Please note: Mystery Case is a pre-requisite for this rotation.

Over the next one and a half weeks, you’ll play the role of an epidemiologist working at the National Disease Control Center. Dr. Samuel Lyons will be your supervisor. You are about to start an investigation of a potential outbreak of coccidioidomycosis. Your job is to determine what data needs to be collected and how to collect it, to create documents to gather and organize the data, analyze the data you collect, generate and test hypotheses related to the outbreak, determine who needs to be contacted at different stages of the investigation and what information they should be given, and determine what other steps are needed to find the source of the outbreak so that it can be contained.

What is an epidemiologist?
An epidemiologist studies the distribution of diseases and conditions in human populations to control health problems. One aspect of what an epidemiologist might do, and what you'll be doing in this rotation, is to look into situations where there are more cases of a disease than is expected for a given community or when there is a case of a disease in an area the disease is not typically found (also called an outbreak). The investigator tries to find what is causing the disease or rise in frequency of the disease, helps ensure people who have contracted the disease get proper treatment, and recommends actions to prevent the further spread of the disease. During the process the investigator will work with medical professionals, the press, the public, and other organizations to gather data, communicate what the investigation has found, and to let people know what actions they should take to ensure their safety.

What will I do during this rotation?
This rotation is a simulation that will exercise your knowledge of project management and human relations as well as your skills in problem solving, research, writing, verbal debate and presentation. Your overall mission is to find the real cause of the outbreak so that it can be contained. This will require research that involves an iterative cycle of data gathering and analysis. During the process you will need to decide whether there is enough information to reach conclusions, whether people need to be contacted, and what information or recommendations they should be given. Contacting people before there is enough evidence may cause them to panic. Waiting too long to let people know they may be in danger can place the public at unnecessary risk. Part of your resident responsibilities also includes working with the Statistics Group. The group answers questions other people have regarding statistics. On each issue, you’ll have to establish a position and defend it to the rest of the group.

How do I get started?
Simply click on Task 2.1: Start Outbreak Investigation in the left menu. You will see two emails, one from Dr. Campbell and one from Dr. Lyons, describing what you need to do. Once you’ve read these emails, you can look at the Get help section of the task for a step-by-step guide and other resources to help you do your work.