Infectious disease fellowship

Thank you for considering the Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Infectious Disease Fellowship program. We are committed to providing the best academic and clinical training program for our fellows.

Our passion is teaching, and our entire program is designed with the fellow in mind. Our fellows will train at the largest medical center in West Michigan, affiliated with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

The overall goal of the two-year Spectrum Health/Michigan State University (MSU) Infectious Disease program is to prepare you to function as a skilled Infectious Disease physician in a variety of settings and to become the clinical and academic leader of tomorrow.

The Infectious Disease department assists in serving patients with advanced heart failure and LVAD, heart/lung transplant, bone marrow transplant, hematology/oncology, outpatient clinic and community resources, including the Kent County Health Department and Trinity Health Infectious Disease HIV clinic.

We are looking for physicians who are passionate about providing high-quality health care with good communication/interpersonal skills, and driven to pursue a career in infectious disease medicine.

I invite you to explore our website and take a virtual tour of the hospital, as there are a number of unique opportunities here for you.

As an added benefit, Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan and is located just 30 miles from the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan. Its diverse communities offer excellent public, charter and private schools. The city is alive year round with endless opportunities for recreation, arts, sports, museums, concerts and is the home of Art Prize, the world’s largest art competition.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Jorgelina de Sanctis, MD, FACP, FIDSA

Infectious Disease Fellowship Director

Section of Infectious Diseases, Spectrum Health

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

The Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Infectious Disease Fellowship is organized to provide a comprehensive training and supervised experience for the fellow to acquire the competency of a specialist in the field of infectious diseases. Fellows will become proficient in clinical care (both inpatient and outpatient), microbiology, medical education, hospital epidemiology/infection control and clinical research under the guidance of highly qualified and accomplished mentors.

The program is designed to give fellows wide exposure to the practice of infectious diseases in a quaternary and referral medical center serving the greater Grand Rapids area and 13 surrounding counties, with combined hospital campuses overseeing over 1,000 beds. Trainees will gain a robust experience in general infectious diseases as well as in clinical care of immunocompromised hosts (HIV, oncology, heme malignancy, solid organ transplant and hematopoietic stem cell transplant).

Our program is an ACGME accredited fellowship, two years in duration and offers two fellowship training positions each year. Qualified candidates must be board eligible or board certified in Internal Medicine.

The infectious disease fellowship program aims for excellence and proficiency in patient care by contributing to clinical research, being actively involved in antimicrobial stewardship and infection control and personalized patient care. We carry our core values and teach our fellows to be compassionate and collaborative within the community. The fellowship program inspires and prepares the fellows to be ambassadors in the society and disseminate our passion for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

The academic year is divided into 13 four-week blocks. Throughout both years of training, the fellows attend one half-day per week of continuity clinic, alternating between general outpatient infectious disease clinic at Spectrum Health and HIV clinic at Trinity Health.

First year fellow sample schedule

4 blocks – ID Academic Service

2 blocks – Research

1 block – Public Health/Ambulatory clinic

1 block – Clinical Microbiology

1 block – Solid Organ Transplant Service

1 block – Bone Marrow Transplant Service

1 block – ID Bone & Joint Service

1 block – EPI/ASP

1 block – Elective

Second year fellow sample schedule

3 blocks – ID Academic Service

1 block – ID Bone & Joint Service

1 block – Pediatric ID Service

1 block – Hepatology Clinic/Global Health

1 block – Junior attending

6 blocks – Elective/Research

Call

Fellows have one weekday of home call each week paired with an ID faculty member and one weekend of call each block.

Fellows have protected time to complete scholarly activities during their fellowship and will be provided mentorship by our faculty. Fellows receive support from our scholarly activities support team. The scholarly activity support team offers biostatistics consultation and help with poster preparation.

Here is a link of our recent scholarly activities.

The links below provide more information on research opportunities

• Scholarly activity support from Spectrum Health

• Spectrum Health Office of Research

• Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

• Van Andel Institute

Spectrum Health Butterworth hospital was awarded a grant to become one of the few national Regional Ebola and other Special Pathogen Treatment Center and be part of the National Special Pathogens System of Care. The goal is to provide high-quality, patient-and community-centered care for patients suspected of or infected by a special pathogen in the U.S.

All positions for the program are filled through the National Residency Matching Program. Eligibility requirements for our fellowship program:

• All applicants must possess U.S. work authorization or be eligible for J-1 status
• Applicants must have completed three years of United States postgraduate residency training in an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited internal medicine program before entry into the fellowship program
• Applicants must have good communication skill

For more information on our program, please contact Pam Hritzkowin, program coordinator.

Spectrum Health provides a comprehensive and very competitive benefits package for our residents, staff and their families. In addition, our program provides educational monies to support your ongoing education. Download our salary and benefits document to learn more.