DrPH EOH – Applied Practice Experience (Internship)

Program Requirements
In accordance with the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), all DrPH students regardless of their previous experience will complete the Applied Practical Experience (APE) course. For the ECU DrPH program this requirement is met through completion of PUBH 8684, a five credit-hour, 400-hour field practicum. The APE may take place in an agency/organization where students engage in real-world projects involving public health challenges and take responsibility for the successful completion of a meaningful public health project.

Purpose
The purpose of the DrPH APE is to provide an opportunity for the student to apply in a practice setting the competencies, knowledge, and skills they have acquired through their public health courses. It requires that the students integrate and synthesize their knowledge and skills through the application of public health theories and principles to the development and implementation of one or more special projects in professional public health practice. Each student is expected to complete the field experience in the 11-week summer session, or after completing a minimum of 12 credit hours in the DrPH curriculum and with the approval of the Major Professor.

All students in the field experience option will enroll in PUBH 8684 (Public Health Program Field Experience) for 5 credit hours. The student should select a facet of public health practice that is of particular interest and appropriate to the student’s program of study and professional goals. In concert with the Major Professor and affiliate preceptor (field supervisor), the student will be responsible for completing of at least one project that is meaningful for an organization and to advance public health practice.

Competencies relevant to public health curriculum are provided in the Appendix B.

Eligibility
Students are eligible to enroll in the DrPH APE (PUBH 8684) after they have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours of the interdisciplinary courses and/or concentration core courses.

1.0 APE Course Approval
The DrPH APE process begins with meeting all of the didactic coursework and approval to take the field experience course from the student’s Major Professor and Program Director.

Application timeline for the DrPH (8684) APE course
To be considered for the APE the following must be submitted to BOTH your Major Professor and the Program Advisor no later than:

• Second Friday in June for the following fall semester
• Second Friday in November for the following spring semester.
• Second Friday in March for the following summer semester.

1.1 Required Documents
Prior to registering for the APE course (PUBH 8684), the student will complete the APE Description and Agreement Proposal by submitting the items below to the Major Professor and the Program Director and include the following;

1. A current resume or CV;
2. A written description of the proposed project that addresses a public health issue and include the following;
i. Goals and aims of the project;
ii. The public health issue and background of the problem justifying its significance (i.e. how this work will promote public health and well-being of the population that it will address) (appropriately cited);
iii. The expected project(s) outcomes or expected results;
iv. An outline that includes all aspects of the project(s) including timeline, products (outline of proposed presentation) and student, faculty and preceptor’s roles.
v. Competencies addressed through the practicum experience that clearly outlines how the competencies will be achieved as evidenced by the final project(s).
vi. Fully Executed University Affiliation Agreement with the precepting agency and ECU (if one is not already in place).

Please be aware that some agencies may require a criminal background check, drug screen and orientation modules prior to the beginning of your field practicum.

Please note: Major Professor and preceptor must approve the APE description and agreement form prior to the student registering for the APE.

NOTE: Failure to meet these deadlines may result in delaying your APE (and in turn your graduation) by one semester. Do not procrastinate. See application form in Appendix E.

2.0 DrPH APE (8684) Goals
Upon completion of the 400-hour APE, the student will be able to do the following:

• Demonstrate mastery of evidence based public health decision making and capacity to translate
general and discipline specific empirical knowledge into effective public health practice and
solve real-world public health challenges;
• Demonstrate effective communication skills, in both oral and writing;
• Demonstrate leadership, independence, and originality of the project with a significant public health impact;
• Develop a written and oral report summarizing results of the project and recommendations for action(s) using a Logic Model.
• Conduct an oral presentation to Major Professor and DrPH Committee
• Submit a written Report to Major Professor and DrPH Committee
 
2.1 PUBH 8684 Course Learning Objectives
As part of the 400-hour APE, the student will carry out the following:

• Apply skills and knowledge gained in coursework in public health agency setting;
• Assess public health competency mastery as evidenced by project guidelines
• Collect data following recognized criteria
• Analyze data, interpret results and communicate with professional/scientific communities.
• Discuss findings with agency and academic members through journal publications/reports etc.

3.0 DrPH APE Core Competencies
Regardless of the amount of experience DrPH students are expected to integrate three foundational and two concentration competencies (for a total of five, listed in Appendix B) into their field experience project(s), final report and oral presentation. One competency must be related to Leadership (competency).

4.0 APE Requirements, Expectations and Responsibilities

4.1 Establishing the APE Location: Internship Affiliation Agreement
Once the learning objectives and project goals have been drafted, the student, under the guidance of the Major Professor and/or the Program Director will develop a list of potential “field experience affiliate organizations including a suitable field preceptor (supervisor).” Note: the organization where the APE is conducted is called an “Affiliate Organization.” The individual(s) who will be the on-site supervisor(s) is/are called “preceptors.”

