Why Infectious Diseases (#WHYID)

Recently on ID Twitter, there was a collective engagement to describe why any medical trainee these days should pursue Infectious Disease as a career (#WhyID). I have myself over the years mused over this thought always concluding that Infectious Disease is the coolest medical specialty. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who thinks this way.

• We are the medical detectives
• We are expert diagnosticians
• We are the doctor’s doctor
• We are not limited to a single organ of the body
• We see the coolest cases
• We are not limited to a single area of the hospital
• We know everyone in the hospital
• We get to help people we won’t ever meet
• We can practice anywhere in the world
• We won’t ever be bored (emerging diseases, antibiotic resistance, new laboratory techniques)
• We work with equally passionate colleagues

With that, I leave you with a collection of infectious disease movies

• The Andromeda Strain (1971)
• And The Band Played On (1993)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Outbreak (1995)
• 28 Days Later… (2002)
• Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
• Contagion (2011)
• World War Z (2013)
• Dallas Buyers Club (2013)