Fellows Survival Guide

No additional training beyond residency in pediatrics is necessary to train successfully in pediatric infectious diseases. However, some residency electives may offer learning more relevant to infectious diseases than others. here is a list of electives that residents with an interest in infectious diseases can consider:

• Infectious Diseases (either at your residency institution, your future fellowship institution if known, or both)
• Immunology (specifically focused on immunodeficiency and an opportunity to learn about antibiotic allergies)
• Hematology/Oncology and other specialty services that manage solid organ transplants (e.g., Gastroenterology, Renal)
• Dermatology (specifically dermatologic manifestations of infectious diseases and/or adverse drug reactions)
• Radiology
• Pulmonary (to gain exposure to cystic fibrosis)
• Rheumatology
• Specific research training (e.g., statistics, epidemiology)
• Public/global health (consider doing an internship at your local or state health department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or an international organization such as WHO)

Identify a mentor in infectious diseases at your program or elsewhere that you can talk to during residency and learn more about the field. They can also help you decide which programs might be a good fit for you and introduce you to others within the field.

The meetID program  provides a broad overview of pediatric ID, career exploration, the support and resources needed to excel in science and medicine, and an opportunity to network with other trainees, faculty, and PIDS leadership. The PIDS Foundation offers the SUMMERS program  that funds summer research projects of students at various levels of training, from graduate/medical school to undergraduate.

We recommend joining PIDS as a resident. Membership is free for residents and fellows and is a great way to learn more about pediatric infectious diseases. The Infectious Diseases Society of America also offers membership at a nominal fee ($30 as of 2023) for residents and a discounted fee ($120 as of 2023) for fellows.

If able, attend a national PIDS meeting such as St. Jude/PIDS Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Conference (yearly, in March) or IDWeek (yearly, in October). These meetings are a great way to learn more about the field of ID, expose yourself to interesting research, and meet potential mentors. Fellows are highly encouraged to attend these meetings and can provide insight into which programs might suit your interests.