Get the inside scoop below from the University of Chicago team competing in this year’s IDBugBowl, Saturday, Oct. 24, at 4:45 p.m. ET — how they’re prepping, what inspires them to pursue ID and their favorite medical TV shows. Check out profiles of the other teams competing this year on the IDWeek Daily News blog.
Allison Giuffre, MD, Second-Year Infectious Diseases Fellow
What are you doing to prepare for the competition? What’s your training/practice routine?
I started by watching last year’s IDBugBowl! I am now skimming through The Comprehensive Review of Infectious Diseases during my downtime.
What inspired you to pursue a career in ID?
You see the most interesting cases in the hospital while getting to collaborate with different specialties. And ID is always the nicest!
What part of the ID field interests you the most?
Antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship
What’s your favorite pathogen?
Staph aureus, it can never be underestimated!
What’s your favorite medical TV show, past or present?
ER. Such a classic and set in Chicago.
Hailee Nielsen, MD, Internal Medicine PGY2 Resident
What are you doing to prepare for the competition? What’s your training/practice routine?
Making sure to have ID-related podcasts and books in my rotation.
What inspired you to pursue a career in ID?
My fabulous medical school mentor, Emily Abdoler, MD, MAEd, was the initial spark. Something unique that I love about ID is that it is so related to place — where our patients have lived and traveled, and their current context.
What part of the ID field interests you the most?
Endocarditis and other endovascular infections. I am particularly interested in the intersections between ID and addiction medicine.
What’s your favorite pathogen?
Klebsiella pneumoniae
What’s your favorite medical TV show, past or present?
The early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, a classic.
Philip Jurasinski, DO, MPH, MSN, Second-Year Med/Peds Infectious Diseases Fellow
What are you doing to prepare for the competition? What’s your training/practice routine?
I am reviewing practice questions for the competition and reading through the Red Book. I am aiming to do this once a week and then to increase my frequency as we get closer to the competition.
What inspired you to pursue a career in ID?
Several things sold me on infectious diseases — rotations I had in medical school and residency, pursuing an MPH while in medical school and attending IDWeek during my third year of residency sold me on infectious diseases. I was impressed how infectious diseases touches all areas of medicine, and there is so much you can do with it! I also love how much infectious diseases physicians advocate for patients.
What part of the ID field interests you the most?
I am super interested in immunocompromised ID and doing outcome research.
What’s your favorite pathogen?
Aspergillus! It’s so sneaky since it can only manifest as allergic symptoms but can strike out of nowhere and take over existing cavitary lesions and even become disseminated in immunocompromised patients. It floats on its feet since it looks like a dandelion microscopically. Just like one of my favorite movies, it can be everything, everywhere, all at once!
What’s your favorite medical TV show, past or present?
I really like New Amsterdam!
Editor’s Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.