Interested in ID...what to do

[mangobug]

I'm in my Intern year, and I'm interested in applying to ID.

Any suggestions on what I should be doing/reading now to prepare myself for fellowship?

Also, what should I be doing to make myself a more competitive applicant?

Thanks

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[jdh71]

I'm in my Intern year, and I'm interested in applying to ID.

Any suggestions on what I should be doing/reading now to prepare myself for fellowship?

Also, what should I be doing to make myself a more competitive applicant?

Thanks

Do you have a pulse a no visa issues?

 

[mangobug]

Do you have a pulse a no visa issues?

hmm...i'm actually an international zombie. i was hoping that would add a little something extra to my application

 

[Medikit]

I would focus on what particular area of ID interests you and what kind of career you anticipate.

For example here are some broad categories within ID, they are definitely not mutually exclusive and may not be comprehensive :

-Basic science research
-Clinical research
-Clinical trials
-Vaccine research
-Public Health
-Clinical Microbiology
-International Medicine
-Travel Medicine
-Private practice/Community hospital consultations
-ID/Critical Care (this exists but is rare)
-Hospital epidemiology
-Infection Control
-Antimicrobial stewardship
-HIV
-Hepatitis C
-Transplant ID

ID programs have different strengths. For example clinical programs provide you with two years of intense clinical training and leave you ready to go out and practice immediately. Research programs typically cram all of your clinical experience into one year with minimal clinical requirements after that year. The best research programs either have guaranteed NIH funding for all three years (T32), lots of money on hand for your area of interest, or ideally both. Finally not every program is ideal for international work, in my mind the best programs for this either have an established relationship with your region of interest and/or the ability to provide training in these areas that count towards your fellowship training (meaning after your first year of clinical training you can spend the rest of your time in your region of interest).

As far as improving your application I would recommend the following: Consider clinical research and try to get published or present at IDSA. See if you can do a research elective to help you toward this goal. Find an ID advisor and do an ID rotation this year or first thing during third year so you can be ready to turn in your ERAS applicatoin. If you're interested in international work I would recommend arranging an overseas elective in addition to doing some clinical research (the research does not have to be related to the overseas elective).

Something else to consider if you're interested in epidemiology would be an EIS fellowship at the CDC. This is something I'm still considering doing though it is usually done before fellowship.

Here are some specific program reviews:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6816482&postcount=133
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661654&postcount=190
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661433&postcount=193
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7699264&postcount=202
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7696499&postcount=201
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10518552&postcount=54
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10768866&postcount=97
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11160427&postcount=107

You can look up information on nearly all programs here:
http://www.idsociety.org/Programs/
https://freida.ama-assn.org/Freida/user/viewProgramSearch.do


Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[gutonc]

All good points, but totally overkill. For 90% of the ID programs out there, good performance in residency, a good letter or two and a regional ACP poster will do the trick.

You should probably also keep in mind that there are virtually no ID jobs out there right now. The only one in my town that was open this year got 80 applications, mostly from mid-career folks and was filled less than a week after being posted. None of the 4 ID fellows finishing up at my institution this year have been able to line up ID jobs yet (2 are taking hospitalist jobs, one is going to Uganda to do an intn'l fellowship, one is going to do locums gen med).

 

[jdh71]

All good points, but totally overkill. For 90% of the ID programs out there, good performance in residency, a good letter or two and a regional ACP poster will do the trick.

You should probably also keep in mind that there are virtually no ID jobs out there right now. The only one in my town that was open this year got 80 applications, mostly from mid-career folks and was filled less than a week after being posted. None of the 4 ID fellows finishing up at my institution this year have been able to line up ID jobs yet (2 are taking hospitalist jobs, one is going to Uganda to do an intn'l fellowship, one is going to do locums gen med).

wow

that's kind of horrifying

 

[mangobug]

I would focus on what particular area of ID interests you and what kind of career you anticipate.

