Training for Quarantine Officers and Infectious Disease Managers
Overview of Quarantine Officers
- According to Article 60 (Quarantine Officers) of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the heads of cities and provinces must appoint public officials of grade 4 or higher, and the heads of districts, counties, and cities must appoint public officials of grade 5 or higher as quarantine officers responsible for infectious disease prevention and control tasks. They are composed of management-level personnel from the infectious disease response departments of each institution and play a significant role in policy-making decisions related to infectious disease response.
Training for Quarantine Officers and Infectious Disease Managers
- The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is operating a training program for quarantine officers and infectious disease managers to enhance the comprehensive response capabilities of senior managers in local governments regarding infectious disease response, as well as to build an inter-agency cooperation system related to infectious disease prevention and response. This training includes understanding national infectious disease prevention and management policies, characteristics of major infectious diseases, and developing and making decisions on community-level infectious disease preparedness and response policies.
Table 1 | Training Program for Quarantine Officers and Infectious Disease Managers
방역관 및 감염병관리자 교육과정 표 Category Training Participants Training Program Quarantine Officer and Infectious Disease Manager Training Basic Training Local Government Quarantine Officers and Infectious Disease Managers (Level 4-5) Roles and Responsibilities of Infectious Disease Response Managers
National Infectious Disease Management Policies and Systems
Conducting Research Projects Related to Infectious Disease ResponseAdvanced Training Basic Training Graduates National Infectious Disease Management Policies and Trends
Establishing Collaborative Systems for Infectious Disease Response
Leadership Competencies of Infectious Disease Response ManagersCentral Quarantine Officer Training Central Quarantine Officer National Infectious Disease Management Policies and Trends
Simulation Training Exercises for Infectious Disease Response
Infectious Disease Response Practitioners Training (FETP-F) and Training for Future Quarantine Personnel
Local Government Infectious Disease Response Practitioners Training (FETP-F)
- To enhance initial response capabilities during infectious disease outbreaks, training is provided for local government staff (Level 6-9) who are responsible for infectious disease management and response tasks in the frontline of community infectious disease occurrences (Local Government Infectious Disease Response Practitioners Training, Field Epidemiology Training Program-Frontline, FETP-F).
- Customized training is conducted, divided into a Level 6 Team Leader Course to enhance leadership competencies in infectious disease management based on field response roles, and a Level 7-9 staff course for practical training in infectious disease prevention, management, and field response.
Table 2 |Infectious Disease Response Practitioners Training Program
감염병 대응 실무자 교육과정 표 Category Training Participants Training Program Local Government Infectious Disease Response Practitioners Training
(FETP-F)Team Leader Team Leader for Local Government Infectious Disease Management (Level 6) Analysis of Infectious Disease Outbreak Status by Region,
Training on Infectious Disease Response Cases,
Visits to Relevant Agencies and Building NetworksPerson in Charge Local Government Infectious Disease Management Practitioners (Level 7-9) General Guidelines for Each Infectious Disease
Field Training including Simulation Exercises
Final Evaluation including Presentation of Best Practices
Training for Future Quarantine Personnel
- The need for training future quarantine personnel has increased in the context of responding to large-scale infectious disease crises, where immediate additional deployment and response are necessary. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has piloted a practical training program in 2022 to train personnel not working in local government infectious disease roles as future quarantine personnel, and it has been operating regularly since 2023.
Table 3 | Training Program for Future Quarantine Personnel
구분 교육대상 교육과정 표 Category Training Participants Training Program Training for Future Quarantine Personnel Personnel not Working in Infectious Disease Roles Understanding Major Infectious Diseases,
Basic Practical Skills for Infectious Disease Epidemiological Investigation, etc.