Curriculum/Education

Allergy & Immunology Fellowship Training

Basics of Allergy/Immunology ‘Boot Camp’

At the outset of the first year, fellows will attend a city-wide fellows’ Core Curriculum on basic and clinical aspects of Allergy/Immunology. This is an opportunity for immersion to varied topics in A/I and network with fellows in other Boston A/I programs. While this was held remotely due to COVID in 2020, it remained an extremely valuable intense learning experience and has returned to an in-person venue. Senior fellows are welcome to join the course for knowledge consolidation and/or Board Review.

Weekly Conferences

Work Rounds:

Tuesdays noon
A forum for challenging clinical problems and enigmas. This conference is more geared towards Pulmonary/CCM cases but A/I fellows are welcome to attend.

Allergy/Immunology Conference:

Wednesdays 2:00 PM
This conference, which occurs 3x monthly, will provide fellows with didactic presentations, case-based education and Board Review, and a gathering of all A/I faculty and fellows to discuss recent advances in A/I science/therapeutics, and Journal Club.

Guest speakers from other institutions have been invited and shared their cutting-edge research, advanced clinical expertise, and add to the breadth of exposure for our trainees.

Combined Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Grand Rounds and Research Conference (more detail):

Wednesdays 3:30 PM
The entire pulmonary, allergy and critical care division along with several community-based practicing physicians attends the weekly Grand Rounds. We have recently changed the format of this conference to integrate the research and clinical activities of the Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep and Critical Care Section.

In one major part of this interactive conference, first year Pulmonary and Allergy/Immunology fellows present clinical cases to faculty members. Key elements of the case are discussed. At the end of the discussion, first year fellows present a summary of the relevant literature. The intent is to highlight new and classical literature regarding diagnosis, treatment, or disease mechanisms. During the year, a broad variety of cases is presented, including: usual and unusual sinus and pulmonary infections; usual and unusual issues in asthma diagnosis and management; drug-induced pulmonary disease and other drug allergies; nasal, laryngeal and chest cancer; acute lung injury; interstitial lung disease and vasculitis. In addition, several conferences are devoted to core topics in allergy/immunology, sleep, and exercise physiology.

In the second critical element of combined research/clinical conference, MD and PhD researchers (trainees and faculty) present updates on their research projects for feedback and discussion. This provides an opportunity for presenters to benefit from the breadth and depth of the knowledge of the entire Section, including clinician input into the clinical implications of the bench, translational, and epidemiologic research projects presented. Clinical cases presented as noted above are also complemented with basic science input from the scientist audience.

Pulmonary/Allergy Core Curriculum

 Tuesday 7AM

A set of core topics in Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep, and Allergy/Immunology are discussed in didactic and case-based formats. Many lectures are focused on Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, with many that overlap significantly with Allergy/Immunology. Fellows are encouraged to attend.

Fellows’ Allergy/Pulmonary Conference and Journal Club:

Thursdays 12-1 PM
This is a weekly conference that is run by fellows. Individual fellows lead a case-based discussion on a specific topic along with a review of the pertinent literature. The conference varies from reviewing interesting radiography, case management issues, global trends in allergy and pulmonary care, and new treatment strategies. Pulmonary, A/I fellows and occasionally faculty present overviews of key issues in Pulmonary and A/I management in addition to interesting patient-oriented issues.

This forum also serves as a monthly Journal Club. A fellow and faculty member presents a selected article and oversee the ensuing discussion. The goals are to identify new and interesting clinical findings, and to teach a critical reading of the literature in pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine.

Boston City Wide Allergy and Immunology Rounds:

Bi-monthly as cadence affected by COVID – Networking opportunity with Faculty and Fellows from all three Boston A/I Training Programs with presentations by nationally recognized leaders in the field, as noted in 2022 and 2023 schedules.

Allergy & Immunology Core Curriculum Outline and Training Program Directors’ Reading List

As noted above, at the outset of the first year, fellows will attend a city-wide fellows’ Core Curriculum (‘Boot Camp’) on basic and clinical aspects of Allergy/immunology. This is an opportunity for immersion to varied topics in A/I and, equally as important, network with fellows in other Boston A/I programs.

The AAAAI Training Program Directors’ (TPD) Core Curriculum Outline includes articles that are core resources for the topics covered in the Training Program Directors’ Core Curriculum. The TPD Core Curriculum outline is consistent with the requirements of the ACGME Residency Review Committee and serves as a general guide for our program’s learning objectives.

While this resource has not been recently updated, it remains comprehensive and relevant. It can be accessed here; further resources for prospective applicants and current practitioners are available through the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology websites.