Why include specific immunology training?

Infectious diseases and immunology can be considered as two sides of the same coin: infectious disease specialists are expected to know when to suspect and how to evaluate for common immune deficiencies, and to also be aware of the specific opportunistic infections that patients with immune deficiencies are susceptible to.

Expert clinical care

The fellow will be involved in the care of patient in a variety of clinical settings. These include both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Our inpatient units include the medical and surgical wards, PICU (including the pediatric cardiac ICU), NICU, ED and hematology/oncology wards. Our division has had more than 640 new inpatient consults last year. In addition, the fellow will also have experience in our busy outpatient clinics that serves consults from the community providers. These cases also include those as follow ups from the hospital after discharge as well as travel and HIV clinics among others. The division has completed more than 2250 visits last year. The fellows will also attend specific ambulatory clinics devoted to the evaluation of immune deficiencies as part of their ambulatory experience, staffed by board-certified pediatric immunologists. The fellow will actively follow and manage patients they see for inpatient and outpatient consultations who are diagnosed with a primary immune deficiency, as part of their ambulatory experience.

Collaborative subspecialty experiences

The fellow will learn the initial evaluation and management of disorders of antibodies, complement, neutrophils and lymphocytes, including prophylactic therapies, the appropriate use of immune modulators, the indications, risks, and side effects of immunoglobulin replacement therapies, and the indications, and risks of bone marrow transplant for more serious immune deficiencies. The fellows will be involved in the initial assessment and evaluation of referrals for SCID made as part of our state newborn screening program.

The fellows will also be involved in the initial evaluation of candidates of kidney transplant seen with our nephrology transplant service, as well as providing long-term follow-up for prophylaxis as necessary for opportunistic infections, and evaluation and treatment for any infections that do occur after transplantation.