Allergy and Immunology is a clinic-based experience that is offered as a month long elective for internal medicine or pediatric residents. Research opportunities exist for doctoral candidates as well. Participants will learn how to recognize and manage common allergic and immunologic conditions. Learning when consultation for an Allergy and Immunology specialist is also demonstrated.

Goals

• To teach residents the degree of allergy and immunology necessary to be a competent internist.
• To teach residents the ability to recognize when an internist should consult a subspecialist in Allergy and Immunology.
• To demonstrate the field of Allergy and Immunology for motivated internal medicine residents desiring to specialize in Allergy and Immunology.

Objectives

Patient Care

• To learn to effectively interview patients with common allergic and immunodeficient diseases;
• To learn to effectively diagnose and treat common allergic conditions such as rhinitis and asthma;
• To competently perform and know the indications for skin testing;
• To recognize indication for and to correctly interpret laboratory testing in patients with allergic and immunologic disorders, and;
• To recognize the need for subspecialty consultation by a subspecialist in Allergy and Immunology.

Medical Knowledge

• To expand the clinic knowledge of the basic and clinical sciences underlying allergic disease and disorders of the immune system;
• To learn to access and critically evaluate current information and scientific evident relevant to a patient’s medical illnesses, and;
• To broaden knowledge in the pathophysiology of common allergic and immunodeficient syndromes.

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

• To communicate, in a sensitive and effective manner, with patients having allergic and / or immunologic disease;
• To communicate in an effective manner with the service requesting the consultation to confirm the reason for the consult, and to ensure that the question asked is clear;
• To communicate with the patient’s primary care physician early and as often as necessary, and;
• To document concisely with clear, detailed recommendations

Knowledge to be assessed

Participants should gain knowledge and understanding of the following illnesses and disorders:

• Hereditary complement disorders
• Hereditary angioedema
• C1, C2 and C4 deficiency
• C3 deficiency
• C5-9 deficiencies
• Asthma
• Pneumonitis
• Skin testing
• Mastocytosis
• HLA Diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter syndrome, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• Congenital immunodeficiencies, such as A-Gammaglobulinemia, CVID, IgA deficiency, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome, severe combined immunodeficiency
• Immune complex disease, such as serum sickness

Methods of achieving objectives

• Direct patient care under the supervising attending physician.
• Didactic sessions with the attending physician.
• Self-study using any one of the several recommended reference textbooks of clinical Allergy and Immunology.
• Selected handouts and journal articles on pertinent topics.

Evaluation process

• Attending will monitor and review goals and objectives with the participant at the beginning, middle and end of the rotation.