Syllabus
Graduate Programs in Public Health
GPH 731 Applied Practice Experience (Summer 2023)
Credits - 2
Description
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Course Outcomes:
By the end of this course you will have shown yourself able to:
- Familiarize yourself with the different faces of public health.
- Define the role of the Applied Practice Experience site and how it fulfills public health goals and essential services.
- Identify the strengths of different personality types and how they can be engaged in the context of public health.
- Navigate the work environment to complete objectives.
- Reflect on how the APE enabled learning and application of professional skills for public health.
Program Competencies
By the end of this course, you will have produced at least two high quality products that demonstrate mastery of five competencies from the following program and foundational competencies, at least 3 of which should be foundational competencies (FC).
PC 1. Synthesize and incorporate scientific evidence into professional writing
PC 2. Search databases and critically analyze peer-reviewed literature
PC 3. Develop strategies for qualitative and quantitative data management.
PC 4. Evaluate the use of financial resources and management techniques by public health programs to achieve goals and sustainability.
PC 5. Evaluate the use of technological applications in health interventions
Public Health Competencies
FC 1. Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice
FC 2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
FC 3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming and software, as appropriate
FC 4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice
FC 5. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across national and international settings
FC 6. 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
FC 7. Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health
FC 8. Apply the awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs
FC 9. Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention
FC 10. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management
FC 11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs
FC 12. Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence
FC 13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
FC 14. Advocate for political, social or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations
FC 15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity
FC 16. Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue
FC 17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges
FC 18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
FC 19. Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
FC 20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content
FC 21. Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health
FC 22. Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than a standard narrative
Assignments
Discussions:
Posts that count toward the minimum must be between 250 and 500 words.
Assignment 1, Week 7: Reflection on Systems Thinking
Systems thinking is another important skill for public health professionals. Watch the video, and read the attached journal article, and write a one-page reflection paper on how systems thinking is applied at your site. What do you understand by the term ‘systems thinking’? What role does systems thinking have in public health? How could systems thinking be incorporated into your applied practice experience?
Assignment 2, Week 8: Progress Report
Midway through the practice experience, students share their progress towards completing the final products through the submission of a Progress Report. The report should provide enough information to determine that adequate progress is being made towards meeting the tasks, products, and competencies. If there is incomplete information in the form or if it is not hand-signed by the preceptor, zero points will be awarded for the assignment.
Assignment 3, Week 12: Final Report Draft
Submit draft of final report.
Assignment 4, Week 14: Plan for ILE
In your final semester in the program, you will write a paper as part of the Integrative Learning Experience (ILE). This paper can be based on the work you completed for your APE, or on any other topic of interest to you.
Assignment 5, Week 15: Synopsis
Design a creative one-page synopsis of your practice experience. This document will be shared with faculty, students and staff of the public health program.
Assignment 6, Week 15: Final Report
Submit final report and evaluation
Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Assignment | Points |
|---|---|
| Discussions | 5 * 4 points = 20 points |
| Reflection on Systems Thinking | 9 points |
| Progress Report | 12 points |
| Final Report Draft | 9 points |
| Synopsis | 9 points |
| Plan for the ILE | 9 points |
| Final Report | 30 points |
| Evaluation | 2 points |
| Total | 100 points |
Grade Scale
| Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
| A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
| B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
| B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
| C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
| C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
| D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
| F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
This course is graded as pass/fail however, in order to pass a student must:
- Create a minimum of 2 high quality products that are useful for the site.
- Meet a minimum of 5 competencies.
- Receive a satisfactory evaluation from the preceptor.
Failure to meet any of these will result in an automatic fail.
Grade Breakdown
- Honors (H): 95-100%
- High Pass (HP): 90 – 94%
- Pass (P): 80 – 89%
- Fail (F): 79% and below
Schedule
Course Schedule:
Each week opens on Wednesday at 12:01 AM Eastern Time (ET). Each week closes on Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET, with the exception of Week 16, which ends on Sunday.
