Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship
Infectious Diseases Fellowship
The ACGME-accredited Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship prepares fellows to become competent pediatric infectious disease clinicians and capable bench and/or clinical researchers.
Located in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Children’s is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the country, ranking in the top five nationally in terms of bed space and number of visits, and is consistently ranked as a Top Ten Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report.
The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship represents a dynamic training program responding to the requirements of the ACGME and the American Board of Pediatrics, Subspecialty Board of Certification in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
The three-year curriculum has been developed by a very experienced group of both clinical and research faculty with the goal of preparing fellows to become competent pediatric infectious disease clinicians and capable bench and/or clinical researchers.
The program currently accepts two fellows per year.
What You Need to Know
Dear Prospective Fellowship Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in pediatric infectious diseases, an incredibly diverse and rewarding specialty. As evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric infectious diseases physicians have never been more important nor their duties more diverse. The pandemic highlighted the wide array of career paths available to a pediatric infectious diseases’ specialist; everything from clinical care, disaster planning, infection prevention and control, antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship, immunology, microbial pathogenesis, vaccine development, epidemiology and public health, public relations, and social determinants of health. We need you to join this exciting profession and we are committed to helping you find your particular niche within it.
The program's purpose is to train young physicians to become competent infectious diseases clinicians and capable bench and/or clinical researchers anywhere they choose to practice. This will be done through clinical rotations on the ID consult services (General ID and Host Defense), which offers recommendations on the care of patients throughout one of the largest children's hospitals in the country on a variety of services - PICU, NICU, numerous surgical and medical subspecialty services, Heme/Onc/BMT, Solid Organ Transplant; on our unique 26 bed ID specific unit; and in numerous outpatient clinics (ID, HIV, Host Defense, Global Health, TB, Neo ID, Hepatitis C and Immunodeficiency).
For those interested in experiencing an in-person exposure to infectious diseases at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Department of Pediatrics Visiting Resident Rotation program is available. This program welcomes residents from diverse backgrounds who are considering pursuing fellowship training in a pediatric subspecialty. Application can be made to spend a customized four-week rotation in Infectious Diseases. A supporting stipend and provided housing may be available. Learn more about the program.
We strongly encourage anyone who is considering applying for pediatric infectious diseases fellowship to apply during this application cycle. In order to ensure that the recruitment process is fair, equitable, and socially responsible, all pediatric infectious diseases fellowship interviews for the upcoming academic year will be offered virtually with post-interview in-person visits available.
We look forward to meeting you and getting to know your interests within our rewarding and ever-changing subspecialty!
Regards,
Dr. William Barson
Infection Diseases Fellowship Program Director
Section Chief, Infectious Diseases
William.Barson@NationwideChildrens.org
Dr. Monica Ardura
Associate Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship
Medical Director, Host Defense Program
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Monica.Ardura@NationwideChildrens.org
Clinical Experience
Clinical experience in infectious diseases (ID) is gained at Nationwide Children’s Hospital through rotations on a unique 26-bed ID ward, inpatient consult services (General/Host Defense), and in a number of outpatient clinics. Only a small number of pediatric ID programs in the United States offer a ward experience where the fellow is exposed to both primary care pediatric ID and complex referral problems in a setting where he/she will function as the attending physician. This affords the fellow a great opportunity to teach both house staff and medical students, as well as to develop improved clinical management and patient/family interactive skills.
The inpatient consult services expose the fellow to complex ID in a variety of patient settings (e.g. post-operative, NICU/PICU/CTICU, immunocompromised/transplant patients), as well as routine pediatric ID. In the outpatient setting the fellow spends time in the ID, HIV, Immunology, TB, Host Defense, Global Health, Neo-ID, Hepatitis C, and International Adoption Clinics. In response to patient needs, Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Section of Infectious Diseases have developed unique clinics to best serve our patient population. Fellows may spend time in these clinics, as well.
Education Experience
Didactic instruction is received through a number of venues including:
- Microbiology/Virology lab experience
- Intensive hands-on lab experience during each of years one (4 weeks) and two (3 weeks).
- The Infectious Diseases Society of America/Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Infection Control Fellows Course
- The CDC online STI training module
- Section of Infectious Diseases
- Faculty led:
- Monthly ID board review course
- Transplant/Immunocompromised host lecture series and Journal Club
- Annual regional ID conference
- ID research/ clinical consortium
- Quarterly All City ID Clinical Case Conference
- Fellow led:
- Journal club
- Clinical case conference
- Morbidity/mortality conference
- Research updates
- Quality improvement updates
- Board review with Q&A sessions
- Faculty led:
- Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Department of Pediatrics weekly grand rounds
- Department of Pediatrics morbidity/mortality conference
- ACGME fellowship core curriculum and research workshops
- Fellowship translational research series
- The Research Institute seminar series
- Epidemiology and Infection Prevention (1 week introduction early in year 2 with optional elective in year 3)
- Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (1 week introduction early in year 2 with optional elective in year 3)
- Quality Improvement
Research Experience
The Research Institute’s mission is to transform the health of children in our community and throughout the world. As one of the largest pediatric research centers in the United States, the Research Institute is ranked among the top 10 for National Institutes of Health funding among free standing children’s hospitals.
The Research Institute supports research activities on the campus of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The Research Institute is organized into 13 centers of emphasis, two of which specifically conduct ID research: the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and the Center for Vaccines and Immunity. More than 1,300 investigators and employees work in the research laboratories and offices, which includes four research buildings encompassing more than 85,000 square feet of dedicated pediatric research space.
