So what do I do and why do I do it?

I'm in a two-year training program, called the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One responsibility EIS officers have are to investigate outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as influenza, listeria, and legionella around the U.S. and worldwide. We respond to noninfectious outbreaks of illness that may be caused by environmental toxins, drugs, or other exposure. In addition to outbreak activities, EIS officers assist with other public health projects, such as establishing clean water programs or eradication of guinea worm and polio in third world countries. Domestically, examples include studying factors affecting maternal and child health, or implementing programs to curb smoking.

EIS officers are assigned to different branches of CDC or to state health departments. I'm assigned to the Respiratory and Enteric Virus Branch, which is concerned with control of viruses that cause diarrhea and respiratory diseases. Some of my projects include measuring the impact of rotavirus diarrhea infections in children in Malaysia, evaluating rotavirus as a cause of intussusception (a serious bowel disease) in Vietnam, or evaluating a cluster of encephalitic deaths in Bangladesh due to Nipah virus. Outbreak investigations that I've participated in around the country include evaluation of Capitol Hill staff exposed to anthrax in Senator Daschle's office, investigation of influenza outbreak in a children's nursing home, and examination of deaths due to a rare neurological disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

When I'm not traveling, I'm usually sitting at my computer analyzing data, writing protocols, responding to email, reading journals, preparing oral presentations, or writing manuscripts for publication. It's amazing how much I spend in front of the computer, and how useless I would be to get even little jobs done without it. As a medical epidemiologist, our focus is on finding out as much as we can about diseases in people: what the causes are, what we can do to control it, and how we can prevent it. Although I spend little time in the laboratory, we rely heavily on our laboratory partners to help us with our projects.

I still get asked on occasion, "Why don't you go back into private practice, settle down, and earn a real salary?" Yes, I've thought about that. I do miss the satisfaction that comes with patient care. And it would be nice to get a fatter paycheck. But the experiences I have gained are found no other place. I wake up in the morning and think, "I can't wait to work and see what this day brings." You never know what'll happen today. Probably the most compelling reason for doing what I do is that this is an opportunity for me to make a difference in the lives of many more people than I could as a clinician.

My training will be completed in June 2003. At the time of this writing, I still have no idea what I'll do next. However, individuals who have sojourned along the same path have told me that it doesn't get better--that their EIS years were the best years of their career.

Rats. Is there any way I could flunk?

Sydney, Australia--October 16: Grace's mom, Mrs Hannah Lai, of Penang, finally had her first opportunity to visit Down Under for a week.  Along with Mr & Mrs Yeoh Khia Ghee, they flew to Sydney to visit Simon & Hee Mei Yeoh.  Simon is doing his cardiothoracic surgery training while Hee Mei is spending time at home with their two year-old daughter, Zilyn.

They had a great time visiting places, shopping, and meeting up relatives and friends, Pastor & Mrs Isaac Foo, and Stephen Soong and family. On the right they are shown in front of the famous Sydney Opera House.