The field of infectious disease has experienced tremendous change over the past three decades, and one change has not been for the better: Fewer physicians are entering the profession.

Since 2013, the yearly proportion of infectious disease fellowship programs participating in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) that were filled - meaning, all available spots were taken by MDs seeking to purse training in infectious disease - has ranged between roughly 42 percent and 66 percent. These levels are well below those seen just 10 years ago, when fill rate was above 90 percent. Individual doctors have also taken fellowship positions at a lower than desired pace.

David Andes, MD, professor and head, Infectious Disease, commented on this trend in an interview with Infectious Disease News.

“Individual programs and the IDSA [Infectious Diseases Society of America] leadership have focused on trying to understand this trend and develop approaches to better educate students about opportunities in the field," said Dr. Andes.

Resources:

• "Need for ID specialists grows as new threats emerge," Infectious Disease News, December 2017
• University of Wisconsin Infectious Disease Fellowship Program

Photo credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine