Medical specialties
Infectious Diseases Diploma
Register interest
A decision-focused diploma in infectious diseases: how to diagnose and treat serious infection, use antibiotics well as resistance grows, and manage HIV, tuberculosis, imported and tropical infection and infection in people with weakened immunity, anchored on current UK, European and World Health Organization (WHO) guidance with US differences explained.
Twenty-five weekly sessions across five modules take you from diagnosis, sepsis and antimicrobial stewardship, through common serious infections, HIV, sexually transmitted infections and viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis, travel and tropical infection, to the immunocompromised host, vaccination and complex cases, taught live by practising specialists you can question.
- Course director
- To be announced
- Format
- 25 live weekly sessions on Zoom, in 5 modules
- Fee
- £1,200 (scholarships available)
- Dates
- Confirmed when enrolment opens
Who it is for
Senior trainees, fellows and early-career consultants in infectious diseases, microbiology and general medicine, and physicians who manage serious infection, worldwide.
The programme
25 one-hour sessions in 5 modules, each with its learning objectives. This is the draft programme: the course director reviews and refines it before enrolment opens, so session titles may change.
Module 1 · Sessions 1 to 5Principles: diagnosis, sepsis and antimicrobials
1. The infection consultation and the microbiology laboratory
- Take an exposure, travel and immune history that changes the differential diagnosis
- Choose the right specimen and test for the clinical question
- Interpret positive cultures and decide what is contamination
- Use biomarkers to support, not replace, clinical judgement
2. Sepsis: recognition and the first hour
- Recognise sepsis using early warning scores and clinical assessment
- Start antibiotics within the time the risk level requires
- Find and control the source of infection
- Escalate to critical care at the right time
3. Antimicrobial stewardship in practice
- Choose empirical antibiotics using local guidance and resistance data
- Review and rationalise antibiotics at 48 to 72 hours
- Switch from intravenous to oral treatment when criteria are met
- Remove inaccurate penicillin allergy labels safely
4. Antimicrobial resistance and multidrug-resistant organisms
- Interpret susceptibility reports, including resistance mechanisms
- Choose treatment for infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producers
- Select newer agents for carbapenem-resistant infection with the microbiologist
- Apply infection control measures for multidrug-resistant organisms
5. Clostridioides difficile and healthcare-associated infection
- Diagnose Clostridioides difficile infection and grade its severity
- Treat first and recurrent episodes in line with current guidance
- Select patients for faecal microbiota transplant
- Prevent and investigate healthcare-associated infection
Module 2 · Sessions 6 to 10Common serious infections
6. Pneumonia
- Assess pneumonia severity and choose the site of care
- Choose empirical antibiotics for community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia
- Decide on corticosteroids in severe community-acquired pneumonia
- Set the shortest effective course and plan follow-up
7. Urinary tract infection
- Diagnose urinary tract infection without over-relying on dipsticks
- Treat cystitis, pyelonephritis and catheter-associated infection with the right drug and duration
- Avoid treating asymptomatic bacteriuria except where evidence supports it
- Plan prevention for recurrent urinary tract infection
8. Infection of skin, soft tissue, bones and joints
- Distinguish cellulitis from its common mimics
- Recognise necrotising soft tissue infection as a surgical emergency
- Plan investigation and treatment of diabetic foot infection and osteomyelitis
- Choose between oral and intravenous treatment for infection of bones and joints
9. Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia and infective endocarditis
- Manage Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia with a complete care bundle
- Diagnose infective endocarditis using current criteria and imaging
- Decide with the endocarditis team when surgery is needed
- Select patients for partial oral treatment of endocarditis
10. Meningitis and encephalitis
- Recognise meningitis and encephalitis and start treatment without delay
- Decide when imaging is needed before lumbar puncture
- Interpret cerebrospinal fluid results
- Notify public health and arrange prophylaxis for contacts
Module 3 · Sessions 11 to 15HIV, sexually transmitted infections and viral hepatitis
11. HIV testing and diagnosis
- Offer HIV testing in indicator conditions and opt-out settings
