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Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

Florida Medical Entomology Group

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IFAS-FMEL exhibit photo 1 at STEAM 2019
IFAS-FMEL exhibit photo 2 at STEAM 2019

 

Introduction 

What FMEG do  

Duties of Florida Medical Entomology Group members include: 

  1. Promote the recruitment, retention and support of people at FMEL.
  2. Promote access to tools, resources, and knowledge to promote the UF core values of excellence, discovery & innovation, inclusion, freedom and civility, community, and stewardship.
  3. Advise the FMEL Director on policies and procedures to promote the recruitment, retention, and support of people from various backgrounds, communities, abilities, and perspectives.
  4. Act as the facilitator in resolving roadblocks in enhancing UF core values.
  5. Organize or participate in public outreach programs
  6. Other tasks as deemed relevant by FMEG members, faculty, staff, students, and postdoctoral associates.

 

2023-2024 members

Eric Caragata (Chair), Bianca Burini (Co-chair)

Lawrence Reeves, Yoosook Lee, Ana Romero-Weaver, Dongmin Kim, Tanise Stenn, Sheila O'Connell, Valerie Nguyen, Daniel Perez-Ramos, Sangwoo Seok.

 

FMEL Calendar of Events

Updates - meeting minutes, or announcements/notifications

Meeting minutes, announcements/notification link

 

Anonymous Idea Box

Anonymous idea box link

 

Resources

Resources for students

UF Grad PD Workshop

Resources for Staff

Online Professional and Workforce Development Considerations for Lab/Technical Personnel, TEAMS personnel, and Non-student OPS Employee Staff Members.

 

Natalie’s testimonial for the following sources-

“As a temporary employee seeking to learn as much as possible about the research that I am involved in during my contract, I have tried out different types of additional e-learning in order to be better prepared for any task, invitation to participate, or situation that may come my way. The following is a list of sources with examples of online learning content. There are many others but for now this serves as an access to resources for individual e-learning and skills training via short courses through either UF/IFAS or connected platforms. These are available as considerations for incoming or already present FMEL staff employees who are also looking to learn new skills or acquire fundamental new knowledge to improve in their position and as workforce development practice."

1.  myTraining

a.  Employee development, lab safety, biocontainment safety procedure courses, shipping and handling of specimen courses, etcetera.

Available for registration through my.ufl.edu under myTraining and at- UF Human Resources > Course & Registration > Thrive@UF

2.  UF/IFAS Extension Online Learning

b.  Mosquito Training Program

c.  Tick Training Program

3.  CITI Program

e.  Life science responsible conduct of research, G.L.P course, IRB, ethics, research design, writing research, and a variety of other topics through either UF subscription or individual subscription.

4.  LinkedIn Learning Platform

f.  Selection of free skills courses in numerous communications, management, and research topics.

www.my.ufl.edu sign-on

www.linkedin.com

 

Online Personal Development Considerations for staff health and wellness support

5.  The UF Employee Assistance Program

g.  Guidance and support from licensed counselors through Telehealth appointments

Anonymous Testimonial for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)-

“I have always suffered from anxiety, but recently it has become so bad it was starting to affect more of my life. I found a doctor who listened and gave me some resources to look into including the Employee Assistance Program she was pretty sure UF had. So, I sat down, and sure enough there it was, it was so easy to get started. I just registered answered a few questions and was sent a list of therapists that might fit what I was looking for. I picked one that looked like the best fit made my appointment by video and it was a great session she helped me understand what was happening to me when I was having anxiety and she gave me some tools to try to help and clear my thoughts. Overall this is a great program it was easy to access and there are a lot of resources to use and it is also available to your family as well.” -Anonymous User.

Resources for faculty

Mental health resources for REC

How to report title IX incidents

Office of ADA and Title IX compliance > Report

UF Services:

UF counseling and Wellness Center > Crisis Support

UF Counseling and Wellness Center > Mental Health Resources

Sheila is Campus Security Authority for reporting reporting any crimes including any sexual harassment to UF Police Department or UF Title IX Coordinator for FMEL members. UF Campus Security Authorities

Yoosook is also expected to work as ‘Campus Security Authority’ and Responsible Employee’ as the TCGSO faculty advisor.

UF Mental Health facility in Vero Beach

UF Health Florida Recovery Center

Federal Mental Health Hotlines:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Resources for members of the LGBT community:

OSTEM LGBTQ Crisis Hotlines and Services

PFLAG Support Hotlines

Equality Florida Action Inc

Visit Florida > FL most popular LGBTQ getaways

Resources for People of Color:

55 Mental Health Resources for People of Color (Online MSW Programs)

BIPOC/AAPI/Latinx mental health resources

Indian River County Wellness Programs:

Indian River County Wellness Programs

Kelly's testimonial for Talkspace

Grad school (and life) can be very, very challenging, so please take very good care of yourselves. Mental health IS health, and talking to a therapist, finding support groups, or doing whatever works to maintain your mental should not be stigmatized. I personally have battled depression, anxiety, and complex post-traumatic stress, which is why I will always be a huge advocate for mental health resources and self-care. Never be ashamed of taking care of your mental health. Shame is where troubles keep their power. 

TalkSpace is free for graduate students through GatorGradCare. It allows you to text and video chat with a licensed therapist in Florida. My therapist has been with me on TalkSpace all 3 years I've been at UF. They give you a 30-session limit through GatorGradCare, which is usually determined by your therapist. There are a mix of text messages and FaceTime-type calls that your therapist will decide what 30 sessions are. However, you can re-up (or re-subscribe) as many times as you want or need! I usually just email gatorcare-support@talkspace.com to ask them to restart my sessions, and I have never had to go through the process of finding a new therapist once the sessions ended. I always stay with my current therapist. 

Things that I would recommend: find yourself a therapist early and make sure that you get along with them. They are like any other long-term relationship, and you should feel comfortable communicating with the person you are seeing. If you don’t, don’t be bashful about finding someone else who is better fit. Also, don’t wait until you are in a crisis to find your therapist. It will be easier to open up about a crisis if you have already established trust with your counselor/therapist.