University of Massachusetts - Amherst
School of Public Health and Health Sciences
MPH Program in Public Health Practice
715 North Pleasant Street – Arnold House
Amherst, MA 01003-9304
Public Health Practice office: 413.545.4530
www.umass.edu/sphhs/php
To:
Site Supervisor Responsibilities for the Practicum of the
MPH Program in Public Health Practice Practicum (PHP)
From:
Kathryn B. Tracy, DrPH, MPA, Director of the PHP Practicum
On behalf of the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health and Health
Sciences (SPHHS) and the MPH Program in Public Health Practice (PHP) Program, thank
you for supporting an MPH student in the applied practicum experience. Included here
are the obligations and responsibilities of practicum students, as well as your
responsibilities as a site supervisor. As Director of the PHP Practicum and Instructor for
the course, I welcome you to contact me at any time with questions or concerns. My
email is ktracy@umass.edu and personal cell phone number is 413 587-2665.
Students enrolled in the MPH in Public Health Practice program who are employed full
time in a public health or health care-related field, are permitted to reduce the standard
180-hour requirement for an MPH Practicum to 120 hours. The 3-credit Practicum is
required for the MPH in PHP. Once a student completes the public health core, s/he can
enroll in the Practicum. Students select at least five (5) of the following fifteen (15)
Public health Practice competencies as their educational goals for the Practicum:
Public Health Practice Competencies
 Describe the origins of current public health and health care dilemmas
 Examine and evaluate current health policies and propose recommendations for
change
 Create a work team to develop, pilot-test, or implement a policy/practice change
 Design a planning or evaluation process to monitor and improve an area of
concern
 Understand best practices in community and population health behavioral
change
 Research and propose an innovative new approach to health promotion
 Create a work team to develop, pilot-test, or implement a health behavioral
intervention
 Apply epidemiological methods to data to answer a public health question
 Interpret study findings from research literature and apply that knowledge to a
public health or health care problem
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Design a study or develop a research protocol to address a public health
problem
Employ appropriate quantitative or qualitative methods to analyze data on a
public health or health care issue
Evaluate outcomes of current practice, programs, research, policies, or
procedures
Explain the influence of environmental factors on the public’s health
Participate in a work teams to address problems in public health and health care
Summarize regulations and laws in public health
Because you know the organization --its mission and work styles and methods-- the
competencies selected as goals should be a collaboration between you and the student;
this will help the student focus on the appropriateness of the competencies to the
needs of both the student and the site where the practicum takes place. The student
commits to her or his goals for the practicum by submitting both the Scope of Work
form and the Practicum Proposal at the outset of the semester; be sure to ask the
student to provide you with a copies of these completed documents.
At the conclusion of the Practicum, we need you to evaluate the student’s performance
using the Site Supervisor Evaluation form. The form asks about the student’s
achievement of competencies, fulfillment of time commitments, meeting work
deadlines and deliverables, and other measures. Your evaluation is a major component
of the student’s final grade, along with a ten (10)- page Practicum Report, which
includes any material such as surveys, reports, educational pamphlets, or presentations
that the student developed during the Practicum. The student also submits at succinct
10-slide power point presentation and student evaluates her/his own work using the
Student Evaluation of the Practicum form. All these forms appear on the UMass
website at http://www.umass.edu/sphhs/online/online-mph-practicum-requirements.
The practicum work may take place either at the student’s current worksite or at an
outside public health or health care setting. If students choose their place of work, the
practicum project needs to be something new and entirely separate from their current
duties. The work itself can, however, be accomplished during normal working hours if
that meets the needs of the organization, you as the site supervisor, and those of the
student.
If the student chooses a current work setting for conducting the practicum, the
following guidelines obtain:
 The practicum cannot be part of the student’s job description at present.
 It has to be something new that will help the student achieve identified goals.
 There needs to be an individual on-site to serve as site supervisor, who is willing
to advise the student and supervise the work.
 The work of the practicum may be conducted during normal working hours if
approved by the site supervisor and the organization’s administration.
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If the student plans to conduct the practicum outside the current place of work, these
guidelines obtain:
 The practicum site is an organization, agency, or community group that provides
services relevant to the public’s health.
 The site and the work proposed allows the student to develop and apply public
health theory, skills and competencies.
 The organization’s management team exhibits a willingness to provide support,
including a workspace, if appropriate, for conducting the practicum.
 The Practicum site is a good match for the student’s needs and interests.
Here are suggested attributes and actions that Site Supervisors should have:
 Substantial professional experience within the organization.
 Working knowledge and practical experience in the practicum content area.
 Ability to assist the student in identifying goals, tasks and activities, and
evaluation methods for the practicum.
 Commitment to helping the student by holding regularly-scheduled meetings.
 Willingness to bring the student to professional meetings and encouraging
presentation of the work if appropriate.
 Interest in introducing the student to co-workers and key players in the
organization, explaining the organization’s structure and function, and
introducing community stakeholders.
 The Site Supervisor Evaluation form completed to assess the student’s
performance in the practicum at the end of the semester.
 Interest in providing recommendations where needed to the Dean of the School
and PHP Practicum Director on ways to improve the practicum experience.
School of Public Health and Health Sciences Dean Marjorie Aelion, Associate Dean Dan
Gerber, PHP Practicum Director Kathryn Tracy, and all of us in the Public Health Practice
program are grateful for your generous support of our MPH students. Thank you for
volunteering your time and energy to help our students receive this valuable practicum
experience. We wish you the best of luck during this semester and continued success in
your work.
6 January 2016
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