1132 - Professional Development Curriculum for Fellows in Infectious Diseases

Background: ID fellowship training demands that fellows must learn a wealth of information to master ID content and become experts in the field. As such, there is often a limited amount of formal curricular time devoted to career development and to the business of medicine. We designed and implemented a professional development educational series for ID fellows.Table


Methods: Surveys of fellowship graduates indicated an increased need for training on the business aspects of medicine and careers in ID during fellowship. The primary aim of this project was to develop a professional development curriculum to meet identified needs while still being feasible to implement given all the other topic areas about which fellows must learn. WE developed a 6-part series comprised of: careers in ID, physician contracts, compensation models, and job search (table). Each of the 6 educational activities included pre-reading and a 1-hour small group activity. Outside speakers were utilized in 2 of the sessions. Fellows completed surveys pre- and post- curriculum implementation and also provided formative assessments of curricular activities throughout the year.

Results: All (n= 6) ID fellows completed the curriculum. All 6 (100%) reported an increased understanding of careers in ID, physician contracts, and resources for continued learning on career paths. All fellows reported that this was a meaningful addition to the existing curriculum. Strengths of the curriculum as identified by fellows were the general topic areas and the interactive format. Fellows identified areas for improvement for upcoming years: expand the session on compensation models, include more information on careers in industry, and add billing and coding workshops. All fellows strongly agreed that the professional development curriculum should be continued in future years.

Conclusion: The professional development curriculum was a valuable addition to our existing ID fellowship training program. Implementing a professional development curriculum for ID fellows is feasible.