Syllabus
Graduate Programs in Public Health
GPH 723: Applied Practice Experience Planning (Summer 2025)
Credits - 0
Description
In this course, students will prepare for their Applied Practice Experience (APE) and broaden interprofessional education (IPE) skills that are pivotal to effective public health practice. During the planning process, students will submit a current resume for review, secure an approved site for their practicum experience, identify and confirm a public health topic and a preceptor to oversee the experience, develop a Learning Contract, and submit a fully executed Affiliation Agreement with the practicum site. To gain IPE experience and develop valuable, interdisciplinary skills for effective public health practice, students will complete assignments focused on integrating perspectives from diverse sectors and professions outside the field of public health and combining their public health training with the knowledge and expertise of other disciplines to address a real-world public health issue.
Grading
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Course Outcomes
- Integrate perspectives from multiple disciplines to develop collaborative approaches that advance population health, aligning with CEPH Competency #21.
- Demonstrate ethical responsibility and mutual respect in interprofessional interactions, applying principles from the Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice competency.
- Evaluate the roles and responsibilities of professionals across different sectors, to effectively assess and address challenges in health care and public health.
- Apply interprofessional communication strategies to facilitate meaningful dialogue, enhance collaboration, and foster shared decision-making in public health practice.
- Develop strategies to strengthen interprofessional teamwork, addressing challenges such as conflicting priorities, data-sharing barriers, and stakeholder engagement.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of interprofessional collaboration in addressing public health challenges by engaging in case studies, stakeholder analysis, and real-world problem-solving exercises.
- Synthesize insights from interprofessional partnerships to propose evidence-based solutions for complex public health issues.
Communicate the value of interprofessional collaboration in public health through written reflections, presentations, and engagement with peers and stakeholders. - Complete an action plan for the Applied Practice Experience (APE), including securing a practicum site, identifying a preceptor, including securing a practicum site, identifying a preceptor, developing a learning contract, and submitting a fully executed Affiliation Agreement between the host site and UNE that reflects interprofessional collaboration goals and project outcomes.
- Reflect on professional growth and the impact of interprofessional education (IPE) in preparing for applied public health practice.
Course Competencies
CEPH 21: Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.
The Four Core IPEC Competency Domains: IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Version 3
1. Values/Ethics for Interprofessional Practice
- Work with individuals from other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values.
- Demonstrate honesty, integrity, and ethical responsibility in interprofessional interactions.
- Place the interests of patients and populations at the center of interprofessional health care delivery.
2. Roles/Responsibilities
- Use the knowledge of one’s role and the roles of other professions to assess and address health care needs effectively.
- Recognize and respect the unique expertise of other health professionals.
- Engage in continuous professional and interprofessional development.
3. Interprofessional Communication
- Communicate effectively with patients, families, and health professionals in a manner that supports a team approach.
- Choose effective communication tools and techniques, including information technology, to facilitate discussions and interactions.
- Provide timely, sensitive, and clear feedback to team members.
4. Teams and Teamwork
- Apply relationship-building values and principles to perform effectively in different team roles.
- Engage in shared decision-making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution to achieve patient-centered and population-focused care.
- Reflect on team performance to continuously improve collaborative practice.
Assignments
Key Assessments
Discussion forums are an essential part of the online course experience. Discussion prompts build on readings, lectures, and course content, allowing students to contribute to the learning experience by collaborating with the instructor and peers. Read the prompts carefully and use the rubrics to confirm how discussions will be graded. The course includes a Case Study Discussion Group and a Class Discussion Group.
Unless otherwise specified in the course, initial discussion posts are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET and any response posts are due by Wednesday at 11:59 PM ET.
Interprofessional Learning Activities (Weeks 1-6)
- Resume submission
- Article Reflection on systems and interprofessional practices
- Case Study Collaboration Brief (Group Project)
- Reflection on Interviews with professionals from other sectors
- Case Study Data Summary
- Case Study Intervention Proposal (Group Project)
- Final Reflection
Applied Practice Experience Submissions (Weeks 7-16)
- Draft Learning Contract
- Signed Learning Contract
- Affiliation Agreement
Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Required Assignments |
|---|
| Week 1 Assignment: Submit Resume |
| Week 1 Assignment: Article Reflection |
| Week 1 Case Study Discussion: Introduction to the Case Study |
| Week 1 Class Discussion: Professional Background |
| Week 2 Case Study Group Assignment: Collaboration Brief |
| Week 2 Class Discussion: Reflection on Barriers |
| Week 3 Case Study Discussion: Interprofessional Connection - Interviews with Professionals in Other Sectors |
| Week 3 Class Discussion: Reflection on Interviews |
| Week 4 Case Study Discussion: Interprofessional Data Analysis |
| Week 4 Class Discussion: Applying Data to Public Health Action |
| Week 4 Assignment: Case Study Data Summary |
| Week 5 Class Discussion: Reflection on Implementation Challenges |
| Week 5 Case Study Group Assignment: Intervention Proposal |
| Week 6 Assignment: Final Reflection |
| Week 7 Assignment: Draft Learning Contract |
| Week 12 Assignment: Signed Learning Contract |
| Week 15 Assignment: Affiliation Agreement |
Schedule
Course Dates
Week 1: May 7 – May 14
Week 2: May 14 – May 21
Week 3: May 21 – May 28
Week 4: May 28 – Jun 4
Week 5: Jun 4 – Jun 11
Week 6: Jun 11 – Jun 18
Week 7: Jun 18 – Jun 25
Week 8: Jun 25 – Jun 29
Week 9: Jul 2- Jul 9
Week 10: Jul 9 – Jul 16
Week 11: Jul 16 – Jul 23
Week 12: Jul 23 – Jul 30
Week 13: Jul 30 – Aug 6
Week 14: Aug 6 – Aug 13
Week 15: Aug 13 – Aug 20
Week 16: Aug 20 – Aug 24
The assignment and discussion descriptions mentioned below are summaries. Please make sure to review the full prompts in Brightspace.
