To achieve the above-stated goal and standards in our clinical and research training, the University of Texas Southwestern Infectious Diseases Fellowship program has redesigned its curriculum and evaluation methods to meet the new "competency-based" training and evaluation recently adopted by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

At the end of their fellowship, trainees must have achieved the six "core competencies" described by the ACGME:

• Patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health programs and the promotion of health; 
• Medical knowledge about established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and cognate sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to patient care;
• Practice-based learning and improvement that involves the investigation and evaluation of care for their patients, the appraisal and assimilation of scientific evidence, and improvements in patient care; 
• Interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and other health professionals; 
• Professionalism, as manifested through a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to patients of diverse backgrounds; 
• Systems-based practice, as manifested by actions that demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal health care.

The ID Fellowship program is adopting the new ACGME "competency-based" evaluation.  One of the central tenets of this evaluation philosophy is the "360-degree" evaluation, incorporating input from not only the faculty, but also non-faculty personnel who interact with the fellows as well as patients they care for.