The fellowship begins with orientation sessions covering the University of Florida, UF Health/Shands Hospital, the Malcolm Randall Veterans Administration Hospital, and both inpatient and outpatient clinical services. In the first two months, fellows attend an interactive lecture series called the Infectious Disease “Boot Camp,” which provides a strong foundation in general infectious diseases. Following this initial period, the didactic program shifts to a series of ongoing interactive lectures, including journal clubs, management and infection prevention conferences, case simulations, microbiology plate rounds, research presentations, board review sessions, grand rounds, and combined microbiology-infectious disease conferences. Fellows are expected to attend all didactic sessions regularly and will typically present topics at most conferences.
Fellows have diverse teaching roles through collaboration with Infectious Disease rotators, including residents and medical students from both national and international backgrounds. They also participate in a weekly half-day continuity clinic and are responsible for following up on patient care between clinic appointments.
In the first year, fellows select a faculty mentor and begin formulating a research project. They choose one of three training tracks—clinical/education, research, or global medicine/planetary health—based on their career aspirations (note that the research and global medicine/planetary health tracks require a third year of fellowship). Fellows meet regularly with their mentor to assess progress and set goals for career development. Mentors help fellows navigate the wide variety of training options, including numerous academic electives.
In the second year, fellows are expected to master core Infectious Disease reference materials and develop expertise in history taking, physical exams, consultation, diagnostic testing, and data interpretation. They also complete data collection and analysis for their scholarly activities and research projects, with the goal of publishing their work.
First Year of Fellowship
- The first year is mostly clinical.
- Fellows will be on teaching inpatient services for approximately 7 months.
- Fellows will spend roughly equal time at the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Centre and UF Health/Shands Teaching Hospital.
- An additional month will be spent on the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center‘s Infectious Diseases E-Consult service.
- First-year Fellows must complete a two-week block each in Microbiology and Transplant ID.
- Fellows have 6.5 blocks to take electives of their choice, aligned with the experiences they wish to gain during their time in the program to bolster their career goals.
- Throughout the year, Fellows will have a mandatory 1/2-day outpatient continuity clinic each week, either at the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Centre or UF Health/Shands Teaching Hospital.
- Fellows will present at Infectious Diseases divisional conferences throughout the year and participate in other didactics and a QI project.
- Fellows are encouraged to take advantage of various research opportunities throughout the year.
- Fellows will have vacation for 1.5 blocks (3 weeks) per GME policy.
Second Year of Fellowship
- The inpatient service occurs at the same sites as the first year (the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center and UF Health/Shands Teaching Hospital).
- An additional 3 months will be spent on the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center‘s Infectious Diseases E-Consult service.
- The Fellows’ weekly 1/2 day outpatient continuity clinic from the first year will also occur throughout the duration of the second year.
- Fellows will select an elective schedule based on their desired career goals, which should align with their selected sub-track(s).
- Please note that second years are encouraged to attend ID Week.
- Fellows will have vacation for 1.5 blocks (3 weeks) per GME policy.
Third Year of Fellowship (Optional)
- The third year is only for Fellows who wish to stay on in order to pursue the Global Medicine/Planetary Health or Research Tracks.
- This third year is customized to help the Fellow achieve their career goals, but will primarily be research activity focused.