Infectious Diseases Program Explanation

Example schedule as an Infectious Diseases Fellow.

*An optional third year of fellowship is available for those desiring additional training, particularly in academics and research.

During their time on the General Infectious Diseases Consult Service, fellows gain comprehensive experience in managing a broad spectrum of infectious diseases in both medically complex and routine patients. This rotation emphasizes the development of clinical decision-making, diagnostic acumen, and consultative communication skills.
Fellows take a lead role on the service, working closely with supervising attendings and guiding interdisciplinary teams that include residents, medical students, and pharmacy trainees. In addition to managing active consultations, fellows triage new consults and coordinate care across services—building critical skills in prioritization and team leadership. Fellows partner with infectious diseases pharmacists and pharmacy learners to optimize antimicrobial selection, dosing, and stewardship, reinforcing evidence-based prescribing practices.

Service Structure:
•    Two Academic Services: Each staffed by one fellow, one attending physician, and a group of learners (residents and medical students).
•    Faculty-Only Service: Provides additional support during high-volume periods and manages lower-complexity cases to preserve high-yield educational opportunities for fellows and trainees.

At the Sacramento VA Medical Center, fellows care for veterans with infectious diseases acquired both during and after military service. The rotation offers a wide clinical spectrum—from managing complex diabetic foot infections to caring for immunocompromised patients, including transplant recipients.
Fellows work closely with both medical and surgical teams and play a key role in the hospital’s inpatient antimicrobial stewardship program. They partner with ID pharmacists to review and optimize antimicrobial use across the facility.

Service Structure:
•    Fellows work one-on-one with VA ID faculty.

Fellows participate in a weekly half-day outpatient clinic where they serve as the primary ID provider for a longitudinal panel of patients under the supervision of outpatient ID faculty. Patients include both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts, such as those living with HIV or post-transplant.
To promote continuity of care, fellows are encouraged to follow their inpatient consult patients into the outpatient setting when appropriate. This experience helps fellows develop skills in managing infectious diseases over time and across care transitions.
The clinic emphasizes core competencies in care coordination, interdisciplinary communication, and the management of infectious diseases from diagnosis through long-term follow-up. 

Clinic Structure:
•    Fellows attend one half-day continuity clinic per week throughout fellowship.

While on rotation at the Sacramento VA Medical Center, fellows participate in two outpatient clinics: the General ID Clinic and the Liver Clinic.
In the General ID Clinic, fellows provide longitudinal care for veterans with a range of infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted infections, chronic infections (such as HIV), and patients on outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT).
In the Liver Clinic, fellows gain focused experience in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of hepatitis B and C, with dedicated exposure to antiviral therapy and long-term disease management.
These clinics offer valuable training in outpatient infectious disease care and the management of chronic viral infections in a veteran population.

Clinic Structure:
•    Fellows attend both General ID and Liver Clinic (each is a half-day per week).

The Transplant ID consult rotation provides fellows with in-depth experience managing infections in a wide range of immunocompromised patients. Fellows care for both pre- and post-transplant recipients, primarily within UC Davis’s liver and kidney transplant programs.
In addition, UC Davis serves as a regional referral center, offering exposure to patients who have received lung, heart, pancreas, and small bowel transplants at outside institutions.
Fellows also consult on patients with hematologic malignancies, including those undergoing stem cell transplantation and CAR-T therapy, gaining expertise in the infectious complications seen in these high-risk populations.
This rotation emphasizes advanced clinical reasoning, longitudinal care, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Service Structure:
•    Fellows work one-on-one with transplant ID faculty.

The Antimicrobial Stewardship Service at UC Davis Medical Center is led by an infectious diseases physician and pharmacist. The team supports hospital-wide efforts to optimize antimicrobial use through restricted antimicrobial approvals, curbside consults, and proactive chart review of hospitalized patients on antimicrobials.
During this rotation, fellows play a key role in reviewing antimicrobial use and participating in stewardship rounds. They assist with real-time decision-making on antimicrobial selection, de-escalation, and therapy duration, while developing expertise in the principles and practice of antimicrobial stewardship.

Rotation Structure:
•    Fellows spend a minimum of 2 weeks on the stewardship service, with opportunities for additional time based on interest.

The UC Davis Traveler’s Clinic offers pre-travel counseling, vaccinations, and post-travel evaluation for patients with international travel plans or travel-related illnesses. Fellows gain hands-on experience selecting appropriate travel vaccines and providing personalized counseling based on destination, itinerary, and individual risk factors. Fellows also educate patients on strategies to reduce infection risk while abroad, including prevention of mosquito-borne illnesses and traveler's diarrhea. This clinic builds skills in preventive infectious disease care and global health risk assessment.

Clinic Structure:
•    Fellows attend a minimum of 6 half-day clinics per year during research/elective weeks.

All infectious diseases fellows are required to complete a research project during their fellowship. In the first year, fellows identify their research interests and are paired with a mentor within the ID division to guide the project.
Throughout the fellowship, fellows learn to design, conduct, and analyze their research, as well as navigate the IRB approval process. Fellows present their findings to the division at the end of their fellowship. Fellows are encouraged to present at both local and national conferences as well as publish their work. Each fellow is provided protected research time to focus on their projects throughout the duration of the fellowship.

Members of the division have developed bioengineered stem cells that generate an HIV-resistant immune system in transplant recipients and human clinical trials have recently begun. Other areas of active clinical and laboratory research include hepatitis B and C, Clostridium difficile and H. pylori, invasive fungal infections, transplant medicine, infection control, and antibiotic stewardship. Department faculty members pursuing research in infectious diseases are associated with many other departments in our Schools of Medicine, including:

• Veterinary Medicine
• California National Primate Research Center
• Mouse Biology Program
• Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Center for Biophotonics
• Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases
• Mutant Mouse Pathology Laboratory
• UC Health System Epidemiology Collaborative, and others

All first-year fellows complete a one-week rotation in the UC Davis Medical Center microbiology laboratory early in fellowship. This immersive experience offers hands-on exposure to specimen processing, culture review, and organism identification.
Fellows work alongside laboratory staff to interpret colony morphology and microscopy, and observe rapid diagnostic techniques, including MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The rotation strengthens the fellows’ understanding of diagnostic microbiology and its integration into clinical decision-making.

Rotation Structure:
•    Fellows complete a one-week rotation during the first year of fellowship.

Throughout their fellowship, ID fellows rotate with the Infection Prevention (IP) team at the Sacramento VA Medical Center. This rotation includes both structured didactics and active participation in IP rounds, where fellows learn the principles of identifying and preventing hospital-acquired infections, managing outbreaks, and engaging in public health reporting.
Fellows are also required to complete the SHEA Learning Course on infection control and antimicrobial stewardship, which is integrated into the fellowship curriculum.

Rotation Structure:
•    Fellows complete a minimum two-week rotation during fellowship, with opportunities for additional time based on interest.

Fellows have the opportunity to participate in additional electives tailored to their individual interests:
•    Sacramento County Chest Clinic: This rotation immerses fellows in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, with a focus on both clinical management and public health aspects, including infection control. Fellows may also participate in home visits for Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) and learn about contact tracing practices.
•    UC Davis Veterinary Infectious Diseases: Fellows collaborate with veterinary ID specialists through weekly ID case conferences and quarterly Joint Microbiology Rounds. Fellows may also rotate at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (the #1 veterinary school in the US!) and gain hands-on experience with zoonotic infections and their impact on our animal friends!
•    International Rotations: Fellows can engage in international elective rotations through the UC Davis Center for Global Health, gaining exposure to infectious diseases in diverse global settings.