The Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program is a 2-year post residency program. The overarching goal of the program is to train residents to become competent specialists in the independent practice of Allergy and Immunology, and to serve as a consultant to other physicians as needed.
Following completion of residency training, graduates will be equally prepared to enter into academic practice (either physician-scientist or clinician-educator) or independent practice. The residents will assume increasing levels of autonomy and responsibility as they progress through their training; however, will maintain a close interaction with the faculty who are charged with the supervision, education, and evaluation necessary in a training program. Years 1 and 2 are divided between clinical, research and other educational activities as mandated by the ACGME Residency Review Committees (RRC) for Allergy and Immunology and to fulfill ABAI certification requirements.
Program Goals and Objectives
- To prepare specialists who provide expert medical care for patients with allergic and immunologic disorders and who can serve as consultants, educators, and physician scientists in asthma, allergic disorders, immunologic disorders, and immunodeficiency diseases.
- To provide Allergy and Immunology fellows with cross-training in both pediatric and adult allergic and immunologic disorders because specialists in allergy and immunology, whatever, their primary specialty, are called on to diagnose and treat individuals of all ages.
- To raise awareness of the limitations of present knowledge and to stimulate an attitude of spirited discussion, acquisition, and sharing of new knowledge, and to formulate questions as hypotheses subject to scientific testing.
These goals can be achieved by patient contact, lectures, and/or reading. The fellow will develop skills in skin testing, pulmonary function testing, immunotherapy, and other Allergy and Immunology procedures as described in the Program Requirements for Residency in Allergy and Immunology. The knowledge base presented to fellows will include the etiology, immunopathogenesis, differential diagnosis, therapy, and complications of those Allergy and Immunology diseases listed above.
The didactic and knowledge areas of the program will aim at providing the fellow with the basic knowledge of the following topics:
- Knowledge of aerobiology; cellular and molecular immunobiology; humoral and cellular immunology; the scientific basis of the methodology, indications, and interpretation of laboratory tests and imaging procedures used in the diagnosis and follow up of patients with asthma, allergic, and immunologic and other diseases; preparation and standardization of allergen extracts; means to measure indoor allergens and institution of environmental control measures in the home and other sites; the costs of therapy and diagnostic testing; and the psychological effects of chronic illness.
- Knowledge of applied immunology, to include the principles and techniques of clinical immunology laboratory procedures such as tests for humoral immunity, cellular immunity, neutrophil function, cytokines, immune complexes, cryoprecipitable proteins, total serum complement activity and individual complement components, and histocompatibility.
- Knowledge of the etiology, immunopathogenesis, differential diagnosis, therapy, and complications of those diseases referenced in ACGME Program Requirements.
- Knowledge of controversial or unproven drug or therapeutic techniques in allergy, asthma, allergic disorders, immunologic disorders, and immunodeficiency diseases.
Program Design
Fellows will rotate longitudinally at Cleveland Clinic of Florida, on average one day per week, except during Research months to have 20% Adult patients. Residents will also have a one month Adult Elective (Pulmonology or ENT).
Fellows will see Inpatient consults while on Outpatient clinics. Outpatient clinics will be a combination of pediatric and adult clinics with patients that have immunodeficiency diseases, along with Allergy patients.
Fellows will have 6 months of Research, one month during the first year and 5 months during the second year.
Teaching and didactic sessions will take place as follows, Board Review and Grand Rounds once per week for 1 hour sessions, Allergy Journal Club once per month, Common Fellowship Curriculum Session once per month, Faculty Development Lecture quarterly.
- Site 1: Outpatient Clinic time spent 50/50 in Hospital-Based office clinic and community-based office clinic. Fellows Continuity Clinic takes place one 1/2 day per week year round.
- Site 2: Cleveland Clinic of Florida Office-Based Adult Experience
- Site 3: Outpatient Community-based office clinic
Salary and Benefits
Compensation is commensurate with ACGME-equivalent programs.
First Year Curriculum
Block |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
Site |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
Rotation |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
% Inpatient |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
25% |
% Outpatient |
75% |
75% |
75% |
75% |
75% |
75% |
75% |
% Research |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Block |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
|
Site |
1/3 |
1/3 |
2 |
2 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Rotation |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Adult** |
Adult** |
Research |
Vacation* |
|
% Inpatient |
25% |
25% |
10% |
10% |
|
|
|
% Outpatient |
75% |
75% |
90% |
90% |
|
|
|
% Research |
|
|
|
|
100% |
|
|
*Vacation is taken as either 2 week blocks (x2) or a 4-week block
**Adult rotation is longitudinal weekly clinic at Cleveland Clinic of Florida for every block except during research month/vacation; and Adult elective (one block in year 2)
Adult Electives include:
- Adult Allergy
- Adult Dermatology
- Adult Pulmonology
- Adult Otolaryngology
- Rheumatology
Second Year Curriculum
Block |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
Site |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
1/3 |
Rotation |
Research |
Research |
Research |
Research |
Research |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
% Inpatient |
|
|
|
|
|
25% |
25% |
% Outpatient |
|
|
|
|
|
75% |
75% |
% Research |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|
|
Block |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
|
Site |
1/3 |
1/3 |
2 |
2 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Rotation |
Peds A/I |
Peds A/I |
Adult** |
Adult Elective** |
Research |
Vacation* |
|
% Inpatient |
25% |
25% |
10% |
10% |
|
|
|
% Outpatient |
75% |
75% |
90% |
90% |
|
|
|
% Research |
|
|
|
|
100% |
|
|
*Vacation is taken as either 2 week blocks (x2) or a 4-week block
**Adult rotation is longitudinal weekly clinic at Cleveland Clinic of Florida for every block except during research month/vacation; and Adult elective (one block in year 2)
Adult Electives include:
- Adult Allergy
- Adult Dermatology
- Adult Pulmonology
- Adult Otolaryngology
- Rheumatology
The Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program is a two year post-residency program. Eligible candidates include postdoctoral trainees (with M.D. or D.O. degrees) who have completed a minimum of 3 year Pediatric or 4 year Med-Peds residency training at an ACGME-accredited residency program. Program candidates must be U.S. citizen, Permanent Residents, or foreign nationals who are J-1 (Exchange Visitor) Visa holders. The program will recruit one trainee per year to start on July 7 of every academic year.