ARV Pharmacology 1 | HIV and Aging | Malaria | Ecological niche of infectious agents |
Osteomyelitis
| ARV Pharmacology 2 | Hepatitis viruses | TB | Outbreak investigation |
Oncologic ID 1
| Infection Prevention 1 | HCV | Latent TB | Chest radiology |
Oncologic ID 2
| Infection Prevention 2 | Herpesviruses | NTMs | Immunodeficiencies |
Bacterial meningitis
| Infection Prevention 3
| CMV
| Coccidioidomycosis | Addiction Medicine |
| Zoonotic infections | Antifungal therapy | | Endemic fungal infections | Bioterrorism agents |
SOT ID 1
| Immunosuppressive therapy | | Invasive mold infections | Prion Disease |
SOT ID
| | | Staphylococcus aureus | Well-being, professional identity |
| Fever in the returning traveler | | | C. diff infections | Diversity and inclusion |
| CAP, HAP, VAP | | | Tick-borne diseases | Mitigating fatigue and sleep deprivation |
| Infections in people who inject drugs | | | | Medical documentation and billing |
Cardiac device infections
| |
| | Clinical teaching |
Encephalitis
| | | | Patient Safety and Quality + Improvement |
Head and neck infections
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Thursday ID Grand Rounds (3:30-5:00pm)
Fellows attend our weekly ID Grand Rounds. ID Fellows from UCSD or San Diego Naval Medical Center give a Case Conference presentation during the first half of ID Rounds. The second half of the conference is reserved for research talks, journal clubs, quality improvement conferences, COVID-19 updates, and outside guest speakers.
Microbiology Curriculum
Fellows complete the Microbiology Curriculum during their first year of fellowship. Micro Rounds are held for one hour three days per week during inpatient consult service rotations. During Micro Rounds, fellows from all UCSD Health sites connect remotely to the Microbiology Faculty (Sharon Reed, David Pride) at the Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine or CALM (https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/pathology/patient-care/Pages/Center-for-Advanced-Laboratory-Medicine.aspx). The Micro Faculty teach core Microbiology content through a variety of didactics. Using teaching microscopes, plates, etc the Micro Faculty also review interesting and active cases which the fellows are often consulted on. At the VA, fellows attend Micro Rounds in-person at the VA Micro Lab onsite.
Fellows also participate in a 2-week intensive Microbiology Laboratory rotation (usually in October) in which they rotate at various benches in the Micro Labs at UCSD and the VA in the morning. This complimented by didactics in the afternoon.
HIV Curriculum
Fellows complete the HIV curriculum during their second year of fellowship when they begin their HIV primary care continuity clinic at either the Owen Clinic (https://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/hiv/Pages/default.aspx) or the Special Infectious Diseases (SPID) clinic at the VA. During their HIV continuity clinic, fellows assume the role of primary care provider for a panel of 30-40 patients living with HIV. Fellows also have the opportunity to rotate in any of the HIV subspecialty clinics (PrEP clinic, gender affirming care clinic, Medication Assisted Treatment clinic, HIV/HCV co-infection clinic, High resolution anoscopy clinic, Women's HIV clinic, Adolescent clinic, Lipid clinic).
Fellows participate in a number of different HIV-related conferences and participate in a self-directed study curriculum during their second year as outlined in the table below.
Conference schedule:
- HIV and Global Public Health (HIGH) Grand Rounds: Weekly conference Friday mornings focused on research and clinical updates for patients with and at risk for HIV. This conference covers a wide variety of topics including updates in HIV care and research from clinicians, researchers, and public health officials throughout San Diego (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBkakZC8A2SIYU2_9KDuPXQ). Fellows prepare a yearly HIGH Rounds presentation beginning in their second year of fellowship.
- Owen Clinic Rounds: Twice monthly case-based conference on Thursdays from 8-9am focusing on challenging inpatient and outpatient HIV and OI-related cases.
- HIV and Substance Use Conference: Twice monthly conference on Thursdays from 2-3pm by researchers at UCSD studying the intersection between substance use and HIV, HCV, and other infectious diseases (https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/medicine/divisions/idgph/education/training-grants/Pages/Substance-Use,-HIV-and-Related-Infections-T32.aspx)
- HIV Resistance Conference: Monthly conference lead by Dr. Hill and our HIV clinical pharmacists reviewing challenging HIV resistance cases.
