Master of Public Health Practicum Manual:

Section 1: Introduction

The MPH program at Walden University is designed to promote Walden University’s vision, mission, and ongoing commitment to social change. These guiding principles serve as a framework for the program curriculum and outcomes and are included here as a reference.

Vision

Walden University envisions a distinctively different 21st-century learning community where knowledge is judged worthy to the degree that it can be applied by its graduates to the immediate solutions of critical societal challenges, thereby advancing the greater global good.

Mission

Walden University provides a diverse community of career professionals with the opportunity to transform themselves as scholar-practitioners so that they can effect positive social change.

Social Change

Walden University defines positive social change as a deliberate process of creating and applying ideas, strategies, and actions to promote the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, cultures, and societies. Positive social change results in the improvement of human and social conditions.

Mission    

The College of Health Sciences and Public Policy supports and develops a diverse group of scholar-practitioner professionals empowered to address the social determinants of health and positively impact social change.   

Vision  

The College of Health Sciences and Public Policy endeavors to improve equity and create healthy communities worldwide.

Vision

Healthy and equitable communities supported by a diverse public health workforce.

Mission

Assure broad access to quality online public health education to prepare a diverse public health workforce that, through practice, service, and research, creates positive social change leading to healthy and equitable communities.

Goals  

Instructional Goal  

• Provide broad access to a quality online graduate public health education, especially to nontraditional students and to and those representing underserved populations.  
• Produce competent professionals who create positive social change that contributes to decreasing health inequities and improving the health and well-being of diverse communities.  

Professional Development  

Provide opportunities for professional development of students, alumni, faculty, and the public health workforce.  

Research Goal  

Engage in research/scholarly activities that advance public health knowledge, decrease health inequities, and improve the health and wellbeing of diverse communities.  

Service Goal  

Engage in service activities that decrease health inequities and improve the health and well-being of diverse communities.  

Core Values  

The MPH/DrPH program core values include broad access to graduate public health education, student-centeredness, quality, integrity, diversity, equity, and inclusion. These values guide the work of program leadership and faculty.   

Learning Outcomes   

At the end of the MPH program, students will be able to:  

• Utilize culturally appropriate communication skills to convey prevention and intervention strategies used to improve health outcomes among diverse local and global populations.   
• Demonstrate an understanding of how research methods, biostatistical data and software, and the epidemiological approach impact the study of patterns of disease, disability, and injury.   
• Evaluate biological, environmental, legal, and regulatory factors that affect the health of local and global communities.   
• Evaluate the major social, behavioral, and cultural factors that affect the health of local and global populations.   
• Appropriately access, interpret, and evaluate public health data that are available through the use of information technology.   
• Analyze essential services, systems, public policies, and associated challenges that impact the health of local and global communities.  
• Demonstrate skills needed for sound leadership and decision making in public health, including applications of ethics and professionalism.   
• Apply health management and systems thinking to public health agencies, programs, policies, and issues.   
• Apply the principles of program design, implementation, and evaluation to improve the health of local and global populations.   
• Exhibit a commitment to professional and ethically responsible public health research and practice.  

Note: Students are required to select at least four of these learning outcomes to be addressed during the practicum experience.  

Competencies  

The competencies that MPH students are expected to demonstrate by the end of the program and their relationship to the MPH program’s learning outcomes are shown below.   

MPH Foundational Competencies  

Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health  

• Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice  
• Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context  
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software as appropriate  
• Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice

Public Health & Health Care Systems  

• Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings  
• Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels  

Planning & Management to Promote Health  

• Assess population needs, assets and capacities that affect communities' health  
• Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs   
• Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention  
• Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management  
• Select methods to evaluate public health programs  

Policy in Public Health  

• Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence  
• Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes  
• Advocate for political, social and economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations  
• Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity  

Leadership 

• Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue   
• Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges Communication  

Communication

• Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors  
• Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation  
• Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content  

Interprofessional Practice  

Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health Systems Thinking  

Systems Thinking

Apply a systems-thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative 
 

Concentration (Program-Specific) Competencies  

• Assess the implications of a public health intervention on positive social change.  
• Recommend strategies to address environmental public health issues and effect positive social change.  
• Create communication campaigns to increase awareness and advocacy of health challenges in marginalized groups.   
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a local, state, or regional health department or health ministry’s emergency preparedness plan.  
• Analyze the effectiveness of response efforts to global health emergencies. 

Learning Agreement

The Learning Agreement defines the expectations for students undertaking a field experience in public health. This document outlines the details of the practicum experience and should be completed jointly by students and preceptors.  

