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MPH Program in Public Health Practice 715 North Pleasant Street – Arnold House Amherst, MA 01003-9304

Public Health Practice office: 413.545.4530 www.umass.edu/sphhs/php

The Public Health Practice – Practicum Guide

Welcome to the Public Health Practice (PHP) Practicum, HPP 698P. This guide provides information to help you understand the purpose, organization and expectations of the PHP Practicum. The practicum itself offers PHP-MPH students the unique opportunity to design your own practicum and apply the theories, principles and methods presented in the Public Health Core to address very real public health problems – the kind you experience in your professional life, whether it is in public health, clinical health care, or provision of social services that support the public’s health.

Public health is an applied science, and by requiring the Practicum to earn your MPH in PHP, we ensure that students graduating with the Public Health Practice concentration have an applied public health experience. To broaden each student’s vision and conceptual understanding of applied public health, the practicum involves work that is distinct from the student’s current employment duties.

MPH students in PHP may enroll in the required three-credit practicum once they have passed all five (5) courses in the Public Health Core with a grade of “B-” or above. Usually MPH practicums require a minimum of 200 hours, but individuals who fulfill PHP program admission criteria of three (3) years of experience and are presently working full-time in a health-related field, may be granted 80 hours’ credit toward the practicum. This credit reduces the minimum practicum requirement to 120 hours.

With guidance from Practicum Coordinator Daniel Goldstein and your site supervisor, students conduct the practicum independently over the course of the semester, completing assignments, meeting with your site supervisor, and submitting agreed-upon deliverables. In this way, the PHP Practicum provides an independent yet structured opportunity for you to delve deeply into a public health topic or issue of your choosing. The practicum may be taken in any semester once you have completed all five Public Health Core courses listed at the end of this document; the practicum is offered in fall, spring, and summer sessions. The practicum may not, however, involve work that is currently part of your duties, and your site supervisor must attest that your practicum meets this criterion.

If you do not have a topic for your practicum, the following section may assist you. If you already have a topic, you may skip to the section entitled “The Scope of Work Form - Selecting Public Health Competencies as Goals.”

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Public Health Practice Program - Development of Your Practicum

The following steps summarize steps suggested for development of a practicum topic if you do not already have one:

1) Determine the public health content area or issue that interests you,2) Narrow your focus to a specific problem you wish to address and that is do-able in thetimeframe of one semester,3) Specify the methods you will use to address this question or problem,4) Consider how this practicum experience will contribute to meeting your personal andprofessional goals by specifying five competencies as goals for your practicum, (2 PHPcompetencies and 3 Foundational competencies)(The Competencies appear as Appendix II and III at the end of this document.)5) Select the practicum site for conducting your practicum work,6) Select and invite a professional in the organization to serve as your site supervisor, guideand mentor. Secure the individual’s signature on the Supervisor’s Agreement form,7) Finalize the “Scope of Work” form, which is the first “deliverable” in the Practicum courseand is due in Week 1 of the Practicum and,8) Finalize the “Practicum Proposal,” which is due in Week 2.

If you wish to pursue your practicum at your current work setting, it is wise to identify early on an experienced colleague to serve as your site supervisor and discuss your practicum idea with that individual. The reasons for conducting the practicum you choose are as varied as the topics; the practicum allows you to:

1) Explore a public health area of interest to you, perhaps something that is far afield from the work you currently do. For example, a clinical endocrinologist might have a strong interest in school-based interventions to prevent childhood obesity and diabetes. For the practicum the student could work with a local school district’s health educators to develop or create and teach an educational curriculum,

2) Work within your work setting, but on a project outside your assigned role. For example, a clinical nursing director might seek IRB approval to collect and analyze clinical data that the hospital or service collects but which has not been examined for the associations of interest to the student,

3) Engage in scholarship to study a public health issue in depth and develop a research design --primary data collection and quantitative analysis, focus group or other qualitative research, or a behavioral intervention, for example --culminating in writing a grant for funding from a governmental agency or private foundation, or

4) Explore a pressing public health issue by developing a project of your own design or by participating in an existing project in an area of interest -- whether working collaboratively on a team or working independently -- while receiving supervision and feedback from experienced practitioners.

