|  |  |
Vocational Training
Infectious
Diseases
Supervising Committee
Specialist
Advisory Committee (SAC) in Infectious Diseases.
Definition
of Specialty
Infectious diseases paediatricians have specialised training
in clinical, laboratory and public health aspects of infectious disease medicine
and microbiology relevant to children.
General Principles
- Advanced training in paediatric 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. This experience should be primarily with paediatric
patients. 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
third year training period (see below).
- Trainees 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 in Infectious Diseases
supports trainees who seek to undertake part of their training in regional or
rural centres. Such training will need to meet the criteria for training outlined
below.
- All subspecialty paediatric trainees must complete the community
and child health requirements for paediatric training.
Note that the guidelines
differ between Australia and New Zealand.
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.
- In
New Zealand infectious diseases with specific problems for Maori and Pacific Island
children e.g. Tb, hepatitis B, rheumatic fever, invasive meningococcal disease,
and severe staphylococcus aureus and pneumococcal infections."
Logbook
All
advanced trainees will keep a logbook, that records patients seen with their diagnosis.
These will be reviewed 6-monthly by the supervisor of the advanced trainee and
used in preparation of the Supervisor's Report.
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 form).
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 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.
[ Table of Contents ]
|  |
