Welcome from the Program Director
Welcome to the Virginia Commonwealth University (The Medical College of Virginia) Infectious Diseases Fellowship Training Program! VCU’s ID Fellowship program has a long tradition of excellence dating back to 1967! VCU Health System (VCUHS) is a busy, growing, state-of- the art health system which is ideally located amid Virginia’s population centers. VCUHS provides excellent primary, subspecialty, and tertiary care to the greater Richmond metropolitan area and the surrounding region. Consistent with our mission to provide the best medical care regardless of financial status, we care for more than half of the state’s uninsured patients. VCUHS offers a fast-paced work environment with a remarkably diverse patient population. We are very proud to have been recognized for excellence as the #1 Hospital in the state of Virginia and in the Richmond metropolitan area by US News and World Reports and by the American Hospital Association with its prestigious AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize award designation. This diversity and recognized clinical excellence creates a rich learning environment for our fellows in Infectious Diseases.
Our fellows encounter a vast spectrum of illness at both VCU and at the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Upon completion of training, our fellows are truly confident in evaluating and caring for complex patients with a wide variety of infectious diseases and related conditions, having developed important skills as effective consultants. In addition to our general Infectious Diseases consult service, we have dedicated Transplant Infectious Diseases, Orthopedic Infectious Diseases services, a COVID-19 service, and a telemedicine consult service for community hospitals. Our program includes training in Antimicrobial Stewardship as well as Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control. Each year we are able to offer a third year of dedicated research training to one fellow who wishes to pursue research in Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control. Our third year fellows earn a Masters in Public Health degree as a part of their third year fellowship training. We are also very fortunate to have a world-class, on-site Clinical Microbiology lab and a core curriculum inclusive of Clinical Microbiology, as well as a Global Health program. Fellows in our division have access to excellent mentorship in a wide variety of clinical, translational and basic research arenas.
We also offer a combined four-year fellowship program in Med/Peds Infectious Diseases. This is an integrated four-year training program and we work closely with the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program to maximize Med/Peds ID fellows’ experience.
We are fortunate to have dedicated and talented leadership in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Our division chief, Dr. Gonzalo Bearman, is a renowned expert and national leader in Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control. Dr. Bearman and the rest of our talented faculty at VCUHS are not only recognized in their fields of expertise, but are viewed by our fellows as personable, accessible, and outstanding clinician educators. They are committed to the fellowship program and uniformly embrace education as a top priority in our division. Our program is built on strong advocacy for our fellows and our fellows are very satisfied with their decision to come to VCU. In addition to phenomenal clinical training in Infectious Diseases, our fellows have access to educational opportunities including board review courses, the IDSA antimicrobial stewardship curriculum, as well as support to attend national ID meetings like ID Week. Our fellowship also focuses on maintaining physician wellness with support to the ID fellows for work/life integration.
Plus, Richmond is a wonderful place to live! Richmond ranks among Amazon’s 20 most read cities in the United States. Outside magazine ranked Richmond s the “Best River Town in America” due to amenities such as the James River Park System and all the outdoors activities, sporting events, and festivals. Esquire magazine named Virginia The Food Region of 2014 with Richmond’s Rappahannock among the 12 best new restaurants in the country. Working Mothers magazine rates VCUHS among the best employers for working moms. Forbes magazine ranks Richmond among the 15th happiest cities for young professionals in the U.S. The U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research based on resident surveys and CDC data designated Richmond as the happiest, most content city in the U.S. And, in 2014 Frommer’s named Richmond among the top 10 international destinations. With a rich history, great wines, the mountains, the Chesapeake Bay, and the ocean, Richmond is ideally located in the heart of the mid-Atlantic. If you are looking for a great place to learn and to live, you need to look no further than the Infectious Diseases fellowship training program at VCUHS.
As program director, my goal is simple: to provide our fellows with a high quality educational experience in an encouraging, supportive, and stimulating environment. It is a privilege to participate in the education and training of future Infectious Diseases physicians; each year I am proud to see them mature, graduate, and assume their roles in contributing to the community at large, whatever their individual interests and career goals.
We hope that you find our site informative and helpful. Certainly, if you have any additional questions about the program, we encourage you to contact us.
Jillian Raybould, MD, FIDSA
Associate Professor of Medicine
Program Director, Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program
Medical Director, Infectious Diseases Clinic