The didactic component is designed to provide fellows with formal instruction. This includes a weekly Bench to Bedside discussion led by John Carlson, MD PhD, a forum for relating basic immunology to clinical practice. Fellows lead weekly reviews of selected reading material from Abbas Clinical Immunology, an authoritative text which is thus formally reviewed each year. Immunology comprises a large portion of the ABAI exam and is often relevant to day-to-day clinical practice, so it is very important to reinforce this material via didactics.Read More
Second-year fellows lead reviews of the Practice Parameters (current guidelines for the management of allergic and immunologic disease), material which is also quite relevant to clinical practice and has a large footprint on the ABAI exam. All fellows take turns leading Journal Club. Additionally, fellows at Tulane and LSU take turns presenting interesting cases during the weekly Tulane/LSU Clinical and Research Conference Series. Conjoint Board Review Sessions are also conducted at this weekly conference. Cooperative learning with the three fellows at LSU allows us reap the benefits of our collective clinical and research experiences.
At the annual New Orleans Aeroallergen Course, pollen grains and mold spores are reviewed by nationally renowned microbiologists. Fellows receive intensive hand-on training in the microscopic identification of pollen grains and mold spores. Fellows are required to attend this course at least once but may attend during both years of fellowship, free of charge. This is a rather unique experience for Tulane fellows.
Fellows are required to attend the annual meetings of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the Louisiana Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (LSAAI). Fellows have the opportunity and are encouraged to attend the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI).
