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What education is required to become an Infectious Disease Specialist?

I want to become an Infectious Disease Specialist in the near future but I want to know what education I should seek in order to achieve this goal. If possible, it would be nice to know specific courses and internships required. #medicine

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Richard’s Answer

During college, pick a major that interests you. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.

Aside from this, any major is acceptable as long as you complete the prerequisite courses.

Typical medical school prerequisites include:
Biology: Lecture – 4 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
General Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Organic Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Biochemistry: Lecture – 1 semester
General Physics: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Math: Statistics – 1 semester
English: Rhetoric (Composition) and Literature – 2 semesters

Some medical schools require humanities and social/behavioral science courses.

During medical school, the first two years usually consist of assigned classes. The third year consists of assigned rotations. The internal medicine rotation will be particularly important for you as you will need an internal medicine residency. The fourth year is a chance for electives. You can try infections diseases (ID) at your institution or away rotations at other hospitals.

During residency it won't be necessary to focus on ID. Just make sure you learn as much internal medicine as possible. You will then complete an ID fellowship.
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Rachel’s Answer

Infectious disease is a great field requiring a medical doctorate. This means that you will have to complete college with a bachelor’s degree as well as all of the Pre-med requirements (1 year biology, 1 year inorganic chemistry, 1 year organic chemistry + labs, physics, calculus, and biochemistry). GPA should probably be 3.5 or better (preferably >3.8). You will also have to score well on the MCAT. Once accepted to medical school, as long as you pass your classes and perform reasonably well during your four years of medical training, you can apply for an internal medicine 3 year residency. Following that, you will likely apply for a 2-3 year infectious disease fellowship.
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Ransi’s Answer

That's great, Nikki! The world needs more infectious disease doctors. You will need a 4-year undergraduate degree followed by medical school, then a 3-year internal medicine residency followed by a 2 or 3 year infectious diseases fellowship. It seems like a long time to be learning but it will be very rewarding! The infectious diseases fellowship will be hands on work in the specialty so will be like being an infectious disease specialist except you are training under experts.
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