University of Virginia Health System

4th Year ID Elective

Course Title: Infectious Diseases Elective

Course Director: Dr. Molly Hughes, MD PhD (mah3x@virginia.edu, 924.5216)

Course Assistant Director: Dr. Breyette Lorntz,PhD (Lorntz@virginia.edu, 243.6237)

Course Description:  During this 4 week elective, students will round on the inpatient consultation service. Students will be required to independently assess patients and to present them to either the Infectious Diseases fellow or attending physician.  The student will be an integral contributing member of the team, thereby allowing him/her to become accustomed to the team-oriented approach to patient care utilized during internship and residency.  The student will be expected to interact professionally not only with our team but also with the referring physicians and nursing/ancillary staff during care of the patient.  In addition to the above clinical duties, the student will be encouraged to attend the weekly ID Case Conference and ID Journal Club. 

Course Objectives:

1. To gain exposure to the diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease on the inpatient consultation service.

2. To develop skills for interviewing patients, writing H&Ps, developing care plans, presenting patient cases, and writing progress notes

Course Format:

Students will perform and present inpatient ID consultations and work with the fellow and attending physician to develop an appropriate plan for each assigned consultation.  Students will make rounds with the ID fellow, the residents, and the attending physician every morning, including at least one weekend of the four-week Elective. 

Enrollment: Up to four 4th year Students per Period

Prerequisites: Completion of Clerkships

Assessment:

The final grade for each student will be determined by the attending physician who worked with the student during the rotation.  The attending physician may consult the fellows and clinic attending physicians for input, but the fellows and clinic attending physicians will not be involved in the final grade assignment.

Logistics:

The students are asked to contact the course director, Dr. Molly Hughes (PICC# 4538), by 9:00 am on the morning of the first day of the rotation and at any time during the rotation if they have questions.  If Dr. Hughes is unavailable by pager, please contact the inpatient fellow (PICC# 1369) to identify the rounding time and location on the first day of the rotation.

Recommended References

1. Mermel et al.  "Guidelines for the Management of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections ".  CID 2001:32 (1 May)

2. Tunkle et al. "Practice Guidelines for the Management of Bacterial Meningitis ".  CID 2004:39 (1 November)

3. Roth et al. "Approach to the Adult Patient with Fever of Unknown Origin ".  American Family Physician. Vol 6 No 11. 1 Dec 2003

4. Beck et al. "Community Acquired Bacterial Meningitis in Adults ". New England Journal of Medicine. 2006: 354: 44-53.

Student Schedule

Infectious Diseases Schedule Outline/Overview

Didactics sessions to be arranged as per the attending and fellow on service