Mission

Our mission is to develop outstanding pediatric infectious disease physicians who will provide three essential elements to the community of military pediatrics: compassionate high-quality clinical care, impactful teaching to students and residents, and significant scholarly contributions. We develop high-caliber officers who are well prepared for the unique aspects of practice in the Military Health System (MHS). We emphasize clinical proficiency in the full spectrum of pediatric infectious diseases, global health, emerging infectious threats, military systems-based practice, relevant scholarly activity, quality improvement, and leadership.

Vision

The Tri-Service National Capital Consortium (NCC) Fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases provides world-class training in the clinical, educational, and scholarly aspects of military pediatric infectious diseases for future practice and leadership in military medicine.

Aims

• Develop outstanding and well-rounded infectious diseases clinicians who serve as subject matter experts and are prepared for the unique aspects of evidence-based practice in the MHS.
• Develop top-rate educators who serve as core teaching faculty in military graduate medical education (GME) and undergraduate education programs.
• Develop academically proficient pediatric infectious disease physicians well prepared to conduct scholarly activity and mentor others through relevant research and quality improvement projects within the MHS.
• Develop high caliber, resilient military officers who will serve as role models for others, and who are well prepared to function as innovative leaders in military medicine and integral members of a health care team providing care for both individual patients and for the overall health of the larger military population.

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases fellowship curriculum is robust, and many events are shared with the Adult Infectious Diseases fellowship. Medical knowledge is obtained through a combination of didactic and Socratic methods. The fellowship participates in daily Pediatric Morning Report sessions during inpatient rotations, weekly board review, weekly “Microbiology Laboratory rounds”, weekly adult-pediatric combined case conference, monthly Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society online lectures, monthly CityWide conferences, monthly attendance at the Greater Washington Infectious Diseases Society (GWIDS) meetings, and every other month core curriculum activities in biostatistics, Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, fellow/faculty development, and wellness. On-service attendings give informal teaching and lectures during rotations. Difficult patient care topics are discussed in Journal Clubs where the analysis of clinical data through the literature will be addressed. Core knowledge is addressed through rotation of weekly didactics including jeopardy reviews using the latest version of the American Academy of Pediatrics Red Book, fellow-led and faculty-led lectures based on Subspecialty In-Training Exam areas of improvement, and clinical case discussions. Fellows participate in hospital-level Infection Control and Antibiotic Stewardship Committees.

Fellows complete 15 months of inpatient rotations, 1-2 elective months, and 20 months primarily devoted to outpatient clinic, research, and independent learning.

• Children's National Medical Center: Fellows can choose from a variety of electives to include HIV clinic, Inpatient Transplant medicine, PICU consults, and Immunodeficiency clinic during their 3rd year of fellowship.
• Additional Inpatient Months: Fellows may opt for additional inpatient months at any of the sites, including INOVA and other military hospitals or clinics, including National Medical Center Portsmouth.

Fellows perform home call during their clinical months. Fellows average two weekend calls during clinical months and 1 weekend call during non-clinical months.

Elements of our military-unique curriculum include participation in tropical and global medicine, biodefense agents training, travel medicine, Military Medical Ethics, and participation/teaching in the Military Medical Humanitarian Assistance Course (MMHAC) sponsored by the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS). Additionally, following completion of a 1-3 month Military Tropical Medicine (MTM) course, fellows may travel to overseas sites to apply the knowledge learned to practical situations. Due to our unique geography, our trainees are also able to take advantage of the Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (MMCBC) course offered at Fort Detrick, Maryland. This course provides state-of-the-art training in the management of biologic casualties. Fellows may have the opportunity to attend the Center for Sustainment of Trauma Readiness Skills (C-STARS) biocontainment care course in Omaha, Nebraska. The fellows learn by providing clinical care to aero-medical evacuees from within and outside of the United States. They provide telephone consultations to colleagues around the world, building a future pediatric community of international scope.

