Division of Disease Control and Health Protection

Preparing epidemiologists for public health leadership positions in Florida

Headquartered at the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee, Florida, the Florida Epidemic Intelligence Service (FL-EIS) is a unique two-year, post-graduate program of service and on-the-job training for health professionals interested in the field of epidemiology. The program was founded in 2001 for health professionals who have a degree or experience in a field related to public health. Fellows are assigned to a county health department for two years and have opportunities to respond to various public health concerns throughout the state.

Mission
To prepare epidemiologists for public health leadership positions in Florida.

Goals

• Provide experience in epidemiology and public health practice during placements with county health departments.

• Assist local health departments in emergency outbreak and other field epidemiologic investigations.

• Produce well trained public health epidemiologists for positions in Florida health departments.

Opportunities
Each fellow is assigned to a preceptor who is a practicing epidemiologist within a local health department. At the beginning of the year, the preceptor and fellow jointly develop a specific list of goals and objectives.  Fellows will:

•  Perform descriptive and analytic epidemiology,

•  Evaluate programs to determine their effectiveness,

•  Investigate clusters of disease,

•  Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at professional meetings.

•  Respond to inquiries from the public, media, government officials, or other health professionals.

Locations of Positions
Current fellows are in the following counties: Nassau and Clay, Miami Dade, Seminole, Orange and Osceola, Duval, Hillsborough

County Health Departments that have provided Florida EIS Training opportunities:

Who Should Apply?
Persons with a master's or doctoral degree in a health related field (e.g. MPH, PhD, DrPH, MD, DVM) having taken at least one course in epidemiology and one course in (bio)statistics during graduate/professional school. The primary selection criteria are strong academic performance and recommendations, a demonstrated interest in and the ability to practice epidemiology in Florida public health agencies, and geographic flexibility to accept placement in any location in Florida.

Recruiting for the new 2013-2015 Florida EIS class will begin in the Spring of 2013! Please visit again to get additional information!

Contact Information
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin #A-12
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1720
(904) 791-1747
Attn: Florida EIS Program

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

Please direct any questions to: FL-EISinfo@doh.state.fl.us

Florida-EIS History
Florida Epidemic Intelligence Service Program: The First Five Years, 2001-2006