DOCTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH

FIELD RESIDENCY MANUAL

2016-2017

Preface

The Field Residency Manual has been prepared for the use of both students and preceptors in the Doctor of Public Health degree. The information contained in this Manual summarizes the requirements and expectations for the field residency experience. The Manual is designed to address issues related to the field residency requirement for both full-time and part-time students as identified by the faculty of the DrPH program.

Students are responsible for assuring that they meet all University, College of Public Health, and Program requirements regarding the field residency by complying with regulations specified in the Bulletin of the University, the Doctor of Public Health Student Handbook, and responsibilities outlined in this field manual.

Individuals requiring additional assistance with regard to the field residency should contact the DrPH Coordinator or CPH Practice Coordinator. Suggestions and comments for improvement of the field residency experience are welcomed.

The purpose of this manual is to provide the student with guidance regarding the structure and organization of the field residency requirement. Specific details regarding how the field placement operates and the expectations for the student and the practitioner who will be supervising the student are outlined. In addition, the logistical aspects of the field residency activity and evaluation of the student and site are outlined.

Table of Contents

RATIONALE OF THE DrPH RESIDENCY EXPERIENCE...... 3

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESIDENCY EXPERIENCE...... 7

GENERAL GOALS OF THE RESIDENCY EXPERIENCE...... 10

Components of the Field Residency...... 11

RESPONSIBILITIES...... 12

Field Residency Sites

GRADING OF THE RESIDENCY...... 19

RESOURCES

Residency Checklist...... 23

Appendix A: Competencies

DrPH Student Activities/Learning Objectives/Competencies

DrPH Student Residency Reporting forms

RATIONALE OF THE DrPHRESIDENCY EXPERIENCE

DrPH students complete an appropriate curriculum, addressing the five areas of knowledge basic to public health practice. Students have an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills being acquired throughout the curriculum, and demonstrate a broad understanding of the areas of knowledge basic to public health through the combination of the field residency and the capstone experience. This manual covers the field residency only.

The principal objective of the field residency exercise is to bridge the academic environment and the field of practice for the student. This objective is achieved by placing the student in a practice environment where he or she has the opportunity to utilize the knowledge and skills developed during the initial course of study.The student’s field residency allows him/her to observe and participate in a public health environment and to gain a better understanding of what to expect and what is expected of him/her after graduation.

The field residency requirement is taken seriously by the University of Georgia College of Public Health faculty. The faculty recognizes the integrating nature of the field residency and its value in providing a broad,realistic, and challenging exposure to the field of practice. The field residency also offers an opportunity for the student to be tested in a real-world setting so that any significant deficiencies can be addressed prior to graduation.

The student should be prepared to potentially incur additional expenses and inconvenience during the time he or she is completing their Residency. Students are responsible for securing housing and to make plans for off-campus experiences. Please be aware that the residency is a credit hour course for which tuition must be paid, and the student will be registered for PBHL 9560 in the term that the experience occurs.You should know that most assistantships and other financial aid sources do not provide tuition support in the summer terms.

The University of Georgia College of Public Health faculty appreciates the contributions of preceptors and students in making the field residency experience successful and valuable to the student. It is imperative for preceptors and students to provide suggestions for enhancing the experience for all parties. We rely on such advice and guidance to improve the residency for both students and preceptors.

Practical knowledge and skills are essential to successful practice as public health professionals. As professional degree students, you will have the opportunity to develop skills in basic public health concepts and demonstrate the application of these concepts through aresidency experience that is relevant to your area of concentration. The residencyin the DrPH program is one phase, and arguably the most important part, of the total degree program through its integration of didactic classroom experience and practice. The two components, the program of study and the residencyexperience, are designed to contribute to the basic objective of providing opportunities for the student to develop the competencies and skills necessary to assume professional responsibilities in the field of public health.

In addition the academic accrediting agency the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) specifies that the all professional students including DrPH students complete a practice experience to integrate knowledge:

CEPH Criterion 2.4 Practical Skills: All professional degree students must develop skills in basic Public health concepts and demonstrate the application of these concepts through a practice experience that is relevant to the students’ areas of specialization.