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Selection of your Site Supervisor

For your practicum, it is critical to have a supportive advocate and advisor in the organization where you conduct the practicum, whether it is in the same work setting as your current employment or not. If you have not yet identified an individual for that role, bear in mind that the individual you select may not accept -- for any number of reasons -- and you may need to identify someone else, so it is best to start the process early.

The site supervisor is an experienced, on-site practitioner who assists you in designing and achieving your practicum goals. Select someone whose work you respect and who exemplifies the qualities you admire. During the practicum, the site supervisor monitors your activities, confirms your hours, meets with you on a regularly-scheduled basis, provides useful feedback, and offers you wise counsel and support.

Your site supervisor should have substantial experience working in the organization where you conduct your practicum. The site supervisor you choose should have knowledge and experience in the practicum content area, and a strong commitment to helping you. If needed, your site supervisor can assist you in establishing and achieving the goals of your practicum.

Here are attributes that Site Supervisors ideally should have:

• Substantial professional experience within the organization• Working knowledge and practical experience in the practicum content area• Ability to assist the student in identifying goals, tasks and activities, and evaluation

methods for the practicum• Commitment to helping the student by holding regularly-scheduled meetings• Willingness to bring the student to professional meetings and encouraging

presentation of the her/his work if appropriate• Interest in introducing the student to co-workers and key players in the organization,

explaining the organization’s structure and function, and introducing communitystakeholders

• Willingness to complete the Site Supervisor Evaluation form to assess the yourperformance at the end of the semester

• Interest in providing recommendations on ways to improve the practicum experienceto the Dean of the School and/or the PHP Practicum Coordinator.

Examples of previous PHP practicum topics have included: developing a smoking cessation and wellness program at the student’s workplace; designing a comic book to inform children about the hazards of capturing and handling bats; implementing an emergency preparedness plan; and assessing outcomes of interventions for individuals with COPD in a pulmonary rehabilitation setting.

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Practicum Site Selection

For your practicum, in addition to developing the project you plan to implement, you need to select the site where you will conduct it. You have the option of implementing the practicum at an outside organization or at the organization where you work. (See the “Scope of Work” document for information on selecting the PHP concentration-specific competencies you plan to achieve and establishing practicum goals.)

If you choose to use your work setting as your practicum site, you need to follow these guidelines:

• The practicum cannot be part of your job description at present.• It has to be something new that will help you achieve the goals/competencies you

identify.• There needs to be an individual on-site in the organization to serve as site supervisor,

who willing to advise you, supervise your work, and help you create your inter-professional team.

• The work of the practicum may be conducted during your normal working hours ifapproved by your site supervisor and the organization.

If you plan to conduct the practicum outside your place of work, you need to follow these guidelines:

• The practicum site is an organization, agency, or community group that providesservices relevant to the public’s health.

• The site allows you to develop and apply public health theory, skills andcompetencies.

• The practicum site management exhibits a willingness to provide support, including aworkspace, if appropriate for your practicum needs.

• The practicum site is a good match for your needs and interests.

International Practica

UMass students, faculty, and staff that are going abroad on university-related travel are covered by UMass International Travel Emergency Insurance. Please review this definition and accompanying guidelines of what constitutes university-related travel. All students, faculty, and staff should register their international travel by clicking here. Your contact information is collected in case you need to be reached in-country if an emergency such as a natural disaster, disease, injury, accident, etc., occurs. UMass coordinates with ACE for international travel emergency insurance which covers you while you are abroad on UMass-related travel. If you are enrolled or employed at UMass and go overseas, your coverage is free. Click here to review important information on coverage provided by ACE. Please contact Andrea Drake, International Travel Safety Advisor, with any questions at andreadrake@ipo.umass.edu.

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The Scope of Work Form - Selecting Public Health Practice Competencies as Goals

Once you have determined your practicum topic, site and site supervisor, you are ready to fill out the Scope of Work form, which is due in the “Assignments” window of the Practicum’s online Blackboard course site during the first week of class. Online access opens the week before classes begin. (If you have questions about this form, you may email the Practicum Coordinator Daniel Goldstein directly at dmgoldst@umass.edu.)

