Training Programme Director - Daniel Weiand

Specialty Programme Coordinator - Joanne O'Brien

HR Officer – Allyson Ashwell

Welcome to Virology. We aim to provide useful information to potential future and current Virology Specialist Trainees, Virology Trainers and all others interested in the virology training opportunities in Health Education North East. We hope you will find this website a useful resource and an easy way of finding links to virology related sites.

Medical Virology is a fascinating and rapidly evolving field. Recent years have seen major advances in viral diagnostic techniques, exponential increases in the availability of effective antivirals and the emergence of new and important pathogens such as SARS and pandemic influenza. These changes have combined to make virology such a vital specialty, central to patient care. Clinical virologists work closely with biomedical scientists in the laboratory. They also work closely with clinicians in a wide range of hospital specialties and in primary care. This is to ensure appropriate use and interpretation of diagnostic investigations and to advise on optimal patient management in line with best evidence-based medicine. Clinical virologists form an important part of the infection prevention and control team within the hospital and liaise closely with health protection unit staff.

Training usually takes four years (as anticipated by the Royal College of Pathologists) in fulltime training. The specialty training begins after completing two years of core training in either ACCS or CMT.  Then trainees will complete two years of combined infection training which combines both the clinical aspects of infection with the laboratory aspects. Finally, the trainee will complete two years of higher specialty training in medical virology.

In HEENE rotations will be between the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Freeman Hospital, both under the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

For more information please vist: Day in The Life

To find out more about our region and Trusts please visit the Find Your Place website.