Track Director: David Pegues, MD
This track is designed for second-year infectious diseases fellows who are interested in gaining expertise and skills needed to prepare for a career in healthcare epidemiology, including leading and collaborating with infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship teams. Healthcare epidemiologists work to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections and other adverse outcomes by translating research into practice. Their expertise and activities include epidemiologic and laboratory investigation, infection surveillance, policy development and implementation, education and information dissemination, implementation of interventions to prevent infections, cost-benefit analyses of interventions, and patient oriented research to inform and improve the science of healthcare epidemiology and infection control and to improve quality-of-care. This practical training in healthcare epidemiology may be combined with an advanced degree research training program such as the Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) or the Master of Science in Health Policy Research (MSHP), if desired.
Clinical Training
The trainee will gain experience and practical skills relating to healthcare epidemiology including: infection surveillance and informatics, outbreak management, communicable disease control, isolation and hand hygiene, sterilization and disinfection, construction and environmental control, product evaluation, occupational health, regulatory and public reporting compliance, performance improvement, and patient safety. S/he will also gain experience and practical skills relating to antimicrobial stewardship, including formulary decision making, treatment guideline development, analysis of antimicrobial utilization and resistance trends, and patient-level audit and provider feedback. The trainee will also learn to design and conduct healthcare epidemiology research utilizing appropriate study design and methods, including data collection and analysis, outcomes measurement, risk factor assessment, and quantitative and qualitative measures. Further, s/he will learn to translate findings into effective recommendations and practices using implementation science and communicating results to providers, leadership, and researchers through policy development, presentations and publications. The trainee will also develop administrative and collaborative skills necessary to become a leader in healthcare epidemiology.
Practicum Experience:
- HUP Healthcare-Associated Infections Review meeting (weekly).
- HUP and UPHS Infection Control Committees (monthly).
- HUP Antibiotic Subcommittee of Pharmacy and Therapeutics (monthly).
- HUP and Department of Medicine Clinical Effectiveness and Quality Improvement Committees (monthly).
- Penn Medicine Healthcare Epidemiology Research Group (quarterly).
- Other committees, including Evidence-Based Practice HAI Working Groups, Hand Hygiene Committee, Unit-Based Clinical Leadership Committees, U Penn Biosafety Committee, as appropriate.
- Shadowing programs, including work rounds with Infection Preventionists and Antibiotic Stewardship Pharmacists, Environment of Care Rounds, Construction Rounds, Central Processing, and off-site inspection of ambulatory care sites and Penn Home Infusion Services, as appropriate.
Research Experience
The fellow will design and conduct an independent clinical research project with support from their primary mentor and other collaborators on a stewardship or infection control topic. For fellows who do not intend to pursue training in a degree granting program (e.g., MSCE, MSHP), but would like to learn the fundamentals of research methodology, there is the opportunity to obtain a certificate in clinical research. Fellows may work with members of the ID division or other faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in other specialties as appropriate for their interests. In addition, there are a number of ongoing clinical trials, including those within Penn’s CDC Prevention Epicenter Program, and fellows may choose to participate in those as well.
Mentorship
The fellow will be assigned a primary mentor to help develop career goals and design research project(s), and identify potential additional mentors.
Additional Training Opportunities
It is recommended that fellows attend at least one of the following:
Core Faculty Mentors
- David Pegues, MD, Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention Fellowship Track Director
- Kathleen Degnan, MD
- Keith Hamilton, MD
- Jerry Jacob, MD, MS
- Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE
- Kathleen M. Murphy, MD
- Judith O’Donnell, MD
- Naasha Talati, MD, MS
- Matthew Ziegler, MD