Comments from the Director
The Infectious Diseases Division is an integral part of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center. The Program is two years in duration with an emphasis on training clinical infectious diseases practitioners. Candidates for training should be board eligible or certified in internal medicine.
The major training sites include the University Hospital, Harry S. Truman Veterans Hospital, and Ellis-Fischel Cancer Hospital. Patients are occasionally seen at Mid-Missouri Mental Health Center and Health South (formally Rusk Rehabilitation Center). Additionally, patients are seen at the City-County Health Department for hands-on experience in the evaluation and treatment of patients with STDs.
A major focus is on inpatient consultations from all medical and surgical disciplines at the three major facilities. Outpatient experience is also provided at the University Hospital in a general infectious diseases clinic, an HIV clinic, at the City-County STD clinic and the Harry S. Truman Veterans Hospital general infectious diseases clinic.
While our thrust of training is toward clinical ID practitioners, a research experience is also required. Research experiences may be acquired in conjunction with one of the ID faculty, a basic scientist from the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, or from the School of Veterinary Medicine. Other experience is gained by participating in ongoing clinical trials in the division. Research interests of the faculty include tick borne diseases with an emphasis on Ehrlichiosis, pathogenesis of foreign body infections, microvascular changes in sepsis and evaluation of new antimicrobial agents.
In addition to training in the discipline of infectious diseases, fellows are expected to participate in the education of others especially residents and students who rotate through the infectious diseases service.
The overall objective of the program is to produce well-trained, compassionate, professional physicians who are certifiable by the ABIM in Infectious Diseases.
William Salzer, MD