Fellows will be introduced to the research faculty early in the fellowship and will select a primary mentor with whom they will work towards completion of the scholarly activity requirement of the American Board of Pediatrics. A Scholarship Oversight Committee will be assigned to assist fellows in accomplishing this goal with scheduled semi-annual meetings.
Additional research opportunities exist in the Clinical Microbiology and Virology Laboratories.
Administrative Experience
The fellow’s administrative experience and exposure to the health care system and community resources are afforded by attendance at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Infection Control Committee meetings. One of the senior fellows will be identified as the administration fellow responsible for scheduling all fellow clinical activities in conjunction with the fellowship program coordinator.
Global Health Experience
Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers residents and fellows the opportunity to participate in a two-year certificate program in global health. Learn more about our advanced competency in Global Health programs.
The Global Health Certificate Program (GHCP) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital was established in 2010 by Nicole O’Brien, M.D., to provide training and opportunities in global health to pediatric residents and subspecialty fellows over a two-year period. The GHCP is designed to meet the core pediatric competencies for international child health training, as outlined by the AAP Section on International Child Health, through a series of online modules, global health Special Interest Group discussions and didactic lectures.
Currently, the Infectious Diseases Section, under the direction of Dr. Rachel Martin-Blais, is working with Dr. O’Brien, Diane Gorgas, MD at the Office of Global Health at OSU, Ben Nwome, MD and the International Visiting Scholar Medical Program, Kurt Stevenson, MD, MPH, and the OSU adult Infectious Diseases Program to develop an expanded global health curriculum for ID Fellows and for all of those interested in the infectious disease aspects of global health. GHCP participants complete a one-month global health elective either at an established site in the Dominican Republic, Botswana, Guatemala, Kenya, or India, or at one that is arranged individually. The International Scholars Program offers four competitive Trainee International Exchange Travel Awards up to $2,000 per calendar year to full time Nationwide Children's pediatric residents or subspecialty fellows. The Infectious Disease Section also operates a Global Health Clinic to prepare children for international travel and to care for them if they acquire infections during their travels.
Formal Coursework
Fellows also have the opportunity to take courses at The Ohio State University and enroll in programs conferring a Master of Public Health or Master of Medical Science degrees. Competitive scholarships are available.
Fellows, Faculty & Alumni
Research
Research education and training are vital to the mission of Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. As a top-ten free-standing pediatric research center and an academic affiliate of The Ohio State University, The Research Institute has an outstanding faculty, dedicated to training and mentoring the next generation of scientists in pediatric research.
Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Advocacy
Advocacy training fosters and encourages interest in child advocacy by early involvement and exposure to its many aspects such as addressing social determinants of health, community collaboration, health finance, health policy and legislative advocacy.
Application & Selection
To meet the needs of our applicants, our infectious diseases fellowship program participates in the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS) and the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). We request four letters of recommendation (one of which should be from your Residency Program Director).
Once your completed ERAS application has been reviewed, selected applicants will be extended invitations to interview virtually and will be expected to provide the program with three available dates. We would like to extend an invitation to virtually meet with current fellows, for the night prior to the interview day. The interview day will include interviews with our faculty. Please expect to be with us from approximately 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Interviews will be conducted from late August through mid-November annually. We encourage candidates who have identified particular areas of interest in ID to let us know so that their interview day can be personalized accordingly.
Note: All interviews will be conducted virtually during the 2023-2024 recruiting season.
Combined Fellowships
We encourage applicants interested in a combined fellowship to apply. In association with the IM Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, we offer a combined four-year adult/pediatric ID Fellowship. Additionally, pediatric fellowships can be arranged with other subspecialties at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, including Clinical Informatics and Quality and Safety Leadership.
International Applicants
In accordance with Nationwide Children’s Hospital policy, international medical graduates must have a J-1 visa, which will require approval from the designated institutional officer and the Infectious Diseases Fellowship program director.
In order to become certified in Infectious Diseases by the American Board of Pediatrics, all physicians who graduated from medical school outside the United States or Canada must successfully complete a residency program at an accredited pediatric or IM/PEDS residency training program in the United States or Canada following graduation from medical school and ideally prior to submitting an application for fellowship training at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. However, other qualified internationally trained physicians will also be considered for fellowship training.
We appreciate your interest in our Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program and look forward to reviewing your completed application.
Additional Resources
- Download our fellowship brochure
- Download our facilities brochure
- Watch the video tour of Nationwide Children's campus
- Learn more about fellowship benefits
- Learn more about life in Columbus, OH
- Learn more about our commitment to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce
Contact
William J. Barson, MD
Program Director
William.Barson@NationwideChildrens.org
Gina M. Pacheco
Education Coordinator
Gina.Pacheco@NationwideChildrens.org
(614) 722-4864
Department of Pediatrics Visiting Resident Rotation
The goal of our program is to expose pediatric subspecialty-bound residents from outside institutions to clinical training in our academic pediatrics program. In addition to providing clinical training and education, our mentorship efforts are designed to support the career development of the next generation of pediatric subspecialists.
We welcome residents from diverse backgrounds who are pursuing fellowship training in a pediatric subspecialty to apply for our Department of Pediatrics Visiting Resident Rotation. Participants will spend four weeks on a customized, in-person rotation in the subspecialty of their choosing. All of our pediatric subspecialty programs welcome applicants.
