From June 6-8, 2022, TEPHINET hosted partners and subject matter experts at our headquarters at The Task Force for Global Health in Decatur, Georgia for a workshop dedicated to discussing the development of an emergency response curriculum for FETP graduates.
During the two-and-a-half day meeting, TEPHINET facilitated discussions between representatives from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), World Health Organization (WHO), Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), Médecins San Frontières(MSF), the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Public Health Agency of Canada, University of Nebraska, Johns Hopkins University, and Columbia University who joined both in-person and virtually. Through discussions and small-group activities, attendees shared their expertise and worked to identify the skills and competencies needed to prepare FETP alumni for deployment to public health emergencies. Subject matter experts also spent time identifying existing online emergency response courses that could complement or inform the development of the proposed curriculum.
Limited standardized training is available for FETP alumni, leaving them inadequately prepared to deploy to public health emergencies. The planned curriculum will provide FETP alumni with the competencies needed to respond locally and internationally during a public health emergency, elevating FETPs within the emergency response community and making them a go-to source for deployments.
The hybrid workshop provided a forum for further discussion and action around the development of this curriculum, fortifying the relationship between TEPHINET, GOARN and other partners working in the emergency preparedness and response sector. Given that the planned curriculum will consist of both virtual coursework and in-person training, planned next steps include creating a self-guided course that will complement other courses currently offered by WHO and CDC. TEPHINET’s Emergency Response Team now plans to focus on content creation for both the virtual and in-person components, incorporating feedback from partner organizations and subject matter experts to finalize and launch the course in 2023.