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Vocational Training
Infectious
Diseases
Supervising Committee
Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) in Infectious Diseases.
Definition
of Specialty
Infectious diseases physicians have specialised training
in clinical, laboratory and public health aspects of infectious disease medicine,
and microbiology.
General Principles of Training
- Advanced training in infectious diseases consists of a structured 3-year
program. The prime aim is to train a clinician excellent in the management of
patients with infectious diseases.
- At least 2 years experience in
clinical infectious diseases is required. The third (non core) year of training
should be in an area relevant to infectious diseases. A period of laboratory training
is required during the 3-year training period (see below).
- Candidates
should become conversant with the wide spectrum of infectious diseases, including
current literature and research activities, but are not expected to be expert
in all areas. Training encompasses diagnosis, investigation and management of
patients with infectious diseases. Trainees will have an understanding of relevant
areas of microbiology, immunology, epidemiology, prevention and public health
aspects of infectious diseases.
- It is strongly recommended that training
be undertaken at more than one institution, to acquire sufficient breadth of exposure
and experience.
- Advanced trainees transferring to the SAC will be
required to meet at least the requirements for core clinical and laboratory training.
-
The SAC supports trainees who seek to undertake part of their training in regional
or larger rural centres. Such training will need to meet the criteria for training
outlined below.
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;
- immunisation;
- childhood
and neonatal infections, including those associated with primary immunodeficiency.
Non
Core Training
Up to one year of suitable non core advanced training
may be included in the 3-year infectious diseases advanced training program. This
non core year may be spent in related areas of clinical medicine, public health,
infectious diseases research or laboratory work, but will need to be approved
prospectively by the SAC.
Logbook
All
advanced trainees will keep a logbook that records patients seen with their diagnosis
and attendance at educational activities. The purpose of the logbook is to record
the extent of the training experience. These will be reviewed 6-monthly by the
supervisor of the advanced trainee and used in preparation of the supervisor's
report. Only in exceptional circumstances may the SAC ask to view the logbook.
Laboratory
Training
The laboratory component of training consists of a minimum
of 6 months spent working in a microbiology laboratory providing routine clinical
services (this experience should be documented by the supervisor on the supervisor's
report).
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 (ASID), 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
6 of these 8 major topics shall be documented in the logbook, and reviewed by
supervisors.
Procedural
Skills
There are no procedural skill requirements essential to training.
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