Interpretation. The school must provide opportunities for professional degree students to apply the knowledge and skills being acquired through their courses of study. Practical knowledge and skills are essential to successful practice. A planned, supervised and evaluated practice experience is an essential component of a public health professional degree program. These opportunities can take place in a variety of agencies or organizations but should include especially local and state public health agencies to the extent possible and appropriate. An essential component of the practice experience is supervision by a qualified preceptor who is a public health professional. Schools must have well-defined learning objectives, procedures, and criteria for evaluation of the practicum. Individual waivers, if granted, should be based on well-defined criteria; the possession of a prior professional degree in another field or prior work experience that is not closely related to the academic objectives of the student’s degree program should not be sufficient reason for waiving the practice requirement.

While there are advantages to a practice experience conducted full-time in a concentrated block of time, this is not always possible for students. Schools should be sensitive to the constraints of students and may develop alternative modes for providing practice experiences. If the student can do a placement only in his or her regular place of employment, the assignment must extendbeyond or be something other than his or her regular work duties and allow application of knowledge and skills being learned. There should be regular assessment and evaluation of practice placement sites and preceptor qualifications.

Residents in preventive medicine, occupational medicine, aerospace medicine, and public health and general preventive medicine completing their academic year in the school may count their practicum year, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, as the required practice experience for the MPH program.

Residency experiences may take place in a variety of agencies or organizations and should include local and state public health agencies to the extent possible. A vital part of your residency experience will be finding a qualified preceptor who is a public health professional. You will work closely with the Practice Coordinator and your site preceptor to plan aresidency experience that is mutually beneficial to you and to the site. You will work with your academic advisor to develop well-defined learning objectives to be accomplished during your experience. You will have the opportunity to evaluate your residency experience and in turn, the site preceptor will have the opportunity to evaluate your quality of work.

The residency experience is required of all students. Waivers will not be granted for the residency requirement regardless of previous work experience. You will complete a total of 150 contact hours for your residency. The residencyexperience must contribute to the DrPH competencies set forth by the College of Public Health.

Effective residency training principles must be followed to insure sound educational experiences. The following principles are starting points for planning sound residency training. In choosing a site, please keep these principles in mind. With each principle, ask the question “can this site provide me with this?”

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  1. Residency training for an individual student must be planned in terms of his/her abilities, and needs and interests as an integral part of the total training experiences in which he/she is participating;
  1. The student must be an active participant in planning his/her residency training experience making sure that their projects and activities are a quality contribution to the agency;
  1. The experiences offered the student should meet real needs of the agency in their particular mission, goals and objectives. If at all possible, the student should be given the opportunity to function as a full-fledged staff member;
  1. Based upon prior experience and education DrPH students will interact at a senior level of the organization during the experience, for example, having access to governance meetings,
  1. The residency experience should be so designed that the student has an opportunity for responsible participation in a significant project common to the activities of public health professionals. The resources available must be adequate for this purpose;
  1. Residency training must be under the guidance and supervision of an individual who is able to make a learning experience out of a work situation and who is professionally competent in the student's area of specialization;
  1. The agency provides experiential learning to improve student competencies;
  1. Evaluation of the residency experience must be in terms of:
  1. The student's growth in understandings and abilities needed in situations faced by public health professionals;
  1. The student's contributions to the agency's program.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESIDENCY EXPERIENCE

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  1. The residency experience is a requirement for all Doctor of Public Health students.
  2. In order to be considered for placement in to a Residency, each student must meet the following:
  1. Be in good academic standing as outlined by the DrPH and Graduate school programs with a 3.0 or better in all courses.
  2. Have demonstrated professionalism during coursework
  3. Have completed all core courses.
  4. Completed Residency Advisement with Academic Advisor/DrPH Coordinator.
  5. Completed advisement and secured approval of the Practice coordinator to enter into Residency.

The PBHL 9560 Class will be loaded and the student will be cleared to register by the Practice Coordinator upon:

  1. Completion of Memorandum of Understanding with the site
  2. Receipt of Residency Proposal, Applied Learning Agreement and Release of Records forms with all signatures. All proposals need to be submitted electronically in PDF format with digital signatures.
  3. Memorandums of Understanding (MOU). As stated by UGA Legal Affairs, “We abide by the directives and documents promulgated by the Board of Regents and approved by the Attorney General's office regarding affiliation agreements. This is the best way we can protect the University and our students when we send them out for applied learning experiences.” Therefore, it is the policy of the College of Public Heath that order for your placement to count as your requirement; the University of Georgia must have a Memorandum of Understanding in place with that agency.

