top of page

ID FAQ

Specialty of practice beyond general medicine (internal or pediatrics)

 

An ID specialist may see patients when:

  • an infection is suspected but difficult to diagnose

  • an infection is rare or complicated to treat

  • a patient does not respond to treatment

  • a healthy person plans to travel to a foreign country or a location where infection risk is high

  • treating illnesses becomes a part of a patient's overall care, for example, a patient with HIV/AIDS

  • an infection occurs in an immunocompromised person

  • an infection requires prolonged or IV therapy

1 /
What is the "Infectious Diseases" Specialty

  • Globally, infectious diseases rank as the 3rd leading cause of death in 2020 according to WHO; behind Ischemic heart disease and stroke

  • COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020 and an additional > 50,000 persons died from influenza and pneumonia

  • ID specialists are on the leading edge of some of the hottest topics in medicine today—from treatment for HIV/AIDS patients, to the growing threat posed by antibiotic resistance, to ongoing concerns about COVID-19 and other emerging infections

  • This dynamic and evolving discipline offers exciting opportunities for physicians who enjoy helping others through problem-solving and medical detective work

2 /
Why choose Infectious Diseases?
4 /

After completion of medical school:

  • General internal medicine residency (IM) (3 years) OR

  • General pediatrics residency (3 years)

  • Also med-peds or med-psych combined residency (4 years)

  • Infectious Diseases (ID) fellowship (2 or 3 years depending on the program)

  • Options for further training: research, transplant infectious diseases, orthopedic infectious diseases, critical care, public health/travel medicine

How does one become an Infectious Diseases specialist?

  • Practice focus can vary based on geographic area of practice, interest and setting (academic vs. private)

    • HIV care

    • Tuberculosis care

    • Referral center for complex infections

    • Transplant (infection) or bone/joint infection care

    • Research

    • Education

    • OPAT (outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy)

    • Outpatient, inpatient consultative care or combinations of all

    • Can add critical care training year to practice ID+CC

    • Public health

3 /
What is an Infectious Diseases career like?
bottom of page