Required courses include:

• National HIV curriculum: a federal grant-funded website from the University of Washington which provides ongoing, up-to-date information needed to meet the core competency knowledge for HIV prevention, screening, diagnosis, and ongoing treatment and care to healthcare providers in the United States.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Infectious Diseases Training Program: a 1-week course designed to provide foundational principles of microbiological methods and improve understanding of infectious disease diagnostic testing.
• Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)’s Primer on Healthcare Epidemiology: is an online training course for solidifying the understanding of these required topics.
• Infection Control & Antimicrobial Stewardship course
• USUHS Tropical Medicine Course: a 12-week graduate level course that allows fellows to become eligible for the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) TropMed® examination and attain a Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Fellowship program has access to 2 fantastic simulation centers: the Walter Reed Medical Simulation Center and the Val G. Hemming Simulation Center in Forest Glen, Maryland. Fellows have the opportunity to improve procedural skills and design quality and/or process improvement projects which can include simulation training as part of their projects. Many fellows also participate in, supervise and provide feedback during, or design clinical scenarios which are part of various graduation medical education objective structured clinical or teaching examinations.

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship is designed to provide fellows with increasing levels of responsibility and independence over time. During inpatient rotations, they are expected to lead our patient care team, supervise trainees, and communicate directly with patients and families. Fellows are provided a plethora of opportunities to present complex patients in a public forum at the local, regional, national, and sometimes international level. Fellows are encouraged to participate in hospital committees and as fellow-representatives within National Societies. Local leadership programs such as the “Leadership 2.0” curriculum and fellow/faculty development is highly encouraged as well. Third-year fellows serve as the administrative liaison for the program to improve faculty-fellow communication, scheduling, and fellow advocacy.

The fellowship has a long history of excellent research productivity. Present research opportunities include working with investigators at USUHS, NIH, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), and the Naval Medical Research Center. Current work within the Department of Pediatrics includes projects focused on the immunology of viral respiratory pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Fellows are required to complete a scholarly activity with feedback and approval from the Scholarly Oversight Committee. Additional research participation often includes these additional activities:

• One or two oral or poster presentations at major meetings (Society for Pediatric Research, Infectious Diseases Society of America, etc.) as well as similar presentations at “closed” meetings.
• Primary or Co-authorship in one to two individual case write-ups or clinical series.
• Development of laboratory (Basic Science) expertise in at least one area that can be applied to future post-fellowship research at the common military treatment facilities.
• Development of a “Research Protocol” submission outlining a work scope for 1 - 2 years; aimed at either fellow-obtained funding, or work to be done under a senior researcher.
• As a result of the above planning, completion of one or two “clinical” or “basic-science” projects resulting in publication.
• Statistical analysis training as part of our core curriculum in order to assist with the above research.

Patient safety is a major emphasis in the training of fellows. Each fellow is expected to participate in a Quality Improvement (QI)/Process Improvement (PI) project throughout their fellowship. This process will include didactics as well as direct work in the area of QI/PI. Formal education and training in this field may be accomplished in multiple ways:

• WRNMMC Department of Pediatric QI/PI sessions participation: These are held monthly and provide basic structure for QI/PI and a venue for sharing of departmental-wide efforts in this area.
• Quality Rocks: This hospital-based didactic series is offered multiple times per year and serves as the institutional-wide effort to educate trainees and faculty in QI and Patient Safety.
• Training courses: Completion of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School basic course, A3 Yellow Belt course or DHA Lean Leader course, Clinical Quality Management course, Patient-Centered Caring Communication Initiative, and TeamSTEPPS all contribute to a better understanding of quality and process improvement.

Fellows participate in fellow/faculty development courses designed to improve their educator skills as part of the Pediatric Subspecialty Core curriculum, examples include: “Precepting,” “Presentation Optimization,” “Teaching Patient Safety Every Day,” and “Bedside Teaching.” Additional faculty/fellow development lectures are offered through USUHS and are counted toward three separate 30-hour certificates in the areas of “teaching,” “academic leadership,” and “scholarship and research.” All of the fellowship military unique curriculum and required courses listed in the sections above serve to enhance fellow knowledge and promote professional development.