- Recognise primary HIV infection
- Give a new HIV diagnosis and arrange linkage to care
- Complete a baseline assessment for a person newly diagnosed with HIV
12. Antiretroviral therapy and long-term HIV care
- Choose a first-line antiretroviral regimen
- Identify and manage significant drug interactions
- Select patients for long-acting injectable treatment
- Manage cardiovascular, bone and mental health in people with HIV
13. Advanced HIV, opportunistic infections and prevention
- Diagnose and treat the common opportunistic infections of advanced HIV
- Time the start of antiretroviral therapy after an opportunistic infection
- Prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis and monitor it
- Assess and manage an exposure that needs post-exposure prophylaxis
14. Sexually transmitted infections
- Diagnose and stage syphilis and choose treatment
- Treat gonorrhoea in line with resistance surveillance
- Manage Mycoplasma genitalium and other resistant infections
- Decide who should be offered doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis
15. Viral hepatitis for the infection specialist
- Test for hepatitis B and C and interpret the results
- Link people with viral hepatitis to treatment
- Prevent hepatitis B reactivation during immunosuppression
- Vaccinate people at risk of hepatitis A and B
Module 4 · Sessions 16 to 20Tuberculosis, travel and tropical infection
16. Active tuberculosis
- Diagnose pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis
- Start standard treatment and monitor for toxicity
- Recognise when a shorter or drug-resistant regimen is appropriate
- Work with public health on contact tracing and adherence
17. Latent tuberculosis infection
- Identify people who should be tested for latent tuberculosis
- Interpret interferon-gamma release assays and skin tests
- Screen for tuberculosis before biologic and other immunosuppressive treatment
- Choose a preventive regimen and monitor it
18. Fever in the returning traveller and malaria
- Test every febrile traveller returning from a malaria area for malaria
- Treat uncomplicated and severe malaria
- Recognise dengue and its warning signs
- Diagnose and treat enteric fever in line with resistance patterns
19. Parasitic and other imported infections
- Investigate eosinophilia in travellers and migrants
- Recognise schistosomiasis and strongyloidiasis and treat them
- Screen migrants and refugees for infection appropriately
- Identify imported infections that need specialist referral
20. High consequence infectious diseases and outbreaks
- Risk-assess a patient with possible viral haemorrhagic fever
- Isolate the patient and protect staff with the correct protective equipment
- Notify public health and follow national pathways
- Contribute to an outbreak investigation
Module 5 · Sessions 21 to 25The immunocompromised host, vaccines and practice
21. Neutropenic sepsis and infection in cancer
- Treat suspected neutropenic sepsis within the target time
- Stratify risk to select patients for outpatient treatment
- Investigate persistent fever in neutropenia
- Manage central line infections
22. Invasive fungal infection
- Treat candidaemia, including source control and follow-up
- Diagnose invasive aspergillosis using imaging and biomarkers
- Choose antifungal drugs and manage their interactions
- Apply antifungal stewardship principles
23. Infection in transplant recipients and patients on biologic therapy
- Screen for latent infection before transplantation or biologic therapy
- Prescribe prophylaxis against Pneumocystis and viral infection
- Manage cytomegalovirus infection after transplantation
- Plan vaccination for immunosuppressed patients
24. Adult vaccination and respiratory viruses
- Apply the adult immunisation schedule to individual patients
- Prescribe antivirals for influenza and COVID-19 to those who benefit
- Recognise measles and pertussis and act on public health duties
- Address vaccine hesitancy with clear evidence
25. Complex case decisions and running an infection service
- Apply the course to complex cases in a panel discussion
- Investigate pyrexia of unknown origin in a structured way
- Select patients for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy
- Build a personal plan for continuing development in infectious diseases
What the diploma includes
- 25 live sessions on Zoom, one evening a week, with recordings for the weeks you miss.
- Practising specialists teaching live, so you can put your questions to them.
- Weekly MCQs and a final written assessment.
- A digital certificate carrying your final classification.
Lead or teach the Infectious Diseases Diploma
We are looking for a course director and faculty from the specialty. Sessions are one hour in the UK evening, live on Zoom, and paid.