Infectious Diseases (Paediatrics and Adults)

Components of Training

Core Training

Clinical Infectious Diseases
Training should include diagnosis and management of patients in the wide range of the most common and important infections.

Essential areas of training include:

• HIV related disease and sexually transmitted diseases.
  
• General infectious diseases in hospitalised patients, including infections of surgical patients and in intensive care.
  
• Infections in patients immunosuppressed for transplantation.
  
• Infections in patients immunosuppressed by cancer and its treatment.
  
• Tropical/travel and geographic medicine.
  
• Infection control.
  
• Immunization.
  
• childhood and neonatal infections, including those associated with primary immunodeficiency.

Logbook
All advanced trainees will keep a logbook, that records patients seen with their diagnosis. The purpose of the logbook is to record the extent of the training experience. These will be reviewed six monthly by the supervisor of the advanced trainee and used in preparation of the supervisor's report.

Trainees will maintain a logbook documenting clinical experience and attendance at educational activities as described above. The logbooks will usually be evaluated by the supervisor, at least every six months, except in exceptional circumstances, when the SAC may ask to view the logbook.

Laboratory Training
The laboratory component of training consists of either a minimum of six months spent working in a microbiology laboratory providing routine clinical services (this experience should be documented by the supervisor on the supervisor's report form); or attendance a microbiology training course which will include pre reading, a two week intensive, hands-on course in laboratory methods and an associated series of lectures on the topics of antibiotic resistance, introduction to parasitology, and/or introduction to laboratory virology.

This two week training course will be followed by a small laboratory based project at the home institution and participation in a number of laboratory based quarterly assurance projects forwarded to trainees by the training course supervisor.

For trainees undertaking the laboratory component of training a supervisor's report should be provided documenting successful completion of the laboratory training.

Formal Teaching
Trainees are expected to attend teaching sessions in important relevant areas:

• Clinical epidemiology and public health.
  
• Immunisation.
  
• Infection control.
  
• Antibiotic resistance.
  
• Infections in pregnancy.
  
• Tropical medicine and parasitology.
  
• Virology.
  
• Mycology.
  
• Sexually transmitted diseases.

Lectures in these areas will be included in the Annual Conference of the Australian Society of Infectious Diseases, during the registrars day, usually held prior to that conference, at the time of the laboratory courses and on other occasions. Attendance at courses covering at least six of these eight major topics shall be documented in the logbook, and reviewed by supervisors.

[ Back to Advanced Vocational Training Menu ]

Home | General Information | Basic Training | FRACP Examination
Advanced Training | Advanced Vocational Training
Training outside Australia & New Zealand
Return to RACP Homepage