Courses & Conferences to Attend
I studied for a Master’s in Tropical Medicine and International Health. This degree has developed my knowledge in Tropical and Infectious Diseases, my understanding of research methodologies, and I gained laboratory experience learning about diagnostic techniques.
I presented my master’s project at the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene “Research in Progress” conference, which was a great opportunity to meet other early career researchers and investigators.
During my foundation years I attended the Welsh Microbiology Association meetings, which were a great opportunity to present microbiology audit projects or QIPs.
Throughout medical school I was very active in Global health societies and attended various Global health conferences.
Definitely look into getting the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. There are options for doing this part time whilst working (the Global Health & Humanitarian Medicine course [MSF]), and full-time abroad in Peru (Gorgas course), Uganda (LSHTM East African Partnership), and other countries.
ESCMID (formerly ECCMID) is an international conference that a lot of the Infectious Diseases consultants and registrars attend every year. Advances in the field of infection are presented at this cutting-edge conference. It is an exciting place to network and keep your knowledge up-to-date. Similarly, FIS/HIS (Federation of Infection Societies) holds a large international infection conference hosted in the UK every year, and is a great way to broaden your knowledge and perhaps even present a project.
How to Maximise Your Portfolio
Speak to Infectious Diseases/Microbiology/Virology registrars early on in your career and arrange to do a taster week if possible to figure out 1) whether this specialty is for you 2) what projects opportunities there are.
Familiarise yourself with the training pathways and try to figure out whether you want to specialise in ID/GIM, ID/Microbiology, ID/Virology, or pure medical microbiology, or medical virology. Then read up on the person specifications and start planning on how you can fit them.
If you don’t have infectious diseases at the hospitals you are working in, speak to microbiology consultants and registrars to see what projects you can get involved in.
Have a good mix of QIPs and publications to talk about at the interview. Regarding QIPs, it is better to have one QIP, which you have completed several cycles for, than to have multiple QIPs but only completed one cycle.
Ideally try to get a rotation in either Infectious Diseases or Microbiology to prepare yourself for the clinical stations of the interview. The BIA email discussion list (BIA eLists) is also a great way to expand your knowledge by reading discussions on topics in microbiology and infectious disease.
Remember for the interview, just because some projects aren’t “infection related” does not mean you can’t talk about how you would apply what you have learnt for infection training.
Making the Most of Your Day Job
To be a good infection specialist (or any specialist) it is important to have a general understanding of other pathologies, and to be able to identify when something is unlikely to be caused by an infection. Therefore, build a good knowledge base during your foundation and core training, and make the most of the educational opportunities in rotations you are currently in. You never know when the knowledge may come in handy.
Don’t forget to look for leadership or teaching opportunities e.g. associate college tutor roles. Try to be well rounded in all the “CAMP” (clinical, academic, managerial, personal) domains.
Making the Most of Infectious Diseases Placements
Ensure you make your intention to pursue a career in the specialty clear to all consultants and registrars you are working with, and ask about any projects you can help with. Make sure you are a good team player: be proactive with helping out your team, seeing patients/referrals with consultants and registrars etc. You are more likely to be trusted with a project if you can be trusted with the ward.
If you are not going to have your rotation in Infectious Disease or Microbiology at the start of the year, get in touch earlier to see if you can start working on something before you get to your rotation so that you have time to complete a project before rotating to another hospital.
When you are working in the specialty, try to reflect on what the positives and the negatives of the specialty are, and why you want to pursue a career in infection. Note down memorable cases or experiences. This may come useful for the interview.
What About Non-Infectious Diseases Placements?
As mentioned above, make the most of all opportunities and experiences to develop as a clinician. Infections are not confined to one bodily system, so having knowledge and experience in other specialties will always be useful.
Whether or not you are going to have a rotation in Infectious Diseases or Microbiology, reach out to ID/Micro consultants early on in the year to identify a project you can work on and complete by the end of the year.
Top 3 Tips for Getting Into Infectious Diseases
- Try to get experience in the specialty.
If you can’t get a rotation in Infectious Diseases or Microbiology, organise a taster week to meet the relevant consultants and registrars who can give you advice and identify projects you can get involved with.
Look at the person specification early on in your career and work out how you can plan your career to meet the person specification.
Practice your interview technique with different people, and refine your answers using their advice (if appropriate). Ideally, practice with infection consultants and registrars. If this is not possible, practice with friends and medical colleagues from different specialties, they can still give valuable insight on how you can improve.
If you don’t succeed at first, try again! Look for clinical fellow jobs or clinical research fellow jobs in infectious diseases or microbiology in the interim.