HIV Curriculum
- HIV primary care/healthcare maintenance
- ARV initiation in treatment naive patients
- Linkage to and retention in care
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- ARV switches in suppressed patients
- ARV side effects, drug-drug interactions
- Medication adherence
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- ARV management in treatment-experienced patients with resistance
- Resistance testing, using the Stanford database
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- Management of STIs in patients with HIV, PrEP
- Taking an accurate and non-stigmatizing sexual history
- Harm reduction counseling
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- Diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disease in patients with HIV
- Psych meds, drug drug interactions with ARVs
- Syndemics, multidisciplinary care clinics
- Psychiatric and psychological services in San Diego
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- Diagnosis and treatment of tobacco dependence and alcohol dependence
- Medications for tobacco dependence and alcohol dependence
- Strategies for behavior change for the PCP, alcohol dependence/addiction treatment resources in San Diego
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- Epi, diagnosis, and treatment of opioid dependence; management of chronic pain
- Medications for treatment of opioid dependence, managing the prescription of narcotics by PCPs
- Managing the pain-med seeking patient in clinic, CURES reports, role of pain clinic, MAT clinic, harm reduction services in San Diego
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- Metabolic diseases among patients with HIV
- Updates (in meds) for management of dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity
- Motivational interviewing and other strategies with regards to diet and exercise, resources in San Diego/UCSD for weight management
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- Liver disease in patients with HIV
- Treatment of HCV, drug drug interactions with ARVs
- Access to meds, drug costs, role of insurance companies/pharmaceutical industry on high costs of HCV meds, ARVs
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Antimicrobial Stewardship, Infection Prevention, and Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Curriculum
First-year ID fellows spend 3 months at the VA on our VA STRIPE (STewaRdship and Infection PrevEntion rotation). During this rotation, fellows attend a variety of multidisciplinary clinics and rounds (ID clinic, podiatry clinic, wound care clinic, spinal core unit wound care rounds, substance use treatment and rehabilitation, etc) and work with the Antimicrobial Stewardship and the Infection Control and Prevention teams at the VA on quality improvement and patient safety projects. Fellows will learn the leadership and administrative skills that are critical for careers in Antimicrobial Stewardship, Infection Prevention, and Hospital Epidemiology. Fellows will also have the opportunity for self-directed learning activities based on their interests and self-identified educational needs utilizing nationally renowned curricula on stewardship, infection prevention, quality improvement (including LEAN training), high-value care, and more. Fellows will also have time during these 3 months to publish case reports and quality improvement projects and will have time to meet with potential research mentors with whom they will work during their 2nd and/or 3rd year of fellowship. This rotation is 8-5 Monday through Friday with no weekend or nighttime call/responsibilities. These three months will provide fellows with opportunities to rest and recharge from busy call months on the inpatient ID services during their first year.
Transplant ID Curriculum
Fellows whose area of emphasis is Transplant ID participate in the transplant ID curriculum during their second year of fellowship. Fellows rotate for 3 months on the Onc ID service and 3 months on the SOT ID service during their second year. They also attend the SOT or Onc ID clinic when they are not on inpatient service. Fellows participate in transplant ID journal club and attend weekly transplant committee meetings while on service. Fellows work closely with our Transplant ID Core faculty (Drs. Aslam, Law, Logan, and Taremi) to develop a scholarly transplant ID project. Fellows also work with faculty to complete the Transplant ID curriculum outlined below.
| Basics of transplantation and Indications for SOT | UTI in SOT | Invasive Aspergillosis |
| Principles of SOT and Immunosuppression | Nocardia in IC Hosts | Infection prophylaxis and vaccines |
| Basics of treatments in Onc/Principles of Chemo | PJP in IC Hosts | Donor-derived infections |
| Febrile Neutropenia | Intra-abdominal infections in IC Hosts | HIV in SOT |
CMV
| PTLD and EBV in Transplant | HSV and VZV in SOT/SCT |
VAD infections
| Respiratory viruses in SOT/SCT | Basic Principles for GVHD |
| Diagnosis and management of diarrhea in SOT | TB in SOT | Cystic Fibrosis |
| IFI SOT | DDIs between anti-infectives and immunosuppressive | Cryptococcosis in SOT/SCT |
| NTMs in Transplant | Surgical procedures in abdominal transplant | MDROs and stewardship in transplant |
| Endemic Mycoses in SOT | C. diff in SOT/SCT | Mucormycosis
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| BK virus in SOT | Infections and immunomodulator agents | Parasitic infections in SOT |
| Candidemia | Safe Living Strategies Pre and Post transplant | Adenovirus in SOT |
HPV in SOT
| Tissue and blood protozoa in SOT | HTLV in SOT
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Research Curriculum
Fellows in the Research Track participate in the research curriculum during their second and third year of fellowship. Fellows work with their research mentor, T32 faculty, and the fellowship program leadership to customize an individual curriculum to support their research development and success. Many fellows take advantage of the CREST (Clinical Research Enhancement Through Supplemental Training) courses which are available to our research fellows (free of charge). Courses include:
- Epidemiology 1 and 2
- Patient-Oriented Research 1 and 2
- Biostatistics 1 and 2
- Health Services Research
- Data Management and Informatics
- Scientific Communication Skills
Research fellows also attend a number of didactic sessions on designing research, grant writing, and scientific literature review and writing as well as journal clubs and works-in-progress talks within their research groups. Finally, fellows in the Research Track attend biannual "Research Guidance Meetings" with ID faculty, T32 Faculty, and their research mentors to receive feedback on their research projects and career pathway development.
Medical Education Curriculum
All second or third year fellows are eligible to participate in the Medical Education Course for Internal Medicine Subspecialty Fellows at UCSD. This yearlong course consists of a three-week didactic component (Monday mornings from 8a-12p for 3 weeks in August) as well as a experiential component in which fellows teach in a variety of settings (small group, large group, bedside, and clinic) and receive feedback and mentoring from medical education experts on their teaching skills. Fellows also have the option to participate in a medical education scholarly project. Fellows enjoy this course because they get to work with IM subspecialty fellows and faculty from outside the ID division. The didactic component of the course covers the following content:
- Large Group Teaching
- Small Group Teaching
- Bedside and clinical skills teaching
- Leadership, communication, and mentoring skills
- Approach to the scientific literature
- Curriculum development
- Feedback
- Assessment, evaluation, and remediation
- Medical Education Scholarship
- Professional Development