TRAINING PATHWAYS
Alternaria Scotch Tape Prep - dematiaceous melanin pigment
(A) Two year program. The expected duration of the microbiology fellowship program for candidates without significant clinical microbiology experience and our infectious diseases clinical training is two years. In the descriptions of specific areas of study below, the time spent in each area is described for the first year of the fellowship program. These address the core and minimum training requirements of the CPEP program. In year two, exposure in these areas will be proportionally increased depending on the fellow’s interests, experience, and educational merit of activities in the microbiology laboratory at the time (for example, adoption of new major technology in a particular area). The second year will also emphasize continued acquisition of adequate clinical expertise in infectious diseases to build fundamental clinical understanding necessary to direct a clinical microbiology laboratory. Significant time will also be available in both years to pursue clinical microbiology related research projects that will advance the fellow’s academic expertise. The ACGME fellowship program is one year.
(B) Research Pathway. Fellows may elect also to pursue a research pathway which combines clinical training as proposed above with a postdoctoral research fellowship training in an area related to clinical microbiology diagnostics. In their post clinical phase of training, fellows would pursue research at an institution in the greater Boston vicinity. The length of the research time would extend the total fellowship training experience, which depending upon the goals of the fellow may extend training for one to five years, and would prepare individuals for careers that bridge clinical microbiology diagnostics with basic or applied investigation in an academic or industrial setting. To maintain and expand their clinical skills, fellows would maintain involvement during their research years in clinical microbiology activities for up to 25% of their time. Prior fellows have extended their clinical microbiology training during an intensive research experience supported by K08 and/or infectious disease-related training grants.
(C) Training program duration for fellows with significant prior clinical training. The length of time required for those with significant related training can be shortened to one full year. This would include (a) pathology residents who have completed at least one year of clinical pathology training including a minimum of three months of training in clinical microbiology and (b) infectious disease fellows who have completed at least their one year of required clinical training (CPEP Program only).
Note, a one year fellowship does not qualify fellows to sit for the American College of Microbiology Board Examination. Completion of the two year fellowship does make the fellow board eligible. Starting in 2022, we also offer a one year ACGME-Accredited Medical Microbiology Fellowship for pathology resident and infectious disease fellowship graduates. This is a one year program and graduating fellows are eligible to sit for the American Board of Pathology (ABP) Medical Microbiology Board Examination. Passing the boards (ABMM and/or ACGME as relevant) is an independent verification of your knowledge base. Fellows are therefore encouraged and expected to take the board examination at the earliest opportunity.
The American Board of Medical Microbiology (ABMM) certification is one of the pathways that allow doctoral level clinicians and scientists (MD and/or PhD) to serve as a director of a high complexity microbiology laboratory under US law (CLIA ’88). See section 493.1443. For infectious disease fellows who pursue a one year CPEP program, an additional year of clinical microbiology experience will be required after graduation in order to sit for the boards. Three total years of training are actually required, but the ID fellowship clinical year counts an experience year, the one year CPEP fellowship counts as the second. An additional year, for example, as a microbiology director would then also be required. See the ABMM website for the most up to date requirements for board eligibility, which have been further delineated over the past few years. Therefore, it is recommended that ID fellows apply for and pursue the two year program if they able to do so, or pursue the ACGME program on completion of their ID fellowship training. In this way, you can be board eligible and perhaps even board-certified when applying for jobs. Note, 6 months of prior pathology residency may be applied to the 2 additional years of required experience, if pathology residents pursue the one year CPEP training pathway
(B) Research Pathway. Fellows may elect also to pursue a research pathway which combines clinical training as proposed above with a postdoctoral research fellowship training in an area related to clinical microbiology diagnostics. In their post clinical phase of training, fellows would pursue research at an institution in the greater Boston vicinity. The length of the research time would extend the total fellowship training experience, which depending upon the goals of the fellow may extend training for one to five years, and would prepare individuals for careers that bridge clinical microbiology diagnostics with basic or applied investigation in an academic or industrial setting. To maintain and expand their clinical skills, fellows would maintain involvement during their research years in clinical microbiology activities for up to 25% of their time. Prior fellows have extended their clinical microbiology training during an intensive research experience supported by K08 and/or infectious disease-related training grants.
(C) Training program duration for fellows with significant prior clinical training. The length of time required for those with significant related training can be shortened to one full year. This would include (a) pathology residents who have completed at least one year of clinical pathology training including a minimum of three months of training in clinical microbiology and (b) infectious disease fellows who have completed at least their one year of required clinical training (CPEP Program only).
Note, a one year fellowship does not qualify fellows to sit for the American College of Microbiology Board Examination. Completion of the two year fellowship does make the fellow board eligible. Starting in 2022, we also offer a one year ACGME-Accredited Medical Microbiology Fellowship for pathology resident and infectious disease fellowship graduates. This is a one year program and graduating fellows are eligible to sit for the American Board of Pathology (ABP) Medical Microbiology Board Examination. Passing the boards (ABMM and/or ACGME as relevant) is an independent verification of your knowledge base. Fellows are therefore encouraged and expected to take the board examination at the earliest opportunity.
The American Board of Medical Microbiology (ABMM) certification is one of the pathways that allow doctoral level clinicians and scientists (MD and/or PhD) to serve as a director of a high complexity microbiology laboratory under US law (CLIA ’88). See section 493.1443. For infectious disease fellows who pursue a one year CPEP program, an additional year of clinical microbiology experience will be required after graduation in order to sit for the boards. Three total years of training are actually required, but the ID fellowship clinical year counts an experience year, the one year CPEP fellowship counts as the second. An additional year, for example, as a microbiology director would then also be required. See the ABMM website for the most up to date requirements for board eligibility, which have been further delineated over the past few years. Therefore, it is recommended that ID fellows apply for and pursue the two year program if they able to do so, or pursue the ACGME program on completion of their ID fellowship training. In this way, you can be board eligible and perhaps even board-certified when applying for jobs. Note, 6 months of prior pathology residency may be applied to the 2 additional years of required experience, if pathology residents pursue the one year CPEP training pathway