The Scope of Work form calls for you to specify goals for your practicum from the list of 15 Public Health Practice Competencies and 22 CEPH Foundational Competencies. (You may, of course, have additional goals as well.) The Competencies integrate skills public health practitioners need with learning objectives from the five courses of the Public Health Core.

On the Scope of Work form, select at least five (5) competencies: choose two (2) PHP competencies from Appendix III and three (3) CEPH competencies from Appendix II. At the end of the semester, evaluation of your practicum work is based in part on evidence that you have attained the competencies you selected; make sure that there is a detailed exposition of your competencies in your final report and at least one slide of your PowerPoint dedicated to your competencies and their attainment.

Public Health Practice Competencies are used to ensure that graduates with the MPH in PHP are proficient in key content areas within public health practice.

The Practicum Proposal Format

By the end of the first week of class, students submit the two-page Practicum Proposal, using the following format:

• Aims and Rationale

o Describe the public health or health care problem/issue you address in thispracticum and why it is important

o What are the objectives you seek to accomplish?

• Approach and Methods

o Explain the approach(es) you plan to use to meet these objectiveso Describe the specific actions you will take and methods you will to employ

• Timeline

o Develop a weekly timeline for meeting each objective, including yourprojected hours/week.

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o Provide an informative, succinct title for your practicumo On the title page, include your name, the setting where the practicum took

place, your site supervisor, and the date of the report

Abstract

o Write a one-paragraph abstract that describes what you were seeking to accomplish (your purpose or goal) how you conducted the practicum (your tasks and methods) where it took place with whom you worked the results of your work and what the practicum accomplished

Update of Aims and Rationale

o Describe the public health or health care problem/issue you chose to addressand whether your topic or goal changed over the course of the practicum

o Do you now see the problem in a different way? If not, how so? If not, how didthe practicum experience add to your understanding of the nuances of thisproblem?

Do you have any plans to pursue further work in this area through research, policy change, clinical practice change, or political reform (whether professionally or as a voluntary avocation) in the future

Mid-Term Practicum Progress Report

Midway through the semester, the Mid-Term Practicum Progress Report is due. This is a 3-page description of the work you have conducted on the practicum so far. Changes in approach, objectives, competencies, or the timeline should be addressed. It is not unexpected to have changes occur that substantially alter one’s practicum, such as: changes in organizational commitment, delays by site staff, loss of program funding, and any number of similar issues. Changes need to be reported to Dr. Goldstein as soon as they occur, and in the mid-term report you have the opportunity to describe the ways you address these challenges and the impact they have on the goals and projected outcomes of your practicum work.

The Final Practicum Report Format

The Practicum Report is the final deliverable of your practicum experience, and is due on the last day of class. The assignment calls for the following format:

Title Page

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Reflection on the Practicum

o In this section of your paper, please reflect on the experience. What did feelothers thought of your role in the organization? Who were the people that youinteracted with during the practicum? What were their roles? Describe an eventthat was the highlight of your experience, the best thing that someone else said,or the most fortuitous thing that fell into place during the practicum.

o Please also describe the challenges that you faced in conducting the practicum.How did you handle them? What results did that/those event(s) have on theresults of the practicum?

o What surprised you?o Has this experience changed how you think about public health practice, and if

so, how? Please share any insights you gained that might be useful or helpful inyour career? Do you have recommendations on the practicum program itself, thesite, the site supervisor, or the experience itself?

Conclusion

o Write a concluding paragraph that captures what you feel you accomplished, thelessons learned, and the competencies acquired through this practicumexperience.

The Practicum Report should be 10 double-spaced, numbered pages, using the APA or AMA citation format for references. Reference pages do not count towards the 10-page suggested limit.

Update of Approach, Methods and Findings

o Explain the approach and methods you used to meet the aims of your practicum.o With the knowledge you have acquired doing the practicum, would you do things

differently if you were to undertake it now?o Describe the results; what ended up being different because of your work? Was it

what you had anticipated?