4.2. Agency Requirements
Students should work with their Major Professor and Program Director to seek out public health organizations and agencies for completion of their applied field practicum. Students should align APEs that provide them opportunities to learn, develop and practice high level public health skills.

Examples of appropriate agency sites include but are not limited to federal public health agencies such as the CDC, USEPA, NIOSH, state and county health departments, federally qualified health centers, community based public health organizations, non-profit health care organizations, private occupational health industry organizations and other organizations involved in public health work.

In accordance with CEPH requirements, the APE should take place within an organization external to the student’s school or program so that it is not merely an academic exercise, but application of learning to a “real world” setting. The APE may be conducted at a variety of public health practice settings. The agency and project proposal must be approved by both the agency leadership and the faculty advisor and program director. In addition, an UAA must be fully executed prior to the beginning of the APE (Note: UAAs are already in place for ECU Departments, Vidant and some other agencies. The Program Director has a master list of agencies in which UAAs are in place with ECU).

DrPH students who are currently working in a public health organization may perform the APE at their current place of employment; however, the APE must be beyond, or something other than their current work duties, allowing for the application of advanced (doctoral) level public health knowledge and skills to be applied in the practice (real-world) setting.

4.3. Preceptor Requirements
The agency preceptor will have training in public health at the professional level and be in a top leadership position. The preceptor should have at a minimum a master’s degree in Public Health/Environmental Health or closely related field, with substantial experience in public health at the professional level. Ideally, the preceptor will have a degree beyond the master’s level. The preceptor will meet with the doctoral student on a regular basis. The student’s current employer supervisor may serve as the preceptor. During the course of the 400- hour APE there must be at least three documented evaluation meetings (initial, midterm and final) evaluation meetings between the doctoral student, agency preceptor and faculty advisor.

4.4 Roles & Responsibilities

DrPH Student
The student will be responsible for the following:
• Represent ECU and should always maintain themselves in a professional manner.
• Identify APE site, community preceptor, major professor, and ensure that all arrangements,
including learning contract completion and electronic signatures have been completed before registration.
• Complete the APE as outlined in the learning contract and participate in the practicum course throughout the semester(s).
• Maintain regular communication and ongoing contact with the major professor throughout the field placement course.
• Maintain a time log of hours worked and duties and submit to the major professor biweekly.
• Present products, including an oral, written report and poster (with logic model) of agency
public health project.

The Agency Preceptor
The preceptor will be responsible for the following:
• Providing an opportunity for the student to pursue and complete a special project with
practical relevance to the organization.
• Participating in the development of specific objectives, related to the special project and
mentor the student toward achieving those objectives using the Competency Based Field Experience Objective form (attached).
• Work with the student and be able to devote sufficient time to the field practicum to ensure appropriate and comprehensive learning experience.
• Provide the day-to-day supervision throughout the student’s practicum and complete a
performance evaluation at the midterm and end of the final semester using Qualtrics.

Major Professor
The student’s major professor will be responsible for the following:
• Providing guidance for the student as they develop and complete their learning contract and
throughout the practicum experience and communicates with the community preceptor as needed.
• Assigning the student’s grade based on the preceptor’s evaluation of the student’s performance and completion of the APE course project.

4.5. Program Procedures
While it is desired that the APE requirement be completed in one semester, some instances may require that the APE last longer than one semester. Students must register for the 5 credit-hour field practicum course and follow the timeline established and agreed upon by themselves and the faculty instructor and agency preceptor as part of the integrated learning contract. The student will clearly document the plan in the APE Description Agreement in order that all parties are in complete agreement.

It is advised that students begin working on their APE Description with their faculty advisor/instructor the semester prior to the semester they wish to register for PUBH 8684.

5.0 Applied Practice Experience Project Guidelines
As part of the applied practice experience, each DrPH student should produce products that are relevant to the public health organization where they are participating. The applied experience should include field-based project(s) emphasizing advanced public health practice.

During the APE, students should complete a monthly reflection paper due by the 5th of each month of their APE to describe the progress to date. These reflections will be reviewed by the student’s faculty instructor. In addition, the preceptor will complete a midpoint and final evaluation of student performance.

The student should also include a reflective component that expresses how the applied practicum experience has demonstrated mastery of the five selected competencies. A systems level thinking approach that includes a logic model and, theoretical construct, of the identified applied public health concern/problem should be presented as part of the final recommendations. The student will prepare a poster based on the selected problem and give a 25-30 minutes presentation to their doctoral colleges, faculty instructor and agency preceptor/staff that may be in attendance. This final presentation will be held at the end of the course semester.

Grading
Students’ work project should include a single project or a set of related projects that demonstrate a depth of competence in applied public health. The practicum must be discipline specific, appropriately planned, supervised and evaluated. A final grade will be awarded by the field practicum advisor/faculty instructor based upon the practice mentor/faculty instructor’s evaluation and the student’s final product using the rubric found in Appendix B.