Curriculum

Ph.D. Program -- Two-Year Program
This program leads to certification by the American Board of Medical Microbiology (Committee on Postdoctoral Educational Programs of the American Academy of Microbiology [AAM]) in Medical and Public Health Laboratory Microbiology.

First Year
During the first year of training under the Ph.D. Program, you will spend one quarter each in the bacteriology, mycobacteriology and mycology, virology and parasitology laboratories. These rotations will emphasize the practical aspects of clinical microbiology. You will become proficient in processing specimens and performing each procedure at the bench level.

Second Year
You will have a broad range of experiences during your second year of training.

• Molecular Diagnostics and Clinical Immunology Rotations -- You will learn a wide variety of current immunologic and PCR assays, many of which involve extensive use of automated equipment. You also will learn about hepatitis and HIV testing and other infectious disease serologic tests.
• Division of Infectious Diseases -- You will spend at least one quarter in this division. While there, you will learn laboratory microbiology clinical applications and interpretation. In addition, you will learn to integrate clinical and microbiological data for diagnostic, interpretive and prognostic purposes.
• Hospital Infection Control -- During this two-week assignment, you will learn about the specific functions and daily responsibilities of a nurse epidemiologist. This includes recognizing and controlling nosocomial infections and using proper methods to sterilize hospital equipment and supplies.
• Minnesota State Health Department Laboratory -- You will spend two weeks training in Minneapolis at the State Laboratory. You will work in laboratory management, epidemiology and the State Laboratory Quality Assurance program. At the bench level, you will learn procedures for collecting and processing food and stool specimens for pathogenic microorganisms; the principles of water bacteriology; and detection techniques for the rabies virus.
• Test Development/Research -- After completing the previous rotations, you will spend the rest of your second year participating in the development and implementation of a new diagnostic test or completing an independent research project.

M.D. Program -- One-Year Program
This program is certified by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and meets the certification requirements of the American Board of Pathology (in Medical Microbiology).

This program generally matches the first year of Ph.D. Program, but your schedule can be modified based on your prior training, experience and specific areas of interest.

Responsibilities
You will be responsible for taking call on a daily rotational basis during the fellowship. This includes:

• Assisting in the resolution of laboratory problems.
• Contacting clinical services about important laboratory findings or problems.
• Obtaining clinical histories of patients with important or unusual laboratory
  findings.
• Presenting these problems and histories at laboratory rounds.

Your on-call responsibilities during laboratory rounds also will include brief presentations describing the microbiology and laboratory aspects of specific infections.

Didactic Training
You will participate in the following didactic training opportunities during this fellowship:

• Clinical Microbiology Rounds -- Presentation and discussion of current cases and
  interesting laboratory aspects
• Clinical Microbiology Journal Club -- Monthly one-hour meeting led by fellows
• Infection and Immunity Club -- Monthly meeting of consultants from infectious
  diseases and microbiology
• Infectious Disease Conference -- Weekly one-hour presentation given by
  consultants or fellows.
• Laboratory Management Seminars -- Series of 18 weekly one- or two-hour
  sessions given by consultants from the Department of Laboratory Medicine and
  Pathology
• Research Seminar -- Monthly one-hour meeting for brief updates about special
  projects carried out by fellows and others in the division
• Intensive core curriculum didactic course in all areas of diagnostic microbiology

To support your didactic experience, you will have access to Mayo's Medical Library as well as the learning resources available in the Fellows' Resource Room where individual carrels and computers are provided for each trainee.

Research Training
Research is an important component of Mayo's Clinical Microbiology Fellowship program. You will complete a research project in which you will develop or evaluate new tests, assess existing tests, evaluate new or existing antimicrobial agents in vitro, or analyze the clinical importance of laboratory procedures and results.