Peds Infectious Diseases for Global Practitioners Clinical MD Fellow

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital • Memphis, TN

9h • Onsite

About The Position

New pathogens, threats such as COVID-19 and influenza pandemics, and emerging antimicrobial resistance over the past 2 decades have dramatically increased the need for pediatricians with subspecialty training in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Currently there are few or no Infectious Diseases practitioners in many countries, in part because of limited numbers of training programs outside of the United States and Canada, and in part because of barriers to participation in North American training programs. The latter include a relatively lengthy duration of training (3 years), which may significantly disrupt personal and professional life, an emphasis on training in scholarly activities, and, in some cases, the inability or unwillingness to accept international medical graduates. Accordingly, there is a need to expand and reshape training for global practitioners to allow them to gain special expertise in the management and prevention of infections in children and adolescents. The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Department of Infectious Diseases Fellowship training program in Pediatric Infectious Diseases for Global Practitioners was inaugurated in 2023. The training program is 1 year in duration. During their training, the ID residents participate in a formal didactic experience and direct patient care experiences, including antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and global pediatric medicine.

Requirements

• Satisfactory completion of 3 years of postdoctoral training in pediatrics in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited pediatric residency program, an RCPSC-accredited or CFPC-accredited pediatric residency program located in Canada, or the local equivalent.
• The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and University of Tennessee Graduate Medical Education Committees (UT GMEC) and/or a Subcommittee of these must review and approve applications.
• All residents must have passed USMLE Step 1, 2CK and Step 3 examinations or equivalent examinations (COMLEX- USA or MCCQE).

Nice To Haves

• International medical graduates may face barriers to participation in North American training programs.
• Encouragement to participate in the St. Jude/PIDS conference as this has a Global Health component.

Responsibilities

• Participate in a formal didactic experience and direct patient care experiences, including antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and global pediatric medicine.
• Inpatient rotations are performed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center.
• Outpatient consultation is provided in patients’ primary care clinics or dedicated Infectious Diseases and Solid Organ Transplant clinics.
• Antimicrobial stewardship experiences include opportunities to observe and participate in stewardship activities in the inpatient and ambulatory setting and to participate in committee meetings and educational activities.
• During Infection prevention rotations, fellows may observe Infection Control and Prevention teams, manage patients with exposure to communicable disease or who are colonized or infected with organisms of epidemiological concern, assist in outbreak investigation, participate in Infection Control and Prevention Committee meetings, and contribute to policy development and educational efforts.
• Trainees are mentored and supervised at all times by attending physicians.
• Residents take home call while on the clinical service, sharing call with residents participating in the traditional pediatric infectious diseases residency.
• Trainees can teach medical staff, junior subspecialty residents, general pediatric residents and medical students and interact with a wide variety of health care providers in departments outside of Infectious Diseases.
• Fellows participate in several conferences, including: Clinical Case Conference, Infectious Diseases Research Seminar, Journal Club, ID Board Review, Pediatric Grand Rounds, St. Jude Grand Rounds, Kiosk of Cases.
• Gather essential and accurate information about patients, make informed diagnostic and therapeutic decisions, and organize and prioritize responsibilities to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, safe and effective for the treatment of infectious diseases and the promotion of health.
• Demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological and social-behavioral aspects of infectious disease and apply this knowledge to patient care.
• Demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate the quality of patient care, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and to continuously improve patient care, based on ongoing self-evaluation, incorporation of formative feedback and life-long learning.
• Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, families and the public across a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, and with other health care professionals.
• Recognize the strengths, deficiencies and limits in one’s knowledge, expertise and emotions and appropriately seek help when needed; accept that uncertainty is a part of clinical medicine.
• Systematically analyze one’s own practice and implement changes with the goal of practice improvement.
• Work in inter-professional teams to enhance patient safety and improve patient care quality.
• Demonstrate a sense of duty and accountability and a commitment to carrying out the professional responsibilities of a consultant, adhering to ethical principles and displaying humanism, compassion, integrity, sensitivity and responsiveness to a diverse patient population.
• Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care; effectively utilize other resources in the system to provide optimal health care, incorporating considerations of cost awareness and risk-benefit analysis; advocate for quality patient care.
• Demonstrate the ability to identify gaps in scientific knowledge, plan and undertake investigations to address these gaps.

Benefits

• Support is provided for trainees to attend a scientific meeting (typically IDWeek or the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting) during their residency.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level