Visitor Injury Data Collection Internship

Apply Now.
Please include position ID #: PO-00120329

Visitor Injury Data Collection Internship:

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, which lie side-by-side in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California, serve as a prime example of nature's size, beauty, and diversity. With the world’s largest trees (by volume), grand mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns, and the highest point in the lower 48 states, it is a place that attracts 1.6 million visitors a year from across the U.S. and the world.

The park is open year-round with visitor activities depending upon season and elevation. Park headquarters (the location for this internship position) is located near the town of Three Rivers, approximately 40 miles east of Visalia, Californi Intern will be assigned to the Ash Mountain area of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

The National Park Service is committed to reducing the number of unintentional injuries among our visitors.The purpose of this internship is to collect, input, and analyze visitor injury data in order to develop effective injury prevention strategies.

With support and guidance from park staff and the Public Risk Management Program (PRMP) staff at NPS Headquarters, the intern will:

1. Identify and review park visitor injury data sources,
2. Extract five years of retrospective data, and
3. Enter data into the Visitor Injury Data System (VIDS) tool provided by PRMP.The VIDS tool captures the most critical injury data points for each incident and allows for accurate analyses that follow current industry standards.

In order to gain an understanding of the needs of the park as well as past, current, and/or planned visitor safety programs, the intern will also:

1. Explore the park,
2. Conduct interviews with staff from various divisions,
3. Review existing forms of risk communication,
4. Review park safety plans and/or other visitor safety policies and guidelines, and
5. Observe visitor behavior and interactions between staff and visitors. Upon completion of data extraction, the intern will work with PRMP staff to analyze collected data using a statistical software analysis program.

Based on the data analyses, observations in the park and discussions with staff, at the end of the internship, the intern will produce a PowerPoint presentation highlighting findings and identifying possible risk factors for injury and suggested next steps.

Required Qualifications:

• Interns must have excellent analytic skills, be highly organized, and be able to take initiative and work independently.
• Interns should be skilled at synthesizing data and information into a well-written document.
• They should have a basic understanding of and interest in injury epidemiology and public health.
• Interns should be proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, Access, and Power Point.

Desired Qualifications: Experience with a statistical software such as SAS and SPSS is a plus.

Housing Location: Three Rivers

Position Code (PO): PO-00120329

Organization: Government

State: California

Start Date: Mon, 06/11/2012
End Date: Sun, 09/02/2012

Apply Now.
Please include position ID #: PO-00120329

This internship is part of the NPS Risk Management Internship Program.