Practicum  

A practicum is a distinctly defined supervised experience in which students develop basic applied skills and integrate professional knowledge. For students in catalogs through Summer 2023, MPH students must complete PUBH 6638 and 6639 and a minimum of 200 hours of supervised experiences. For students in the catalog beginning Fall 2023, MPH students must complete PUBH 6637 and a minimum of 120 hours of supervised experiences. The practicum requirements must be successfully completed prior to graduation.  

Practicum Site  

A practicum site is a health agency, school, or other appropriate setting in which students obtain supervised, applied practice experiences consistent with their education and training. Practicum sites enter into an Affiliation Agreement with Walden, stating they will provide appropriate support and supervision for students during the practicum experience.   

Precepting   

Precepting encompasses a tutorial and mentoring form of instruction by which a practicum preceptor monitors student activity in the practicum and facilitates learning and skill development experiences. Preceptor’s guide and provide feedback on students’ practicum work.  

Walden’s faculty and staff members are committed to working collaboratively with students and preceptors to support the successful completion of practicum experiences.   

Field Experience Coordinator  

The MPH Office of Field Experience (OFE) includes a Field Experience Coordinator (FEC) whose role is to assist public health students in identifying qualified practicum sites and preceptors, facilitate the practicum application and approval process, and ensure students are registered for their practicum courses. The FEC serves as a conduit between faculty, students, and others throughout the process.  

Walden’s FEC assists students with this process and, in the rare instances, when necessary, conducts outreach to potential sites and preceptors on students’ behalf.    

The FEC is available to students via e-mail, phone, and personal phone appointment. Students are encouraged to contact the Office of Field Experience to talk early in their program for guidance and personal assistance.   

Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education  

The Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education is a Walden administrator who oversees the field experience coordinator, practicum course instruction and development, and monitoring of the on-site student experience. Administrative duties include assessing preceptors and practicum sites for appropriateness, approving practicum applications and Learning Agreements, and overseeing appropriate placement of students. The Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education also participates in university- and school-based residencies, continuing education, and committees.     

Practicum Core Faculty   

Program core faculty members teach the practicum courses. Practicum faculty members collaborate with students and inform the practicum director about any difficulties that arise during the practicum experience. Within a month after the initiation of the practicum, practicum faculty members coordinate a conference call with students and preceptors, which is intended to ensure that the practicum goals are being addressed, that both student and preceptor understand the key points of the practicum experience, that an opportunity for questions is provided, and that any problems are identified and resolved.  

Preceptor  

Preceptors are qualified individuals employed at the practicum placement settings who are responsible for guiding a practicum experience. Preceptors must hold an advanced degree (MPH preferred), have at least 2 years of related experience, and currently work in a field consistent with the student goals for the practicum experience. It is expected that preceptors will be accessible to students and provide guidance and feedback to promote growth of knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with Walden’s training goals as well as with preferred practices in the profession. Preceptors are to provide mentoring and guidance appropriate to student roles in practicum sites, including ongoing feedback about student progress in meeting practicum goals.   

Academic Program Coordinators  

Academic Program coordinators are Walden faculty members whose primary role is to manage and continuously improve a degree program. Program coordinators support students throughout the MPH program, including during the practicum.  

Associate Dean, MPH & DrPH Programs  

The Associate Dean, MPH & DrPH Programs is a Walden administrator whose primary role is to provide academic leadership to the DrPH and MPH programs. The program director oversees activities related to program and curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. The program director resolves any student and faculty member issues that arise throughout the program.  

 

Students at Walden are considered to be adult learners who are capable of seeking educational opportunities to meet their personal and professional goals. Walden expects students to collaborate with faculty members and be self-directed to meet educational requirements. Students work with faculty members and preceptors to ensure they obtain a well-rounded educational experience.   

Students With Disabilities   

Walden University will not discriminate on the basis of disability and is committed to providing all qualified students with disabilities equal access to its programs, services, and activities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.   

In postsecondary education, it is the students’ responsibility to self-identify disability status and register with the Office of Disability Services prior to requesting accommodations. To register, students should submit documentation of disability along with Walden’s Accommodation Request form to disability@mail.waldenu.edu.   

The process and form are available from the Office of Disability Services. Students with disabilities requesting accommodations to access field experiences, such as a practicum and/or internship, should register with the Office of Disability Services prior to registering for those field experiences and clarify their specific accommodation needs. In most cases, field experience sites have their own systems for ensuring equal access for employees/interns with disabilities. The Office of Disability Services will help address any gaps in those systems.  

Walden’s Associate Dean, MPH & DrPH Programs, Associate Dean, Applied Practice and Continuing Education, field experience coordinator, and practicum course core faculty members are committed to working collaboratively with students and preceptors to support the successful completion of practicum experiences.