The infectious diseases clinical service at Riley Hospital for Children provides care for children with a broad range of infectious diseases in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Fellows learn from over 4,000 inpatient and outpatient clinical encounters of complex infectious diseases each year supervised by 12 dedicated and enthusiastic pediatric infectious diseases physicians. The clinical educational curriculum covers diverse infectious diseases topics including microbiology, infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship, epidemiology, global health and clinical pharmacology.
Inpatient Service
Fellows complete 52 weeks of inpatient clinical service divided between a primary pediatric infectious diseases service and an immunocompromised infectious diseases service.
Unlike most pediatric programs, a primary pediatric infectious diseases clinical service manages children with infections, including osteomyelitis, orbital cellulitis, and Kawasaki disease. This team also provides a pediatric infectious diseases consult service offering guidance to subspecialties, including hospitalists, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units and cardiac intensive care units.
With an emphasis of active learning during clinical care of patients and bedside rounds, fellows lead clinical service rounds with the guidance of their supervising attending and a clinical pharmacist and provide teaching to the pediatric infectious diseases team that includes residents, medical students and physician assistant trainees.
The immunocompromised infectious diseases service is a consult service providing expertise in infections in patients with malignancies, bone marrow and solid organ transplants, and those on immunosuppressive therapies. The service is led by Muayad Alali, MD and supported by dedicated pharmacist Michelle Kussin, PharmD, and physician assistant Katie Barros, PA-C.
Schedule and Calls
Generally 30 weeks of inpatient service are completed in the first year, and 11 weeks in the second and third years of fellowship training, with one-third of inpatient service on the immunocompromised infectious diseases service and the rest on the pediatric infectious diseases service.
Fellows take night call by phone from home twice a week while on primary inpatient service and cover one weekend of call per month.
In their first year, fellows also complete a one month rotation in the clinical microbiology lab and one month on the adult infectious diseases clinical service at Eskenazi Hospital.
Outpatient Clinics
General Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic
Fellows learn outpatient management of pediatric infectious diseases in a general pediatric infectious diseases clinic on Friday mornings. Fellows have clinic twice per month where, under the supervision of a faculty member, they manage a diverse set of diagnoses, including histoplasmosis, fever of unknown origin and hospital follow up of osteomyelitis and Kawasaki disease.
Pediatric HIV Clinic
Fellows spend one half day per quarter in HIV clinic, where they provide longitudinal care to children and adolescents with perinatally and behaviorally acquired HIV infection. They learn management of antiretroviral drugs and HIV-related comorbidities. A team of faculty specializing in HIV along with a pharmacist and social worker provide didactic teaching to fellows about the complexities of HIV care.
Optional Clinics
- The travel clinic is run by John Christenson, MD, at Riley Hospital for Children. Fellows have access to Travax and have the opportunity to learn about travel medicine, preventative counseling, vaccine recommendations and malaria prophylaxis.
- The immunology clinic at Riley Hospital for Children led by pediatric immunology faculty physicians welcomes interested fellows from pediatric infectious diseases. This clinic focuses on evaluation of children with suspected immunodeficiency and management of patients with primary immunodeficiencies.