Posted on: 20.10.2022

Dear Colleagues!

We are pleased to announce the recruitment of mentors for the second cohort of Field EpidemiologyIntermediateTraining Program (FETP- I) for Eastern Europe and South Caucasus (EESC). Residents will be recruited from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Armenia, and Ukraine. The training program will commence in January 2023.A small group of national mentors will be selected from amongformer FETP graduates to guide the second cohort residents through the training program, share their knowledge, give constructive feedback, and provide residents with professional and personal advice into and out of the program.

Eligibility criteria for mentors

1.      FETP graduate (FETP-Advanced or equivalent program)

2.      Have experience with field epidemiology and knowledge of their country’s public health system

3.      Have sufficient time and willingness to coach mentee

4.      Fluency in Russian is required, and intermediate level of English is desirable. Fluency in English will be an advantage.

5.      Strong interpersonal communication skillseffective problem-solving techniques, practicing logical structuring and encouraging critical thinking

Expected responsibility of the FETP mentors

1.      Attend two in-personmentor’s workshops to discuss mentor’s roles and responsibilities and assist in developing of required competencies

2.      Serve as a mentor to 2-3 residents through the entire 10-week course and during the fieldwork:

·         Build and sustain relationships by building and maintaining resident trust

·         Advise mentees and share their professional and personal experience with FETP program

·         Provide emotional and moral encouragement and support, help resolve any conflicts, demonstrate concern for the personal well-being of their mentees

·         Provide actionable, constructive, and timely feedback

3.      Aid mentees in obtaining professional opportunities

4.      Guide field projects, review epidemiologic concepts as necessary using epidemiological expertise and demonstrating knowledge in field epidemiology practices

5.      Provide progress reports and evaluations of the residents to the FETP directorate

6.      During the course mentors will have to attend two mentor’s workshops to assist in developing of required competencies.

Mentor’s certification will be conducted based on the performance that will be evaluated by completing the mentor’s competencies at the end of the cohort.

1.      Candidates should complete an online application form and provide the supporting documents. Deadline for application is October 30, 2022

2.      Applicant should complete the application form accessible by the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FETP_I_Application

3.      Upload the following documents

·         Curriculum vitae (CV)

·         Confirmation of professional license and academic degrees

·         Recommendation letters from persons directly related to professional career of the candidates and/or heads of authority, institution, organization, or enterprise, where candidates work.

·         Motivation letter (no more than 1 page/800 words) to participate in the FETP, covering the following points:

·         What is your motivation to participate in the program as a mentor?

·         How have your education and professional experience prepared and encouraged you to become a mentor in the FETP?

·         What are your professional goals and vision of your career development in the coming years?

1.      Candidates will be informed by email regarding receipt of application.

2.      Selected candidates will be informed by mail no later than November 4, 2022.

3.      Candidates will be offered a written online Language test (Russian or English) during November 7-9, 2022

4.      The interviews with selected candidates will be conducted during November 10-17, 2022.

5.      Based on the interview results selected candidates will be offered anonline Entry Competency Test to evaluate a possession of the basic competencies required by mentor. The duration of the Competency Test is about an houronNovember 21, 2022

6.      Final selection will be based on the candidates’ Language and Entry Competency Test results, resume and interview by November 23, 2022

7.      Outcomes of the selection process will be communicated via official letter and email by December 5, 2022.

Travel and accommodation will be coordinated and funded by the EECA FETP-Iprogram.

Eastern European and South Caucasus Field epidemiology Program-Intermediate (EESC FETP-I) is an on-the-job training program for public health professionals and veterinarians. The program consists of five1–2-week didactic workshops in Georgia, accompanied by mentored field work in the residents’ home country. Residents are expected to continue with their full-time jobs during the program. The training program is 10 months in duration andwill be conducted in Russian and English.

The main goals of the program are to:

·         Provide essential public health services to the country by strengthening:

o   Response to acute problems, including outbreaks and natural and man-made disasters

o   Surveillance systems through evaluations, managing ongoing or new surveillance systems, and training local health staff

o   Public health system capacity and infrastructure of the country

o   Scientific basis for program and policy decisions to prevent and control diseases and conditions - the key to public health impact

o   Communication of epidemiologic information by contributing to the national epidemiology bulletin, publishing journal articles, and presenting surveillance data to decision makers

·         Enhance cross border information exchange to prevent wide spread of disease outbreaks

·         Train a cadre of public health professionals who work on priority issues in the country

The main principle of FETP is the use of evidence-based data to achieve public health goals.FETP will introduce international standards of epidemiology and foster an evidence-based mentality so that residents are able to support arguments with convincing evidence and influence people in progressive ways. The FETP establishes a cohesive mindset of public health professionals with different backgrounds and experiences, promotes collaboration between agencies and enables residents to perform their jobs in a highly efficient way.

A cohort of 20 residents arerecruited annually, with four residents from each participating country. Residents will be selected from both the ministries of health and ministries of agriculture,to embrace the One Health approach.

Workshop topicswill include public health surveillance; basic and advanced epidemiology; public health communication and technical report writing, data analysisusing EPIINFO program and presentation of the group project.

The most essential component of the program is the fieldwork, which may entailoutbreak investigation, response to public health emergencies, and conducting planned epidemiological studies.

National mentors will lead their residents through the program.

Afterachieving at least 60% of the competencies, residents will receive a certificate of completion at the graduation ceremony.

All travel and accommodation for the workshops will be coordinated and paid for by the EESC FETP-I. Funding will also be provided for residents to present their research papers at international scientific conferences.