Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship | Cleveland Clinic Children's

Overview

Program director, Blanca Gonzalez, MD, provides an overview of the pediatric infectious diseases fellowship program at Cleveland Clinic Children's.

Thank you for your interest in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Children’s! As evidenced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric infectious diseases physicians have never been more important, nor their duties more diverse. This pandemic has highlighted the wide array of career paths available to a pediatric infectious diseases specialist; everything from clinical care, disaster planning, infection prevention and control, antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship, immunology, microbial pathogenesis, vaccine development, epidemiology and public health, public relations and social determinants of health. We need you to join this exciting profession and we are committed to helping you find your particular niche within it.

The above video was taken before the COVID-19 pandemic. We now follow protocols (including social distancing and masking) to protect our patients and caregivers.

Our 3-year ACGME accredited program provides well-rounded training in both clinical infectious diseases and research. Our goal is to train pediatricians to be outstanding infectious diseases clinicians who are prepared for a career in clinical infectious diseases, antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, transplantation or research (with a strong emphasis on academic medicine). The inpatient service is very busy and is supplemented with outpatient clinic. Cleveland Clinic Children’s is the only children’s hospital in Northeast Ohio that in addition to kidney and bone marrow, performs heart, liver, intestinal and multi visceral transplantation.

Each fellow’s research experience is personalized to meet their individual career goals and interests. Opportunities include clinical projects (including infection prevention/quality improvement), basic science laboratory projects or both. Research opportunities are available within Cleveland Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, as well as at other academic institutions throughout Cleveland. We help each fellow identify a mentor to guide their research project and ensure that by the end of their fellowship they gain expert knowledge in their selected area of interest. Our faculty includes microbiologists and our entire team is experienced and committed to the education of our fellows.

Cleveland is a fun and very affordable city to live in! It features a world class orchestra, international film festivals, a vibrant sports and restaurant scene, a ring of parks that encircle the city with walking/running trails and many other attractions.

We are excited to offer this truly unique opportunity for training in pediatric infectious diseases at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.

Blanca E. Gonzalez, MD
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program Director

Staff

Director

Staff

Staff

Staff

Staff

Susan Harrington, Ph.D.

Staff

Daniel Rhoads, MD

Section Head, Microbiology

Kaitlyn Rivard, PharmD
Pharmacy

Additional Staff

Nazha Abughali, MD, Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Belinda Yen-Lieberman, PhD, Microbiology

Nursing Support

Carla Saracusa, RN, Care Coordinator
Porsha St. Clair, LPN

Application Process

Eligible trainees must be graduates of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACMGE) approved residency in the United States. Applications are only received through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and positions filled through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP).

Interviews will not be offered the 2021-2022 academic year.

For more information, please contact:

Alice Ewida
Administrative Program Coordinator II
216,403.7822
[email protected]

Benefits & Resources

Vacation

15 vacation days per year
5 interview days in PGY5 and 6

Conference Attendance

Travel and logistical support is provided to the fellow for presentations at a regional or national meetings.

Salary

Please visit the Graduate Medical Education website for more information.

Additional Benefits

Medical, dental and vision insurance
Free on-site Pediatric Board Review course provided during your PGY4 year
Free iPhone for the duration of the fellowship
Moonlighting opportunities during PGY5 and 6
Greater Circle Living - $5000 forgivable loan grant
Cleveland Clinic discounts (dining, computers, cellphone carriers, and more!)
Free access to Cleveland Clinic fitness facilities (state-of-the art cardio and weight machines, Olympic-sized swimming pool, basketball courts, fitness classes)

Curriculum

Cleveland Clinic Children's, in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, is a unique community with tremendous resources in career development, education, foundations of research, leadership and personal growth. Fellows gain access to many of these resources:

Case Western Reserve CRSP 401 Intro to Research Course (one month during PGY5)
Leadership and career development seminars through Cleveland Clinic Learning Academy
Quality and Patient Safety curriculum is covered throughout your fellowship, with a QI project completed prior to graduation.
Coursework in clinical research fundamentals at the Case Western Reserve University during your PGY5 year.
Available research support staff and mentors for consultation, through our research center and in conjunction with the Lerner Research Center.
Scholarly project: Under the guidance of faculty mentors, the fellow will complete a scholarly project during fellowship
Longitudinal educational series in ethics, professionalism and research with all pediatric fellows
Through our office of physician recruitment classes in job search, CV preparation, interviewing skills, and contract negotiations are available yearly

PGY-4	Six (6) modules inpatient consult service rotations One (1) module in microbiology/parasitology laboratory Outpatient Clinic: Once per week when not on inpatient service Five (5) research modules Call is 2 weekends per month when on the inpatient consult service and once a month all other modules
PGY-5	Three (3) modules of inpatient consult service One (1) module adult inpatient transplant service Eight (8) modules research including one (1) module at CWRU for the Clinical Research Course Call Is one weekend per month (module) when not on inpatient service
PGY-6	Three (3) modules inpatient consult service Nine (9) modules research Elective: TB Clinic Call is one weekend per module when not on the inpatient service

