Infectious Diseases Residents: Roles and Responsibilities
POLICY
Each Infectious Disease resident is expected to supervise Medicine department residents in the
care of their patients during their Infectious Disease consultation blocks. In addition, they are
expected to see a minimum of one new and three follow-up patients weekly during their continuity
clinic.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to insure that Infectious Disease residents have adequate exposure
to both inpatients and outpatients, and that they have incremental responsibilities in these
settings.
SCOPE
This policy applies to all Infectious Disease residents in the Internal Medicine Residency Training
Program within the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation on this policy is the responsibility of the Division Chief and Fellowship Program
Director of the Infectious Diseases Division.
PROCEDURE
Each Infectious Disease resident will have the following responsibilities:
 Perform complete history and physical examinations on all new patients seen by the
housestaff they supervise on the infectious disease service at all sites and outpatients on
all ambulatory rotations, including their continuity clinic.
 Examine all primary and secondary data related to the management of patients.
 Synthesize all available information to generate differential diagnoses and subsequent
diagnostic and therapeutic plans.
 Communicate the synthesis of the above information in both an oral and written format to
housestaff and faculty members.
 Be responsible for follow-up of all tests and procedures ordered for patients under their
primary care.
 Develop educational goals and objectives for consultation rotations, including a teaching
plan.
 Participate in division conferences including management conference, journal club,
division grand rounds, HIV conference, and multidisciplinary conferences.
 Assume supervisory role for 3rd and 4th year medical students.
 Perform adequate documentation of all patient encounters.
 Provide verbal feedback to medical students, housestaff and faculty regarding their
clinical performance.
 Complete written evaluations for faculty members with whom they have worked with for
greater than 1 week.
 Insure team is meeting duty hour requirements.
 Develop a comprehensive approach to self-directed learning based on one’s own
perceptions of gaps in fund of knowledge as well as the results of objective assessments,
ie. ITE.
 Participate in departmental Quality Assurance activities, including bi-monthly fellow
faculty meetings.
 Serve as mentor for students and younger colleagues.
 Complete scholarly requirement.