Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH)

INTERN POSITION

MENTOR INFORMATION
Date
7-15-2010 / Mentor Name
Michael D. Carr
Administration
Public Health / Bureau/Section
Chronic Disease and Injury Control
E-mail
/ Phone #
517-335-9954
INTERNSHIP INFORMATION
Position Title
GIS Specialist / Position Location
Washington Sq Bldg, 5th Floor, Lansing / Desired Start Date
9/1/2010
Description of the Intern Responsibilities
Assist the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP) and the WISEWOMAN Program in setting up a mapping application that local health agency staff can access from their own sites across the state. Critical content of maps will be 1) geocoded locations of providers, and 2) percent of eligible population served (proportion of women served by the program to the total number of eligible women, at Census tract level).
List project/s for the Intern (not administrative work)
The Intern will help with the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) efforts of the BCCCP and WISEWOMAN programs. The main goal of GIS efforts is to get current maps of BCCCP and WISEWOMAN eligibility data out to local agencies in a way that the agencies can easily view online for program management activities. This could be accomplished, for example, by making maps created with ArcPublisher available to agencies on a secure site and helping agencies access those maps with ArcReader. Although this goal sounds straightforward, there are many aspects of this process that require further investigation. For example, where will the maps be hosted, how will access to the maps be made secure, and will local health agencies be able to download and use ArcReader on their own or will they need assistance?
If the main goal of the project is not reached during the Intern's time with the program, progress on one or more tasks directly related to the main goal will be acceptable. These goal-related tasks include, but are not limited to, the following:
1) Working as a "systems analyst" to pilot the map-sharing process and overcome barriers that become evident,
2) Organizing project data files in a meaningful way, including backup copies of critical files,
3) Exploring ArcGIS Business Analyst software (available on site) to determine if and how it can be used to enhance current program eligibility maps,
4) Documenting the mapping process so that it can be replicated/shared,
5) Exploring any other available data resources or processes that can enhance current GIS efforts,
6) Presenting findings from any of the above items to the section at a section meeting.
Desired Skills/Qualifications of the Intern
The Intern's GIS skills will be applied to data from public health programs. As such, the Intern must have Geographic Information Systems (GIS) coursework and experience (i.e., classroom experience). An intermediate GIS skill level or higher is expected, novices should not apply. The Intern should know how to geocode addresses and use basic functions of GIS software. We will be using ArcView GIS 9.2 or newer with ArcPublisher and Business Analyst extensions.
Other Information (For example: desired length, hrs per week)
A full semester (approx. 3 months) is desired. The longer the period of time the Intern can work, the better. The ideal amount of time working on this project would be between 15 and 25 hours per week, however, if an applicant desires to work more hours per week, that can be accommodated.
Access to some basic online GIS training courses is available on site, if needed.

DCH 1461 (Rev 6/4/10)