A Memorandum of Understanding is a legal document that outlines the responsibilities of the agency, the University of Georgia and the student and provides legal protections to these parties. Students may inquire about a site MOU with the Practice Coordinator.

Students wishing to be placed at a site without an MOU can request to start the MOU process with this site. Please note that the process can take up to 12 weeks to complete. Therefore, no new MOUs will be processed after Mid-point of the semester.

In cases where attempts to obtain an MOU have been exhausted andthe site is relevant to the student’s learning/practice experience, the student may appeal and request as an alternative a waiver for other mechanisms for successful placement in lieu of the MOU.

Be aware that if you are considering this option, you will need to have the waiver granted by appeal to the DrPH Committee no later than the mid-point of the semester before your Residency. These types of placements need to be primary for the student and not a last minute back-ups.

  1. In general, the student will arrange for the residency experience to be completed during one semester for three (3) credit hours for 150 to 300 contact hours.
  1. The residency experience may be taken any semester including Summer Session.
  1. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval. If the student is collecting data from human subjects (via phone survey, focus group, pen and paper survey, etc) he/she must receive approval from the UGA IRB office. (This is particularly relevant if residency related data will be used for the student’s doctoral research); the student will need to complete the CITI training from the website The student will not be allowed to proceed with the residency project until the approval is on file. Please check with your site preceptor immediately upon accepting the residency to determine if this will be needed; it can take weeks to obtain approval, and you don’t want to delay your residency because of this.

GENERAL GOALS OF THE RESIDENCY EXPERIENCE

The student should be able to:

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  1. Develop an understanding of the structure and functions of the participating public health agency;
  1. Learn to function effectively in a work environment with existing staff members and administrators;
  1. Develop a residency experience project which is consistent with the goals and objectives of the host agency and with the learning objectives set forth by the student,
  1. Gain an understanding of the process of multi-program coordination;
  1. Utilize basic related applied research and data gathering techniques as they apply to public health,
  1. Gain an understanding of the leadership role in public health organizations,

and

  1. Apply and integrate the didactic DrPH curriculum content in practice setting.

Components of the Field Residency

Each field residency placement should have the following components:

1.An opportunity to work with a practicing professional who is functioning as a leader, or in a similar capacity, for a public health institution, private agency, or organization is the basis for the field residency. This professional will be appointed as a preceptor in the DrPH Program in the College of Public Health.

2.Students should have the opportunity to attend as many, and as varied as possible, managerialmeetings involving a variety of people in the organization, such as the medical staff, administrators,health educators, epidemiologists, environmentalists and other professionals. In this way, the student gains a wide perspective about the types of issues, concerns, and processes that occur in the provision of public health.

3.The student should be assigned one or more specific projects to carry out during the field residency.The projects should be designed so the student has principal responsibility, perhaps working with others in the organization, and the result should be a product, written or otherwise, that is of value to the organization. The number and types of projects performed by the student are left to the discretion of the preceptor in recognition of the agency's needs, time constraints, and the student's interests and capabilities.

4.The student should conduct other smaller functions within the organization that contribute to an understanding of the complexities that the organization faces. Any reasonable activity in which the student contributes to the organization through assisting other individuals, and which provides a learning experience for the student, are appropriate.

5.The student should undertake any other activities that the preceptor may assign and which have mutual benefit thus further exposing the student to the organization and the complexities of its working environment.

6.The student develops an understanding of the organizational context within which public health activities are conducted.

7.The student meets regularly with a preceptor who guides the student and serves as a role model; the student attends appropriate meetings and seminars. Upon the field experience completion, the preceptor provides an evaluation of the student’s field experience based on the understanding and implementation of the core functions and essential services of public health.

Due to the wide diversity in field residency opportunities available to students, it is unwise for the Program to delineate further the specific nature of the training. However, it is imperative that the preceptor and student, with faculty advisor and residency Practice Coordinator concurrence, agree on the scope of responsibilities and duties that the student will assume at thebefore the beginning of the field residency period.

RESPONSIBILITIES

ACADEMIC ADVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

The academic advisor will:

  1. Meet with the student two semesters before placement to assist the student in finding a suitable residency site of their choice,
  2. Insure the student is being placed in a appropriate site,
  3. Approve the residency proposal,
  4. Insure that the student has appropriate IRB approval if needed,
  5. Supervise the residency,
  6. Grade the residency.

PRACTICE COORDINATOR RESPONSIBILITIES

DrPH PracticeCoordinator will: