Master of Public Health Practicum Manual:

Section 7. Frequently Asked Questions

Students enrolled in the MPH program must log a total of 200 hours for catalog year through Summer 2023 OR 120 hours for catalog year beginning Fall 2023. These hours are logged over the course of two terms (i.e., 22 weeks), while participating in PUBH 6638 and 6639 for catalog year through Summer 2023 or one term (i.e., 11 weeks) while participating in PUBH 6637 for Catalog Year beginning Fall 2023.  

No. PUBH 6638 is a prerequisite for PUBH 6639. There are no exceptions to this requirement.  

Yes. However, students are still required to be registered for and participate in PUBH 6639 the following quarter. 

Students usually do not have any problems accumulating their hours in the allotted time frame. If there is concern over this, they should contact their practicum faculty member and the field experience coordinator immediately.  

Yes. Students must log in to their practicum course in the same manner as they have done in other courses. The format is similar to previous courses in the program. Students post discussions and submit assignments on a weekly basis.  

Students may be registered for the practicum course once they have:   

• Successfully completed all numerically preceding MPH didactic courses, excluding a corequisite.  
• Submitted their practicum application documents to Meditrek.  
• Received notification of approval of their preceptor nominee and the complete application.   

Students must be in good academic standing (GPA of 3.0 or higher) to begin the practicum experience. If students are unsure of their academic standing, they should contact their student success advisor. Students should begin logging hours within the first week of the practicum course and must begin no later than two weeks after the start of the course unless they receive permission from the Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education. Students may start logging practicum hours on the first day of the course provided that they have received a practicum approval notice from the field experience coordinator and their preceptor approves. 

No. Practicum hours must be completed while students are enrolled in the practicum courses, PUBH 6638 and 6639. Students cannot log hours during the break between 6638 and 6639.  

No. Students must wait until the first day of the practicum course to begin their practicum activities. Any hours accumulated prior to that date are not accepted.  

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000  

The practicum application is required to be submitted at least one quarter (11 weeks) prior to the desired practicum start. For example, if students wish to begin the practicum in the fall, their application must be submitted by the first day of the summer quarter. To request an extension, contact the field experience coordinator at mphfield@mail.waldenu.edu. Late applications may result in the practicum being delayed to the following quarter.  

The Meditrek® system will prompt students to provide information such as their Walden student ID number, Walden e-mail address, and contact information for the site administrator and preceptor. Students will be asked to upload the following documents:  

• Student’s résumé.  
• Preceptor’s résumé. (If students have a co-preceptor, they will need to add the relevant information and documents to their existing application.)  
• Proof of student’s professional liability insurance showing coverage dates and coverage amounts (minimum $1 million per incident, $3 million aggregate). Students must submit a memorandum or certificate of insurance coverage (not the application) for the active policy.  
• The Preceptor Signature Form with a description of the student’s activities at the site and an electronic signature by the preceptor. This document is sent directly to the preceptor via e-mail when students submit the preceptor information section in Meditrek®. Students need to follow up with the preceptor to obtain the signed document and then upload it in Meditrek® to complete their application.  
• Affiliation Agreement information.  

Students applying to do their practicum at their place of employment must also include:  

• The following information from the student’s current supervisor: the student’s current work location, the specific days and hours of the student’s current job, current job description with specific responsibilities and work assignments described in detail, dates of current employment, if the student will continue working at the present position while completing the practicum, and what arrangements will be made to cover the student’s current duties or what arrangements will be made to separate the time requirements of the student’s current job from the time requirements of the practicum.  
• The following information from the student’s proposed preceptor: a detailed description of the duties and responsibilities that would be performed by the student during the practicum; the location, including building and floor of the student’s desk/work area during the practicum; and a description of how clear boundaries will be assured between the student’s practicum experience and the student as an employee.  

Note: Students are responsible for uploading all documents in Meditrek® to complete their application.   

Yes. All Walden students beginning a practicum are required to purchase professional liability insurance, even if the field site provides coverage for them, and even if the practicum hours will be completed remotely. For students completing the practicum at their workplace, because they are there as Walden students, not as employees, they are not covered as employees by the site while logging practicum hours.

Walden does not endorse a particular insurance provider. Students typically obtain professional liability insurance coverage through companies such as Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO), Marsh, MedPro, or CPH & Associates.  

