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The Infectious Nature of ID By Atefeh Fahimi I’ve always thought that one of the greatest things about pharmacy is that there are so many specialties. I remember when I was filling in the RAMPS application, it was very difficult to narrow it down, and I was happy to see that I was paired with my top choice—Infectious Disease. In the short time I spent with Dr. Vicky Dudas, I was able to get some insight into the Infectious Disease Specialty. Going in I thought I had it figured out: I would do a residency in Infectious Disease (ID) which would lead to a position as a clinical pharmacist working on the HIV/AIDS floor. However, Dr. Dudas explained that infectious disease is a little different and clarified what I could expect. Dr. Dudas completed her PharmD and general residency at Temple University. She then continued with a second year residency in ID at UCSF, where she now works as a clinical pharmacist with the Medical Center. Her role on the medical team is multi-fold. She works nine to eleven hours a day, averaging 50 hours a week, and has the pager on for about 70% of the year. She is responsible for microbial review (the impressive task of managing the antibiotic orders for all hospital patients), a preceptor for student rotations and clerkships, and even has the opportunity to teach didactic courses in the School of Pharmacy. After talking with Dr. Dudas, I realized that the same things that interested her about the specialty were very appealing to me. According to Dr. Dudas, the challenge of determining the proper antibiotic regimen for each different patient is one of the main reasons she loves her job. Also, ID specialists work with patients on an acute level, which I personally saw as a positive, because you can see the results of your efforts (hopefully, with patients recovering fully and going home happy!). But I wondered, living in San Francisco, also known as the nesting grounds for clinical pharmacy, would there be a chance to practice ID in other realms of pharmacy or other cities? The prospects look good! Even though it may not be something you will see in your community pharmacy (there aren’t many opportunities to make recommendations), ID will be a desirable specialty in the clinical setting. Considering the prevalence of antibiotic resistance, more hospitals are looking to employ ID specialists, especially in areas of general medicine, oncology, and HIV. Through the RAMPS program I was able to learn about the steps necessary to become a specialist, as well as get an understanding of the role of an ID pharmacist. Even though our time together was limited, I gained some valuable knowledge about the Infectious Disease specialty and thank Dr. Dudas for taking time to provide me with insight into her specialty. Atefeh Fahimi is a second-year pharmacy student.
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