As we congratulate the FELTP’s recent graduates, we also welcome its newest residents. The current advanced-level cohort, comprising 10 residents (including, for the first time, two from Guinea-Bissau), began training on August 16. Three residents and three graduates supported the selection process for the new cohort, which commenced in May 2021 with a public call for applications. Fifty-nine applicants were selected for telephone interviews; of those, 16 were selected to participate in 40 hours of training and group field activities in mid-June.
Participants learned the basics of epidemiology and outbreak investigation and took part in activities including developing and administering a survey protocol, analyzing the survey data, writing a report, and giving a final presentation. At the conclusion of these activities, the program selected the 10 members of its new cohort from among the 16 participants.