The Field Site Affiliation Agreement must be signed by a field site administrator who has the authority to sign legal agreements. Large organizations might have an on-site legal department that reviews such agreements and have an attorney sign them. Note: The field experience coordinator will assist in obtaining this document from the field site. Students need to enter the correct contact information into Meditrek® to prevent delays.  

Walden University’s School of Health Sciences does not compensate preceptors financially for preceptorships.  Walden discourages students from paying preceptors or sites, due to conflicts of interest that can arise.   

However, the preceptorship relationship is a rewarding one.  Preceptors are provided with the following benefits:  

• Honorary Clinical Instructor status – This status can be claimed during the period of time preceptors are working with a Walden student and establishes the guidelines for instructors that are provided by the academic program of the student(s) preceptors are working with. This is an honorary status, which is given without payment, and does not make a preceptor an employee or agent of Walden or entitle a preceptor to receive employment benefits from Walden.   
• Access to Walden’s library – To gain access to the library, preceptors should send an e-mail to supervisorappreciation@mail.waldenu.edu.  
• No-cost continuing education opportunities – Preceptors will receive communication directly from the program’s field experience office as these opportunities are available.   
• Job and internship posting specifically for Walden students – Preceptors can find information about this at the Career Services Center.  

To avoid potential conflicts of interest the preceptor nominee is not the student’s relative, family member, fiancé, roommate, significant other, personal friend, or primary care provider, is not the student’s direct or immediate supervisor, does not report directly to the student, and does not have any other relationship that would create an actual or perceived conflict of interest.   

The preceptor nominee must not be a current student in a Walden MPH Program. If it is found that a student’s preceptor is a supervisor, direct report, relative, family member, fiancé, roommate, significant other, personal friend or primary care provider of the student, the practicum hours will be rejected and not counted toward the practicum hour requirement. If a student utilizes a preceptor inappropriately as noted above, this may lead to an academic integrity violation. Students are responsible for nominating preceptors that fully meet all requirements for preceptors.  

After students submit their application documents using Meditrek®, they can expect the following to occur:  

• Students will receive an e-mail confirming that the application was received.   
• The field experience coordinator and the Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education will review their respective parts of the practicum application.  
• The Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education will approve the type of site, the credentials and experience of the preceptor, and the proposed tasks at the site.   
• The field experience coordinator will assist with the field site and Affiliation Agreement coordination and will approve the degree audit and insurance document.  
• Students can continue to go into their Meditrek® application to check on the status of the application.  
• If the application is not approved, students will be informed via e-mail and asked to submit a new or revised application.  
• If the application is approved, the field experience coordinator will notify students and preceptors by e-mail and will provide important information about practicum procedures and the required Learning Agreement.  

No. The field experience coordinator registers students for the practicum course once all documents are on file and approved. Students are not automatically registered or able to register themselves. They also cannot be registered for their practicum by their student success advisor or enrollment advisor.

The practicum can be completed at a physical professional site, or it can be done remotely. It cannot be home-based.  

No. Students may complete their practicum anywhere in the world, but they must still go through the formal application and approval process. For additional information regarding international placements, students should contact the field experience coordinator.  

Please contact mphfield@mail.waldenu.edu to discuss this option. 

• Assess and monitor population health status, factors that influence health, and community needs and assets.  
• Investigate, diagnose, and address health problems and hazards affecting the population.  
• Communicate effectively to inform and educate people about health, factors that influence it, and how to improve it.  
• Strengthen, support, and mobilize communities and partnerships to improve health.  
• Create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws that impact health.  
• Utilize legal and regulatory actions designed to improve and protect the public’s health.  
• Assure an effective system that enables equitable access to the individual services and care needed to be healthy.  
• Build and support a diverse and skilled public health workforce.  
• Improve and innovate public health functions through ongoing evaluation, research, and continuous quality improvement.  
• Build and maintain a strong organizational infrastructure for public health.  

The products are anything students physically create during the practicum, such as a presentation, manual, or brochure. Only tangible items should be listed in this section. The products created are evaluated at the end of the practicum experience.  

The final project for the practicum is an electronic portfolio, including the following:  

• Timesheets.  
• Reflection papers.   
• Application assignments.   
• The Learning Agreement and Learning Agreement Addendum, if applicable.  
• Portfolio sign-off sheet.   
• Any products created as well as a description of those products.   

This portfolio is due at the end of PUBH 6637 or PUBH 6639. There is no thesis requirement associated with the practicum.