Newest doctors shun infectious diseases specialty

Thousands of doctors ready to continue their training celebrated Match Day for specialty fellowships on Nov. 30, but one group lamented its results: infectious diseases physicians. Despite its central role in the COVID pandemic, the infectious diseases specialty saw 44% of its training programs go unfilled.

"I'm bummed out," says Dr. Carlos Del Rio, a professor at the Emory School of Medicine and president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "I love my field, I love what I do. And it's upsetting to know that my field may not be as attractive to trainees as I would like it to be."

At the University of Washington, which has one of the nation's , administrators were scrambling to find suitable candidates for two fellowship spots that were still open after the match process. "It feels unsettling," says Dr. Paul Pottinger, director of UW's infectious diseases fellowship training program, "Typically, we