Carolyn R. Fernandes, MD, was recently promoted to the rank of Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, retroactive to June 1, 2021. Dr. Fernandes trained as an Infectious Diseases (ID) Fellow at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2012. She joined the ID division at the rank of Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in 2012.
Dr. Fernandes volunteered to staff the Travel Health Clinic at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, beginning in 2015 as a monthly half-day clinic. She was appointed Director of the Travel Health Clinic in 2017 and has diligently worked to improve the visibility and functioning of the clinic. Clinic volume steadily rose under her leadership, and now runs twice monthly. The Travel Clinic provides comprehensive medical consultation and destination-specific pre-travel counseling, prophylactic immunizations and medications, with a niche in caring for the medically complicated traveler. She received the International Society of Travel Medicine’s Certificate in Travel Health® in 2018. She streamlined the order entry process for travel-related immunizations and medications working with the EPIC Team and UPMC’s Falk Pharmacy, developed handouts and educational materials for travelers and revised the Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine Curriculum for the Fellows.
Dr. Fernandes was appointed to the role of Director of Outpatient Services in the ID division this year. As Director of Outpatient Services, she is charged with overseeing outpatient operations. This includes General ID, Pittsburgh Area Center for Treatment (PACT), Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT), and Transplant ID clinics as well as outpatient telemedicine clinics, the Endovascular Infections clinic, the Orthopedics ID clinic, and the Travel Medicine clinic. She will also have oversight over other outpatient issues including outpatient access and the Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) program.
Dr. Fernandes is an outstanding clinician educator within the ID Division and is one of the major clinicians staffing the inpatient and outpatient ID services. She currently spends a majority of her time rounding on the inpatient General ID/Surgical ID teaching services at UPMC Presbyterian and Magee hospitals. Dr. Fernandes also provides telemedicine ID consultative services to other hospitals within the UPMC Health System. She was awarded the “Fellow’s Teaching Award” for 2021. She is a team player and frequently volunteers to help out her ID colleagues when needed. Dr. Fernandes’ achievements and unwavering commitment to academic medicine and patient care have enhanced the missions of the ID Division and the Department of Medicine.
Please join us in congratulating Carolyn!