Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Curriculum

The ACGME-approved program (24 months accredited) consists of 50 percent direct patient care activities, 25 percent research activities, and 25 percent other educational activities, such as research, clinical and scholarly. The optional third-year of the program is devoted to research activities. Rotations are structured into three categories to provide fellows with an effective clinical, research, and educational experience in allergy and immunology.  

Clinical training occurs in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings across Baylor College of Medicine and affiliated hospitals, including Texas Children’s Hospital, Ben Taub Hospital/Smith Clinic, the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center, and the Baylor Medicine McNair Campus to provide a diverse patient care experience. Significant cross-training in both tracks achieves excellent and well-rounded clinical training in both pediatric and adult allergic and immunologic diseases. View our program training sites. 

Outpatient

During the pediatric AI outpatient rotation, fellows will work with Pediatric AI faculty at Texas Children’s Hospital seeing a wide variety of pediatric patients with allergic and immunologic diseases. Trainees in the pediatric track will also have a half-day per week of continuity clinic where each fellow is responsible for managing an assigned patient cohort with the facilitation and guidance of an outpatient attending physician.  

During the medicine outpatient rotation, fellows will work with Internal Medicine AI faculty at three different clinical sites seeing a wide variety of adult patients with allergic and immunologic diseases. A half-day per week is spent at the Harris-Health AI clinic providing health care to Houston’s underserved population where fellows assume primary responsibility for managing patients with the facilitation and guidance of an outpatient attending physician. For trainees in the medicine track, this clinic also serves as their continuity clinic.  

Cross-training/Electives

The cross-training rotation provides a minimum of 5 months of academic and clinical experience with a focus on pediatric patients (0-18 years) for Medicine track fellows, and a focus on adult patients (>18 years) for pediatric track fellows. Cross-training opportunities include both outpatient and inpatient consultation experiences.  

All Fellows have elective time to allow fellows to gain additional exposure and training in other subspecialties or areas where more experience is desired.  Options for elective rotations include pulmonary medicine, otolaryngology, dermatology, rheumatology, and bone marrow transplant.

Inpatient

Pediatrics Track - The inpatient experience includes consultation and management of pediatric patients on the general pediatric wards, subspecialty services, emergency center and neonatal and pediatric intensive care units at Texas Children’s Hospital in conjunction with the inpatient-consult attending physician. While on cross-training rotations, pediatric fellows participate in the consultation and management of adult patients. 

Medicine Track - The inpatient experience includes consultation and management of adult patients on the general medicine wards, subspecialty services, emergency center, and intensive care units at Ben Taub Hospital and the VA in conjunction with the inpatient consult attending physician. Medicine track fellows will also participate in the consultation of pediatric inpatients for a total of four weeks per year.  

All calls are taken from home. Work hours are not to exceed 80 hours per week averaged over four weeks and fellows have at least one full day out of seven away from program duties, averaged over a month's time.

This rotation provides career-specific guidance through an enhanced educational experience in focused research and academic activities. All fellows will have at least six months (25 percent) over two years dedicated to participation in clinical or basic science research. Fellows will have the opportunity to choose a faculty mentor and either devise or join a project that best aligns with their academic interests.  Support is provided by the faculty mentor and the program director. 

Particular attention is provided to the development of skills in clinical investigation and basic research. Trainees are expected to present the results of their research projects at national meetings and in peer-reviewed publications. Expansion of training to three years is possible in either track with admission to an NIH T32 training program in immunology or clinical research. View program research opportunities.

Fellows are expected to participate in a variety of curated conferences throughout the week designed to contribute to the fellow’s fund of knowledge and help in preparation for the American Board of Allery and Immunology certification exam.  

• Primary Imunodeficiency Rounds - Every Tuesday faculty and fellows come together to discuss challenging immunodeficiency cases encountered on the pediatric inpatient and consult service.  
   
• Journal Club-Monthly Journal Club sessions led by fellows and a faculty mentor are held with the aim of critical assessment and review of the literature.  
   
• IAR forum-Faculty based Lecture series occurs weekly to highlight cutting edge clinical and research topics pertaining to the division.
   
• Allergy/Immunology Board Review and Lecture Series- Friday afternoons are dedicated to fellow education with lectures prepared and given by a combination of fellows and faculty aimed at covering basic science and clinical topics relevant to clinical practice and board preparation.  
   
• Clinical and Case based Workshops- A number of procedural based workshops are held throughout the year in topics such as performing and interpreting skin prick testing, extract mixing, and writing immunotherapy prescriptions. 
   
• Pediatric Fellows College - Fellows College is an innovative and collaborative approach to sub-specialty training implemented at Baylor College of Medicine in 2011. The primary focus is to provide educational seminars for pediatric sub-specialties to meet the core curriculum (quality improvement, patient safety, communication, professionalism & medical writing) required by the ACGME and the ABP. In addition to the sessions offered to meet the core curriculum, Fellows College offers educational series on topics such as Fellows as Educators, Academic Career Development, & Global Health to name a few. Expanded curricular opportunities provided by Fellows College help to prepare sub-specialty fellows for their future careers. Furthermore, fellows have a wider range of opportunities to network and interact with an extended community of learners and leaders participating in Fellows College. 
   
• Other opportunities: Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital offer a variety of other conferences, Pediatric Grand Rounds and Internal Medicine Grand Rounds, Research Seminars and Lecture series that are open to all faculty and house staff.