Practicum
Purpose
The practicum is to assure that students have practical experience to support academic skills and information acquired within the broad field of public health before they enter the world of public health practice.
All students entering the MPH program of the School of Health Sciences and Practice of New York Medical College will fulfill the practicum requirement. Students who can demonstrate appropriate practice experience prior to beginning the MPH program may be exempt. They must register in advance for the practicum in order to fulfill the requirement. Also, students may do the 3 credit field experience with permission of their faculty advisor in lieu of the practicum. The practicum guidelines documentation will be utilized for both the field experience and the practicum.
Requirement
The practicum experience can take many forms. It can take the form of a structured project within a health agency or other relevant organization, an administrative internship, an independent practice project, or an independent research project all under appropriate supervision at the practicum site and from School faculty. If the student is fulfilling the practicum requirement at his/her place of employment, the site supervisor may not be the student's work supervisor. The site supervisor provides guidance, regularly scheduled time, and a community health perspective to the student. The student and his/her academic advisor will determine the place, scope, and duration of the practicum. In general, practicum sites will meet the following criteria:
- The practicum site will enable the students to apply specific skills or competencies learned in the academic program.
- The site will provide logistic support to the student (e.g. desk, telephone, patient records, data, etc.)
- The practicum will match the educational/experiential needs of the student.
- The site supervisor will have a community-based perspective.
The experience shall be at least the equivalent of one month of full time work (approximately 140 hours). Graduation will not be approved until all documentation for the practicum is completed and signed by the appropriate personnel. The practicum shall be counted as a one-credit pass/fail course. In general, fulfillment of the practicum requirement should begin when the student has taken between 12 and 30 credits. It is usually helpful for the student to have completed the following courses before the practicum is undertaken: Health Care in the U.S., Health Quantitative Analysis I and II, and either Behavioral Sciences or Environmental Health. The work can be done either in one block or spread out over time but must be completed within 2 semesters upon registering for the Practicum.
Students who believe their previous work or educational experiences fulfill the practicum requirement must submit the Practicum Waiver Application to their academic advisor. In general, students requesting exemption from the practicum requirement must document at least three (3) years of work experience encompassing diverse areas of public health. Their advisor will review the application and an appropriate recommendation made to the Dean's Office.
Practicum Forms and Information
The Practicum Guidelines and Forms can be downloaded below:
Addendum to Practicum Guidelines (pdf)
Practicum Packet (pdf)
Practicum Application (Word)
Practicum Agreement (Word)
Practicum Report (Word)
Practicum Site Supervisor Evaluation (Word)
Practicum Student Evaluation (Word)
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Page Updated: June 15, 2011