Two participating sites augment our fellowship clinical experience including: 

• Children's National Medical Center (Washington D.C.): Fellows participate in at least two required 1-month rotations and often 2 - 4-week electives at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. These rotations give our fellows exposure to a large variety of pediatric infectious disease patients, transplant (solid organ and bone marrow) medicine, as well as opportunities to care for children with HIV in the inpatient setting.
• Inova Fairfax Children's Hospital (Fairfax, Virginia): This robust community children's hospital offers fellows a diverse cultural experience with high census neonatal and pediatric intensive care units.  

• Fourth year medical student elective rotations: Offered at various times throughout the academic year, deconflicted with resident rotations, and may be requested through the General Pediatric Residency Program starting on the first Monday in December each year.
• Resident elective rotations: are prioritized and offered throughout the academic year through the Chief Resident at schedule selection. Electives by non-NCC military residents are offered upon request.

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship hopes to recruit a diverse group of highly motivated individuals with interest and varying levels of military medicine experience across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Please reach out to our Program Coordinator via email dha.ncr.walter-reed-med-ctr.list.ncc-pedsid@health.mil to set up an interview or rotational experience.

Program graduates take the American Board of Pediatrics’ Pediatric Infectious Diseases Certification exam. This exam is offered biennially. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam in the month of November during odd years (ie. 2025, 2027, etc.). To be eligible to take Pediatric Infectious Diseases specialty board exams, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the American Board of Pediatrics and have a verification of training completed by October 30th of the exam year. Please review the American Board of Pediatrics’ website for additional information.

Fellows develop their individual teaching skills through a variety of activities including:

• During inpatient rotations, fellows provide informal student and resident lectures.
• Fellows-lead case discussions in our combined adult/pediatric case conference, allergy-immunology conference, and CityWide conference with regional institutions including Children’s National Hospital, INOVA Fairfax Hospital, George-Washington Hospital Center, John-Hopkins, and the NIH.
• Once a year, fellows present a challenging diagnostic dilemma case at the GWIDS monthly meeting.
• Fellows participate in fellow/faculty development courses designed to improve their teaching skills as part of the Pediatric Subspecialty Core curriculum.
• Fellows have the opportunity to earn a 30-credit teaching certificate, and with enough advanced planning participate in the Master of Health Professions Education Graduate Program at USUHS.
• All fellows are strongly encouraged to teach infectious diseases-relevant classes within the Military Medical Humanitarian Assistance Course.

Fellows have the opportunity to give medical student small group classes as part of the undergraduate medical education at USUHS, give morning report lectures to the Department of Pediatrics, and supervise the objective structured practical examination for the NCC Pediatric Residency Program, and during their final year of fellowship provide a Grand Rounds presentation of their fellowship scholarly activity.

Our extensive team of faculty have a wide breath of academic, research, and professional experience. Team members have been trained at prestigious institutions such as: Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine, and USUHS, as well as many others. Areas of focus for research include mucosal immunology and immunoparasitology, human immunodeficiency virus, malaria, vaccine development, respiratory viral pathogens and host immune defense, traveler’s health, meningococcus, hospital-acquired infections, as well as other military-relevant topics. Faculty for the program hold key leadership positions such as Associate Deans of Research and Student Affairs, Department Chair, Division Chief, and in the Translation Medicine Unit at USUHS. Adjunct faculty work at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH, the Federal Drug Administration, and WRAIR. Most faculty have earned the academic rank of Associate Professor or Professor.

In addition to oversight and feedback from the Clinical Competency and the Scholarly Oversight Committees, fellows work with individual faculty advisors on their quality improvement projects and research. Fellows are welcomed to participate in military service-specific or academic mentorship programs available through WRNMMC and USUHS.

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship hosts 1-2 off-site events to support program improvement and celebrate recent graduates. The Program Director hosts the monthly Citywide conference to provide an opportunity for team-building and social interaction after the conference. As part of the Pediatric Subspecialty Core curriculum, the 5 fellowship programs in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Hematology-Oncology, and Neonatology participated in a retreat which included an “Art in Medicine” activity and highlighted adaptive perspectives as useful for countering burn-out and improving resilience. Fellows are also given the opportunity to take the Arbinger Institute’s “Developing and Implementing an Outward Mindset” course.