The inpatient program includes primary infectious diseases consultative responsibility for a 34-bed critical care unit, a dedicated hematology/oncology unit that supports the bone marrow transplantation program, and a nephrology/renal transplantation unit.

The curriculum for the first year program also includes dedicated time spent in learning basic microbology with a bench level experience in microbiologic techniques of bacteriology and virology. Month-long rotations are spent on the epidemiology services. Fellows can also elect a pediatric infectious diseases rotation.


Second Year

The second year of the training program is dedicated primarily to the development and completion of a research project, which is designed to meet the particular interests of the fellow. However, the fellow continues to spend a total of 2-3 months on the inpatient consultative service and to attend the infectious disease clinics, including HIV and hepatitis C clinics. Fellows are encouraged to fulfill the role of a junior attending both in supervising the clinical service and in supporting the teaching program.

The second year curriculum, in addition to the research project, is tailored to meet the special needs and interests of each fellow. Rotations at other medical centers may be arranged when appropriate. Opportunities exist for involvement in epidemiology and public health, molecular biology and immunology, and specialized areas of clinical infectious diseases.

Research

The division of infectious diseases is involved in an increasing spectrum of research projects. In addition to a long history of involvement in experimental drug treatment trials, the division has developed active research projects in the epidemiology and biology of Lyme disease, the use of molecular probes in the detection of microbial agents and the pharmacokinetics of antibiotic use.

Excellent opportunities exist for research in hospital or public health epidemiology. The Maine Medical Center Research Institute provides supervision and a laboratory setting for the application of molecular biology and immunology to infectious disease research. In addition, the MMC AIDS Consultation Service has embarked on several clinical drug trials and provides a setting for additional research efforts that focus on clinical and immunological aspects of HIV infection.

Second-year fellows are encouraged to develop their own research project with appropriate faculty supervision drawn from the division of infectious diseases or the MMCRI. These projects may be primarily epidemiologic, clinical, or basic research as determined by the fellows' interests. Research support is available from the MMC Research Foundation for fellows' research projects.