For example here are some broad categories within ID, they are definitely not mutually exclusive and may not be comprehensive :

-Basic science research
-Clinical research
-Clinical trials
-Vaccine research
-Public Health
-Clinical Microbiology
-International Medicine
-Travel Medicine
-Private practice/Community hospital consultations
-ID/Critical Care (this exists but is rare)
-Hospital epidemiology
-Infection Control
-Antimicrobial stewardship
-HIV
-Hepatitis C
-Transplant ID

ID programs have different strengths. For example clinical programs provide you with two years of intense clinical training and leave you ready to go out and practice immediately. Research programs typically cram all of your clinical experience into one year with minimal clinical requirements after that year. The best research programs either have guaranteed NIH funding for all three years (T32), lots of money on hand for your area of interest, or ideally both. Finally not every program is ideal for international work, in my mind the best programs for this either have an established relationship with your region of interest and/or the ability to provide training in these areas that count towards your fellowship training (meaning after your first year of clinical training you can spend the rest of your time in your region of interest).

As far as improving your application I would recommend the following: Consider clinical research and try to get published or present at IDSA. See if you can do a research elective to help you toward this goal. Find an ID advisor and do an ID rotation this year or first thing during third year so you can be ready to turn in your ERAS applicatoin. If you're interested in international work I would recommend arranging an overseas elective in addition to doing some clinical research (the research does not have to be related to the overseas elective).

Something else to consider if you're interested in epidemiology would be an EIS fellowship at the CDC. This is something I'm still considering doing though it is usually done before fellowship.

Here are some specific program reviews:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6816482&postcount=133
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661654&postcount=190
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661654&postcount=191
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661654&postcount=192
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661433&postcount=193
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7661654&postcount=194
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7699264&postcount=202
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=7696499&postcount=201
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10518552&postcount=54
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=10768866&postcount=97
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11160427&postcount=107

You can look up information on nearly all programs here:
http://www.idsociety.org/Programs/
https://freida.ama-assn.org/Freida/user/viewProgramSearch.do


Let me know if you have any other questions.

thanks!

 

[ForeignBody]

All good points, but totally overkill. For 90% of the ID programs out there, good performance in residency, a good letter or two and a regional ACP poster will do the trick.

You should probably also keep in mind that there are virtually no ID jobs out there right now. The only one in my town that was open this year got 80 applications, mostly from mid-career folks and was filled less than a week after being posted. None of the 4 ID fellows finishing up at my institution this year have been able to line up ID jobs yet (2 are taking hospitalist jobs, one is going to Uganda to do an intn'l fellowship, one is going to do locums gen med).

Which region are you in?

 

[gutonc]

Which region are you in?

West.

 

[Medikit]

You should probably also keep in mind that there are virtually no ID jobs out there right now. The only one in my town that was open this year got 80 applications, mostly from mid-career folks and was filled less than a week after being posted. None of the 4 ID fellows finishing up at my institution this year have been able to line up ID jobs yet (2 are taking hospitalist jobs, one is going to Uganda to do an intn'l fellowship, one is going to do locums gen med).

I disagree with the broad statement that there are "virtually no ID jobs" available. It is true that there is not a desperate need for ID physicians right now so you may not be able to choose your location. Desireable locations in the West and Northeast tend to be saturated with physicians in general. However, there are definitely jobs available in the Southeast.

 

[D elegans]

The ID docs I know (Midwest) supplement their ID practices with general IM or hospitalist work.

 

[QuinnB]

I don't know if there has ever been a great job market for ID. Originally, it was a field marked by inpatient consultation and only recently (last 10-20 years) has there really been a meaningful shift to the outpatient world (HIV, travel clinic, hospital follow up, hepatitis, etc...).

ID is complicated because people tend to do multiple things, at least from academics (e.g., global health, public health - local/national/international, CDC, general medicine, etc...) and fair number of people are still research oriented.

I think overall, ID docs will have to continue supplementing (general medicine, hospitalist work, grants in academia, etc...), but I think that it has pretty much always been this way.