Key Objectives:
To share with the audience the NACDD Mentorship Program model, and its contribution to the development of chronic disease epidemiology capacity at the state and local levels
Brief Summary:
The challenge of recruiting and retaining qualified chronic disease epidemiologists continues to plague state chronic disease programs. All too often, a newly hired epidemiologist, after receiving a brief orientation, is expected to become fully integrated and function as a chronic disease epidemiologist. This dynamic creates a cycle of inefficiency and insufficient state level capacity coupled with program frustration. It can also sometimes result in disillusionment on the part of junior level epidemiologists, thus deterring public health professional capacity growth. The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2010 to increase state and local epidemiology capacity by mentoring the newly hired junior level chronic disease epidemiologists. The Mentorship Program recruits mentees from state and local health departments and their mentors from public health and academic centers. Each mentee selects a well-defined project to focus 20% to 30% of their time completing their projects within a year. This program is in its sixth year of operation. The current cohort comprised of nine mentor-mentee pairs, started their collaborative work during the Fall of 2015. Mentors communicate with mentees through audio-video conference calls, emails and in-person meetings. The purpose of this round table discussion is to highlight the lessons learned from nearly six years of developing chronic disease epidemiology capacity at the state and local levels. The nine mentor-mentee pairs will participant in this round table to share their unscripted experience and accomplishments. This opportunity further allows the participants to consider alternative approaches, identify strategies for sustainability and provide recommendations for growing their chronic disease programs.