Doctor of Public Health Applied Practice Experience Manual :

Section 7. Frequently Asked Questions

Students enrolled in the DrPH program must log a total of 80 hours in their applied practice experience. These hours are logged over the course of one term (i.e., 11 weeks), while participating in PUBH 8990 - Applied Practice Experience in Public Health.

Students should be able to accumulate all 80 hours in the allotted time frame. If not, they should contact their applied practice experience faculty member and the field experience coordinator as soon as they experience concerns.

Yes. Students must log in to PUBH 8990 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 DrPH applied practice experience course once they have:

• Successfully completed all coursework except for PUBH 8248, PUBH 8518, and PUBH 9100.
• Submitted their applied practice experience application documents to Meditrek®.
• Received notification of approval of their preceptor nominee and the completed application.

Students must be in good academic standing to begin the applied practice experience. If students are unsure of their academic standing, they should contact their student success advisor. Students must begin logging hours within the first 7 days of the applied practice experience course. Students may start logging applied practice experience hours on the first day of the course provided that they have received an applied practice experience approval notice from the field experience coordinator and their preceptor approves.

No. Students must wait until the first day of the applied practice experience course to begin their applied practice experience activities. Any hours accumulated prior to that date are not accepted as part of the required 80 hours.

Students do not receive any books for PUBH 8990. They use materials acquired in previous courses and within the course classroom.

The applied practice experience application is required to be submitted at least one quarter (11 weeks) prior to the desired applied practice experience start. For example, if students wish to begin the applied practice experience 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 drphape@mail.waldenu.edu. Late applications may result in the applied practice experience being delayed to the following quarter.

The Meditrek® system will prompt students to provide information such as their Walden student ID number, Walden email 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
• 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 email 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

• 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 applied practice experience, 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 applied practice experience.
• 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 applied practice experience; the location, including building and floor of the student’s desk/work area during the applied practice experience; and a description of how clear boundaries will be assured between the student’s applied practice 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 an applied practice experience are required to purchase professional liability insurance, even if the field site provides coverage for them, and even if the applied practice experience hours will be completed remotely. For students completing the applied practice experience at their workplace because they are there as Walden students not as employees, they are not covered as employees by the site while logging applied practice experience hours.

Walden does not endorse a particular insurance provider. Students typically obtain professional liability insurance coverage through companies such as Mercer/Proliability, CPH & Associates, or Lockton Affinity.

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.

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 DrPH 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 applied practice experience hours will be rejected and not counted toward the applied practice experience 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 email confirming that the application was received.
• The field experience coordinator and the associate dean, applied practice & continuing education will review their respective parts of the applied practice experience application.
• The associate dean, applied practice & 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 email and asked to submit a new or revised application.
• If the application is approved, the field experience coordinator will notify students and preceptors by email and will provide important information about applied practice experience procedures and the required Learning Agreement.

No. The student success advisor registers students for the applied practice experience 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 applied practice experience by their enrollment specialist.

The applied practice experience must be completed at a physical professional site, or it can be done remotely if approved by the director of public health practice. It cannot be home-based.

No. Students may complete their applied practice experience 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.

Students are asked to contact drphape@mail.waldenu.edu to discuss this option.

• Writing sections of a policy brief or policy analysis
• Preparing an advocacy pitch to a legislative body for a needed health program or health policy
• Drafting a grant proposal (or specific sections)
• Drafting a comprehensive evaluation plan for an existing program
• Mapping an existing program’s components to a theoretical model and designing a program evaluation
• Conducting an impact evaluation of a program
• Conducting a cost effectiveness study of a program (or specific sections)
• Developing a change strategy for a new policy that is to be implemented
• Drafting revised implementation program strategy based on a recent evaluation
• Drafting a policy manual for the organization
• Designing a questionnaire based on a theoretical framework or behavioral model to assess exposure and preventative measure to vector-borne disease (e.g., malaria prevention strategies in local villages).
• Working with local staff to collect data, assist with data analysis, and write a report on the findings.
• Developing a program development and implementation strategy

The products are anything students physically create during the applied practice experience, such as a presentation, manual, or brochure. Only tangible items should be listed in this section. The products are identified at the onset of PUBH 8990, created throughout the course, and evaluated at the end of the applied practice experience when included in the students’ portfolios.

The final project for the applied practice experience is an electronic portfolio, including the following:

• Time logs
• Reflection paper
• Social Change Statement
• The Learning Agreement and Learning Agreement Addendum, if applicable
• Portfolio sign-off sheet
• Any products created, including a detailed description of those products
• Mapping Competencies Worksheet
• Supplemental items developed

This portfolio is due at the end of PUBH 8990.