Doctor of Public Health Applied Practice Experience Manual :

Section 3. Preceptor and Applied Practice Experience Site Information

To finalize their education, students must have an opportunity to apply their acquired knowledge, concepts, and skills. Students should consider their career goals after graduation. They should try to identify a potential applied practice experience setting and nominate their preceptor in relation to their goals.

An applied practice experience site is a governmental, nongovernmental, nonprofit, industrial or for-profit setting, or other appropriate setting. It is highly recommended that students begin by contacting and arranging an interview with the local city, county, or state health department or a federal agency, such as the CDC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), if one is nearby.

Walden maintains a list of field sites where previous Walden public health students have completed their practice requirements. Directions for accessing information about past sites can be found by visiting the DrPH Applied Practice Experience website under “Search Meditrek® for Recently Used Field Sites.” The presence of a site on the list does not guarantee that the site will have availability for an applied practice experience student and provides no guarantee that Walden will enter into an Affiliation Agreement with the site.

The associate dean, applied practice & continuing education and field experience coordinator will work with any student facing challenges with securing a field placement.

Applied Practice Experience at Place of Employment

Students may complete the applied practice experience where they work (e.g., health department or other health organization); however, the learning experience must be:

• In a different department or unit from where they currently work or have previously worked.
• Significantly different than current or previous activities they have performed at the site.
• Completed outside of their normal working hours.
• Under the direction of a preceptor who is not their immediate supervisor in their usual work.

Students and their preceptors are responsible for outlining the role of the student as an applied practice experience student as it differs from their role as an employee of the site.

Students identify a potential preceptor and determine if the individual is interested in working with them and if the individual meets the qualifications to serve as the preceptor in the community.

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 the 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 that could result in a sanction up to and including dismissal from the university. Students are responsible for nominating preceptors that fully meet all requirements for preceptors.

Walden’s College of Health Sciences & Public Policy does not compensate preceptors financially for preceptorships. Walden discourages students from paying preceptors or sites, or site placement agencies, due to conflicts of interest that can arise.

The preceptor relationship offers several benefits, such as:

• 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 email to drphAPE@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 on the Career Planning and Development website .

Preceptor Requirements

• Is employed by the applied practice site.
• Holds a terminal degree or master’s degree (MPH preferred but not required) plus at least 5 years of related experience.
• Works currently in public health in the student’s area of interest.
• Has the time and desire to guide and support the applied practice experience.

Walden encourages students to research several applied practice experience sites, obtain the names and educational background of potential preceptors, and conduct interviews in which they ask about the types of tasks that may be offered during the applied practice experience. Here is a list of questions students may wish to ask during the interview:

• Does the site preceptor have an advanced degree with at least 5 years of relevant experience?
• Can the site provide a public health-related applied practice experience that clearly fulfills one or more of the public health practice skills outlined above?
• Will the tasks outlined by the site provide the student with one or more in-depth projects for a professional portfolio?
• Will the potential preceptor agree to provide at least 1 hour of direct supervision for every 40 hours the student works?
• Will the site commit to having the student on-site for a total of 80 hours over the one quarter?
• Will the site agree to work with the student to complete and return all required applied practice experience documents before the deadlines?

Be aware that a positive “can do” attitude makes a good impression on the site and may avoid a perception of the paperwork and applied practice experience process as a burden. The applied practice experience should be promoted as a rewarding interaction that benefits both the student and the site.

Students should contact the field experience coordinator early to obtain feedback to ensure that they have found an acceptable field site and preceptor.