Detailed Exposition of Competencies Attained

o List the Competencies selected in your Scope of Work form and identify how youhave attained them during your practicum.

o Did your competencies change as you progressed through your practicumexperience? Describe why.

o Provide a detailed description of the process of attaining the competencies; howhave you changed because of your work? Were there any surprises in this process?

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Timeline for the Practicum:

The Week before Classes Begin: Familiarize yourself with the policies and procedures of the Practicum

Week 1: Scope of Work form is due by midnight at the end of Week 1 to the Blackboard course site (where all forms and assignments are submitted for this class).

Week 2: Practicum Proposal is due by midnight on the last day of Week 2. Signed Site Supervisor Agreement form is posted to Blackboard course site.

Dr. Goldstein’s practicum proposal approvals and comments are posted online. Proposal revisions, if any are needed, are due by midnight on the last day of Week 3.

Week 3-7: Practicum implementation. Students complete required hours each week. Note: if challenges arise with your practicum topic, practicum site, or site supervisor, bring the issue immediately to the attention of Dr. Goldstein and/or Lori Peterson, Executive Director for Professional Programs.

Week 7: Mid-Term Practicum Progress Report is due and posted to Blackboard course site. This is a 3-page description of the work you have conducted on the practicum so far. Changes in approach, objectives, or the timeline should be addressed. (These need to be reported before Week 7.)

Week 8-13: Continue conducting practicum work. Complete all tasks outlined in the proposal and mid-term progress report Required hours of practicum are fulfilled by the end of Week 14.

Week 14: Submission of the final 10-page Practicum Report and the 10-slide PowerPoint presentation to the Blackboard course site by the last day of class. Submission of Student Evaluation of Practicum form by the student. Submission of Site Supervisor Evaluation form by site supervisor.

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Evaluation of the Practicum

Your site supervisor contributes to the assessment of your practicum work by completing the Site Supervisor Evaluation form and submitting this document to Dr. Goldstein at the conclusion of the practicum. For a successful practicum, the student:

• Meets practicum aims by achieving the competencies chosen• Contributes original ideas in development of the practicum and communicates them

effectively• Employs collaborative and team-building skills in implementing the Practicum• Exhibits professionalism, including submission of assignments on time• Demonstrates higher-order critical thinking skills by submitting work products,

including the Proposal, Mid-Term Report, Final Report and PowerPoint Slides, thatshow mastery of the application of public health theories, methods and practices to areal public health challenge or issue

• Demonstrates insights regarding practicum challenges and accomplishments• Provides useful recommendations to staff of the site where the practicum took place• Conducts realistic self-appraisal in order to continue to acquire needed skills

In addition you will rate your own practicum performance by assessing how well you achieved the competencies you establish as goals by completing and submitting the Student Evaluation of the Practicum form. Candid self-assessment will not lower your grade in this course; it is in fact likely to garner support, encouragement and respect.

Human Subjects and IRB Approval

If you design a practicum that involves human subjects in an intervention, collection or analysis of primary data sources such as surveys, interviews or focus groups or data analysis of secondary source or summary data* (particularly where the subjects are identified by name, number or code), you will need human subjects approval from both UMass and your practicum site’s institutional review board (IRB). Your site supervisor can guide you in the process at the practicum site. The IRB review process at UMass usually takes at least 2-4 weeks, therefore it is imperative that you begin this process early.

Start by downloading this form, fill it out with as much detail as possible and return it to the Practicum Coordinator who will then forward it to the Human Research Protection Office. (https://www.umass.edu/research/sites/default/files/documents/determination_form_final_117.pdf)

The link to IRB procedures for UMass is: http://www.umass.edu/research/compliance/human-subjects-irb/submitting-and-reporting

*Note: Not all secondary source or summary data protect human subjects from beingidentified and/or potentially harmed.

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Agreements between UMass and Practicum Sites

Some organizations require a formal agreement/contract between the organization and our department or the University of Massachusetts. If this is the case with your organization, the Affiliation Agreement must originate with that organization and then forwarded to the Practicum Coordinator who will forward it to the legal department at UMass. Another approach is to identify organizations which do not require formal agreements, or see if the organization allows individuals to volunteer without a contract. Students have been successful with this approach by making a statement such as “Are you willing to let me work as a volunteer -- if volunteers do not need contracts?” and “Are there other options we could consider?”