Didactic Education & Resources

Weekly Pediatric Infectious Diseases sign out: Fellows and faculty sign-out service and discuss management: one of the favorite sessions, and ensures excellent continuity of care of patients.
Weekly Fellows Didactic Session: Faculty and fellows present topics that cover the American Board of Pediatric Infectious Diseases core curriculum.
Weekly Transplant Lecture: Lectures are given by adult and pediatric infectious diseases faculty who are experts in transplant infectious diseases.
Weekly Joint Adult and Pediatric Case Conference: Fellows from both tracks present interesting cases with focused discussions of key concepts or controversies.
Weekly Microbiology Rounds at our State-of the Art Laboratory
Weekly Infectious Diseases Grand Rounds
Monthly Pediatric Citywide Conference: 1^st Monday of the month.
Monthly Pediatric Infectious Disease Board Review: 2^nd Tuesday of every month.
Monthly Research Conference and Journal Club: 3^rd Tuesday of every month.
Pediatric Research Day: Held each May
Yearly Antimicrobial Stewardship Week: Led by our pharmacy specialist, one week a year is dedicated to learning principles and practices of antimicrobial stewardship.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
8-9 a.m.	Pediatric Citywide Conference (Quarterly)	Transplant Lectures	Infectious Disease Grand Rounds
1-2 p.m.	Pediatric Infectious Diseases Sign Out				Microbiology Rounds
4:30-5:30 p.m.		Adult and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Conference	Pediatric Infectious Disease Core Curriculum/Journal Watch/Board Review

Fellows

Current Fellows

Kim El Haddad, MD
PGY-5, 2020-2023

Amid a pandemic, being a pediatric infectious diseases (ID) fellow has been an inspiring yet unique and exciting experience. During my second year of residency, I had the chance to rotate in pediatric ID at Cleveland Clinic Children's and knew from the start that I wanted a career in this field. I chose infectious diseases because they encompass a wide array of disorders and are not limited to one organ system, allowing for a holistic diagnostic approach. As part of this program, I was allowed to work with experts in the field who taught me how to manage patients in the face of a pandemic, challenged me to be a better critical thinker, and trained me to apply evidence-based medicine. My learning curve has been exponentially growing in this nurturing and familial environment through inpatient clinical service, outpatient clinics, pediatric/adult ID joint conferences, microbiology rotation and infectious diseases grand rounds, and citywide conferences.

This Pediatric ID Fellowship program is ideal and allows flexibility as it is tailored to one's interests offering more room to grow academically. From a clinical standpoint, this center provides explicitly world-class care for highly complex patients, including pre- and post-transplant care which has been an evolving field over the past years. When it comes to research, various opportunities are available for novel projects. Given my interest in virology, the main research project I am currently working on aims to determine the SARS-COV-2 mutational clock. Some of my interests include antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention. Overall, I truly believe this program is complete and prepares us, fellows, to become successful pediatrics ID physicians. I am grateful for being part of this institution and couldn't have asked for more.

Ruchita Negi, MD
PGY-4, 2021-202

Infectious diseases is a highly cognitive specialty. I chose pediatric infectious diseases for the fact that it is very intellectually stimulating and not limited to one system; you see the patient as a whole and put the story together as pieces of a puzzle or as a "medical detective." The ever-evolving nature of infectious pathogens and newer drugs is very intriguing. Cleveland Clinic has a lot to offer in terms of diversity and complexity of patient population and abundant opportunities for research tailored to your area of interest. It allows you to collaborate with physicians in other pediatric subspecialties and other disciplines like surgery, emergency medicine, pharmacists, microbiology, etc. I have always felt very relevant as a contributing physician in the multidisciplinary care of our patients. I feel privileged to work with such an excellent and dedicated team of pediatric infectious disease staff physicians.

Fellowship Graduates

Nicola O'Connor, MD

Nicola O'Connor, MD
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospita
2017-2021 Fellow

Yamini Mandelia, MD

Yamini Mandelia, MD
Staff, Pediatric Infectious Disease East Carolina University
2017-2020 Fellow

Heather Daniels, DO

Heather Daniels, DO
Staff, Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Cleveland Clinic Children's
2015-2018 Fellow

Victoria Nakimbugwe, MD

Victoria Nakimbugwe, MD
Staff, UHS Pediatrics - Chenango Bridge
2014-2017 Fellow

Ritika Coelho, MD

Ritika Coelho, MD
Staff, University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago Pediatrics
2012-2015 Fellow

About Cleveland

Located approximately two miles from Cleveland Clinic main campus, downtown Cleveland features a host of cultural and recreational attractions for an ethnically diverse mid-sized city. Many of Cleveland's neighborhoods, such as Ohio City, Tremont, Lakewood, and Cedar-Fairmount are overflowing with cultural heritage, as well an eclectic offering of restaurants and nightlife.

Take advantage of all our beautiful city has to offer! Champion sports teams, culture, outdoor adventure and a food scene that was once ranked by TIME as #7 on their 20 'Best Food Cities' in America and is home to two James Beard award-winning restaurants. There really is something for everyone in Cleveland!