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. 2024 Nov 12;11(12):ofae669.
doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae669. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Shaping the Future of Infectious Diseases: The Journey to Promote Value, Opportunity, and Positive Messaging

Molly L Paras  1 , Lisa M Chirch  2 , Mariam Aziz  3 , Gayle P Balba  4 , Constance Benson  5 , Saira Butt  6 , Scott H James  7 , Todd P McCarty  8 , Raymund Razonable  9 , Rebecca Reece  10 , Rachel Shnekendorf  11 , Talia H Swartz  12 , J Alex Viehman  13 , Vera P Luther  14 ; Infectious Diseases Society of America Fellowship Training Program Directors Community of Practice and Working Group (complete list of contributing authors in the Working Group listed in acknowledgments)
Collaborators, Affiliations

Shaping the Future of Infectious Diseases: The Journey to Promote Value, Opportunity, and Positive Messaging

Molly L Paras et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The field of infectious diseases (ID) offers a rewarding career path and is widely viewed as an essential subspecialty in medicine. However, in recent years, these positive aspects have been overshadowed by concerns surrounding low fellowship match rates, undercompensation, and burnout. The Infectious Diseases Society of America Fellowship Training Program Directors Committee met in 2023, discussed the future of ID as a specialty, and sought to develop strategies to highlight the value and opportunities of ID for future generations, as well as underscore the importance of and provide tools for positive messaging to trainees about the subspecialty. This paper presents ideas generated at this meeting and is meant to serve as a reference for ID training program directors, as well as the wider ID community, in uplifting and shaping the future of the field.

Keywords: infectious diseases fellowship; medical education; positive messaging; value.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. C.B. has received research grants to her institution from Gilead Sciences, Inc. and DNAe. She serves as a consultant to NDA Partners, LLC. M.A. serves as a consultant and on the DSMB for AbbVie. All other authors, no conflicts to report.

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