Academic Honesty

Work submitted for the Practicum in Public Health Practice must adhere to the University of Massachusetts - Amherst's Policy on Academic Honesty, which reads:

“Since the integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in scholarship and research, academic honesty is required of all students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating dishonesty. Appropriate sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty. Any person who has reason to believe that a student has committed academic dishonesty should bring such information to the attention of the appropriate course instructor as soon as possible. Instances of academic dishonesty not related to a specific course should be brought to the attention of the appropriate department Head or Chair. The procedures that are intended to provide an efficient and orderly process by which action may be taken if it appears that academic dishonesty has occurred and by which students may appeal such actions are described here:

https://www.umass.edu/honesty/

Since students are expected to be familiar with the Academic Honesty Policy and the commonly accepted standards of academic integrity, ignorance of such standards is not normally sufficient evidence of lack of intent.”

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APPENDIX I The Public Health Core

1. Biostat 540-Introduction to Biostatistics:Application of statistical methods to problems in public health and medical research. Topicsinclude: descriptive statistics, sampling distributions, confidence interval estimation,hypothesis testing, contingency table analysis, and linear regression analysis. Statisticalsoftware packages used extensively. Upon enrollment in the course you will receiveinstructions on how to obtain and use the software.

2. EHS565-Environmental Health Practices:Concepts of control methods used by environmental health and engineering practitioners.Topics include water, wastewater, solid wastes, food sanitation, vector control, housing, andaccident control measures.

3. HPP601-Application of Social and Behavioral theories in Public Health Interventions:Survey of socio-behavioral theories commonly used in public health education interventionsat the individual, group, and community levels.

4. HPP620-Introduction to the US Health Care System:Introduction to the philosophy, nature, and scope of health organizations; administration and

organization of governmental health programs, economic and political forces and their effectson health services.

5. EPI630-Principles of Epidemiology:An epidemiological perspective on health. General approaches for describing patterns ofdisease in groups of people, and elucidating various processes involved in creating differinglevels of health in human groups.

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APPENDIX II The CEPH Foundational Competencies

Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health

1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public healthpractice

2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a givenpublic health context

3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics,computer-based programming and software as appropriate

4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice

Public Health & Health Care Systems

5. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health andregulatory systems across national and international settings

6. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism underminehealth and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and societal levels

Planning & Management to Promote Health

7. Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities’ health8. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of

public health policies or programs 9. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention10. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs Policy in Public Health12. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics

and evidence13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for

influencing public health outcomes14. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve

health in diverse populations15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity

Leadership

16. Apply principles of leadership, governance and management, which includecreating a vision, empowering others, fostering collaboration and guidingdecision making

17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or communitychallenges

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Communication

18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors19. Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and

through oral presentation20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content

Inter-professional Practice

21. Perform effectively on inter-professional teams

Systems Thinking

22. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health

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APPENDIX III The PHP Concentration Specific Competencies

Public Health Practice Competencies are used to ensure that graduates with the MPH in PHP are proficient in key content areas within public health practice, and have the ability to:

1. Describe the origins of current public health and health care dilemmas2. Examine and evaluate current health policies and propose recommendations for

change3. Create a work team to develop, pilot-test, or implement a policy/practice change4. Design a planning or evaluation process to monitor and improve an area of concern5. Understand best practices in community and population health behavioral change6. Research and propose an innovative new approach to health promotion7. Create a work team to develop, pilot-test, or implement a health

behavioral intervention8. Apply epidemiological methods to data to answer a public health question9. Interpret study findings from research literature and apply that knowledge to a

public health or health care problem10. Design a study or develop a research protocol to address a public health problem11. Employ appropriate quantitative or qualitative methods to analyze data on a

public health or health care issue12. Evaluate outcomes of current practice, programs, research, policies, or procedures13. Explain the influence of environmental factors on the public’s health14. Participate in a work teams to address problems in public health and health care15. Summarize regulations and laws in public health

Revised 22 August 2019