Week 1: May 3 – May 10
Week 2: May 10 – May 17
Week 3: May 17 – May 24
Week 4: May 24 – May 31
Week 5: May 31 – Jun 7
Week 6: Jun 7 – Jun 14
Week 7: Jun 14 – Jun 21
Week 8: Jun 21 – Jun 28
Week 9: Jun 28 – Jul 5
Week 10: Jul 5 – Jul 12
Week 11: Jul 12 – Jul 19
Week 12: Jul 19 – Jul 26
Week 13: Jul 26 – Aug 2
Week 14: Aug 2 – Aug 9
Week 15: Aug 9 – Aug 16
Week 16: Aug 16 – Aug 20
Week 1 : Introduction
Discussion: Introduction
Introduce yourself. Tell us about your professional background, why you chose to get an MPH degree, and any fun facts about you.
Week 2: Public Health in Practice – APE Site
Discussion Week 2: Practice experience site description (Due by the end of the week, on Wednesday)
Describe your practicum site. What do they do, and what tasks will you be undertaking at their site? What products will you be creating? List the essential public health services that your practice experience site provides.
Week 3: Continue work on assignments, nothing to turn in this week
Week 4: Understanding Personality Types
Discussion Week 4: Personality types (Due by the end of the week, on Wednesday)
Are you familiar with Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®)? Knowing your own personality type and being aware of what other personality types exist can help you enhance your professional skills. Therefore, this month, we’re going to discuss personality types as a class.
Week 5: Continue work on assignments, nothing to turn in this week
Week 6: Continue work on assignments, nothing to turn in this week
Week 7: Systems Thinking in Public Health Practice
Assignment 1, Systems Thinking (Due by the end of the week, on Wednesday)
Systems thinking is another important skill for public health professionals. Read the attached journal article, and write a one-page reflection paper on how systems thinking is applied at your site. What do you understand by the term ‘systems thinking’? What role does systems thinking have in public health? How can systems thinking be incorporated into your applied practice experience?
Week 8: APE Midpoint
Assignment 2, Progress Report (Due by the end of the week, on Wednesday)
Midway through the practice experience, students share their progress towards completing the final products through the submission of a Progress Report. The report should provide enough information to determine that adequate progress is being made towards meeting the tasks, products, and competencies. If there is incomplete information in the form or if it is not signed by the preceptor, zero points will be awarded for the assignment.
Assignment Submission Requirements:
- Submit your approved APE Learning Contract
- Create a table in Microsoft Word in a format similar to the one attached to this assignment, and submit.
- Original signatures are required on the report.
Week 9: Continue work on assignments, nothing to turn in this week
Week 10: Continue work on assignments, nothing to turn in this week
Week 11: Past, Present, and Future Coursework
Discussion Week 11: What Classes will you take? (Due Sunday)
What courses were most useful in preparing you for your fieldwork? Based on what you have learned in the field so far, what electives do you plan to take? Responding to peers is optional for this discussion.
Week 12: Final Draft Report
Assignment 3, Final Report and Evaluation Complete Draft (Due by the end of the week, on Wednesday)
Submit complete Final Report and evaluation draft.
On your APE learning contract, you listed at least 5 competencies that would be met by your practice experience:
- Submit the 2 final products you created for your site. If it an electronic resource like a web page, submit the link to the resource. Create a Microsoft Word document using the template provided.
- Describe how you attained each one of the competencies.
- Submit sections 1 and 2 of the Final Report draft as one document.
Week 13: Continue work on assignments, nothing to turn in this week.
Week 14: ILE – Planning Ahead
Assignment 4, Plan for ILE
In your final semester in the program, you will write a paper as part of the Integrative Learning Experience (ILE). This paper can be based on the work you completed for your APE, or on any other topic of interest to you.
Week 15: Moments to Reflect On
Discussion Week 15: Reflection (Due by the end of the week, on Wednesday)
You are almost done with the course! Reflect on your applied practice experience work. What did you learn about public health, your passion, interests, and style of work?
Respond to each question, and then respond to 3 classmates.
Assignment 5, Synopsis (Due Sunday)
Design a creative one-page synopsis of your practice experience. Each person’s page will feature in an online magazine of applied practice experiences. This document will be shared with faculty, students, and staff of the public health program. You can use the attached template or create your own, but you are restricted to no more than one page. It should be a magazine or newsletter style and should be visually appealing. All the information in the template should be in your synopsis and includes:
- A topic for the APE
- A ‘journal article title’ for the project (If you were to publish this as a paper what would the title be?)
- Final Products created
- The public health competencies addressed
- Site name (footer)
- Semester (footer)
- Year (footer)
- Student name
Synopsis assignment and Final Report are due on Sunday to give time to make changes to the synopsis pages or report if needed.
Save the document as a file with the title: Lastname_Firstname_ ProjectTitle_SemesterYear
For example: Smith_John_InfantNutritioninMaine_Summer2023
Be creative with this assignment. Use photos from your site if possible or download photos from the internet. (Complete release forms if people in your photo (apart from yourself) can be identified). Don’t use the pictures on the template or leave the spaces for the photos blank. Do not use your site’s official logo unless you have written permission to do so. Keep the text concise or use bullet points. See the attached example.
This is one assignment where you can enlist the help of friends and family members 🙂 . Have fun with it!
Assignment 6, Final Report and Evaluation (Due Sunday)
Submit final report and evaluation.
On your APE learning contract, you listed at least 5 competencies that would be met by your practice experience:
- Submit the 2 final products you created for your site. If it an electronic resource like a web page, submit the link to the resource. Create a Microsoft Word document using the template provided.
- Describe how you attained each one of the competencies.
- Submit sections 1 and 2 of the Final Report as one document.
Week 16: Preceptor APE Evaluation
Preceptor Evaluation:
-
Use the survey link that will be sent to your email to complete an evaluation of your site and preceptor.
Student Resources
Online Student Support
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Public Health page
UNE Libraries:
- Library Access for all students: Your library login ID and password are the same as the ones you use to log into Brightspace.
- Public Health Databases: https://library.une.edu/library-materials/find/research-by-subject/public-health/
- Library Questions: Ask a librarian or phone library staff at (207) 602-2361 or (207) 221-4330.
UNE Student Academic Success Center
UNE's Student Academic Success Center (SASC) offers a range of free online services to support your academic achievement. Writing support, ESOL support, study strategy and learning style consultations, as well as downloadable resources, are available to all matriculating students. The SASC also offers tutoring for GPH 712 Epidemiology, GPH 716 Biostatistics, GPH 717 Applied Epidemiology, GPH 718 Biostatistics II, and GPH 719 Research Methods. To make an appointment for any of these services, go to une.tutortrac.com. For more information and to view and download writing and studying resources, please visit:
Information Technology Services (ITS)
- ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673
Accommodations
Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.
Online Peer Support
Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.
Information Technology Services (ITS)
Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.
ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.
Career Ready Program
The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!
The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.
Policies
AMA Writing Style Statement
The American Medical Association Manual (AMA) of Style, 11th edition is the required writing format for this course. Additional support for academic writing and AMA format is provided throughout the coursework as well as at the UNE Portal for Online Students.
Online resources: AMA Style Guide
Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool
The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.
Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.
You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.
Technology Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Course Evaluation Policy
Course surveys are one of the most important tools that University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.
Late Policy
Students are responsible for submitting work by the date indicated in Brightspace.
Quizzes and Tests: Quizzes and tests must be completed by the due date. They will not be accepted after the due date.
Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.
Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
UNE Course Withdrawal
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
Academic Integrity
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit https://www.une.edu/studentlife/plagiarism.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
- Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
- Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
- Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
- Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.