Week 1 – Introduction to the Public Health Issue and Interprofessional Collaboration
Learning Outcomes
- Analyze a specific public health issue using a case study.
- Evaluate the importance of interprofessional collaboration in addressing complex public health problems.
- Create and/or update professional resume/CV.
Learning Activities
- Case Study Group Discussion: Begin group discussions on the case study used for interprofessional collaboration during the first six weeks of the course.
- Class Discussion: Sharing professional backgrounds
- Assignment 1: Submit Resume
- Assignment 2: Reflection on assigned case study article about the role of systems and interprofessional practice in public health
Week 2 – Partner Analysis and Collaboration Strategies
Learning Outcomes
- Identify key partners involved in addressing the public health issue.
- Analyze the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of interprofessional collaboration.
- Propose strategies to strengthen collaboration across sectors.
Learning Activities
- Case Study Group Discussion: Partner Analysis Activity. As a group, prioritize sectors and assignment group members to research different partners in the the case study.
- Class Discussion: Individual Reflection on Collaboration Barriers. The reflection identifies challenges in partner collaboration, offers a real-world example, and proposes evidence-based strategies for strengthening collaborations.
- Case Study Group Assignment: Collaboration Brief. This brief will outline the case study partners’ roles, collaboration challenges, and strategies for improving interprofessional collaboration.
Week 3 – Interprofessional Connection and Learning
Learning Outcomes
- Engage with professionals from non-public-health sectors to analyze their contributions to the public health issue in the case study.
- Evaluate the role of cross-sector collaboration in addressing complex public health challenges.
- Identify strategies to enhance interprofessional partnerships.
Learning Activities
- Case Study Group Discussion: Interprofessional Connection. Group members will share information from their interviews with two professionals related to the case study public health issues.
- Class Discussion: Individual Reflection on Interviews. Reflection includes learning about other sectors, challenges to collaboration with professionals outside of the public health sector, and strategies for improving engagement with partners.
Week 4 – IPE in Action: Data Application and Strategic Collaboration
Learning Outcomes
- Assess how data from multiple sectors contributes to understanding and addressing a public health issue.
- Synthesize insights from interviews, case studies, and sector-specific data to identify key trends and gaps.
- Develop strategic recommendations for improving interprofessional collaboration in data-sharing and decision-making.
Learning Activities
- Case Study Group Discussion: Interprofessional Data Analysis. The group will review case study data, focusing on sector contributions, gaps and barriers as well as collaboration strategies.
- Class Discussion: Applying Data to Public Health Action. Each student will share a key data point or insight from the case study discussion, explain its importance, provide an real-world example of similar data influencing public health action, and propose partner collaboration strategies.
- Case Study Assignment: Case Study Data Summary. Each student will summarize the case study data, indicating most impactful data points, challenges, and strategies for improved data-sharing and coordination.
Week 5 – Implementing Interprofessional Solutions
Learning Outcomes
- Design an interprofessional intervention that integrates multiple sector contributions to address the public health issue.
- Evaluate potential challenges and facilitators to implement an interprofessional solution.
Learning Activities
- Class Discussion: Individual Reflection on Implementation Challenges. Each student will post a reflection on their case study group’s proposed intervention to address the case study public health issue.
- Case Study Group Assignment: Intervention Proposal. Each group will create an intervention proposal to address the case study public health issue to include: overview of problem, stakeholders, intervention, implementation plan, and addressing potential barriers.
Week 6 – Reflecting on Interprofessional Collaboration and Public Health Impact
Learning Outcomes
- Synthesize key insights from interprofessional engagement to inform future professional practice.
- Propose strategies for strengthening collaborative partnerships in public health settings.
- Communicate a reflective analysis of the role of interprofessional collaboration in solving complex public health challenges.
Learning Activities
- Final Assignment: Individual Reflection. Each student will reflect on how the course learning activities have impacted their understanding of interprofessional collaboration and how they could apply their learning to future practice.
Weeks 7 – 16: Preparation for the Applied Practice Experience (GPH 739)
Outcomes
- Secure a practicum site.
- Identify a preceptor.
- Develop a learning contract that reflects interprofessional collaboration goals and project outcomes.
- Submit an affiliation agreement.
Required Activities
Week 7 – APE Planning: Draft Learning Contract Due
Weeks 8 – 11 – Continue APE Planning
Week 12 – Signed Learning Contract Due
Weeks 13 – 14 – Continue APE Planning
Week 15 – Affiliation Agreement Due
Week 16 – Finalizing APE Planning
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
Passing Grade Statement
A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the course. A grade lower than 80% will result in you having to repeat the course. Obtaining two "Fs" in the program will result in dismissal from the program.
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
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statement
Learning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly and ethically is an important skill in today’s society. AI is not a substitute for developing and enhancing skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing essential to a public health professional. If you choose to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E2, they must be used wisely and intelligently to deepen your understanding of a subject matter and support learning. You are not allowed to use AI tools to generate your work. Content produced using AI tools cannot be used as a substitute for your original work.
Students in the Graduate Programs in Public Health (GPPH) must take ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of AI-generated content used in any work. You are expected to think critically about the results and alignment with the questions or tasks in the assignment and never substitute AI-generated results for professional human judgment and logic. GPPH students are also expected to understand that the information generated is not always accurate and, in some cases, propagates discrimination and bias. You must stay abreast of AI best practices, and the changing risks and benefits, and monitor AI for biases and risks for vulnerable populations and underrepresented groups.
Within GPPH, using AI-generated content in academic work falls under our academic integrity policies. All instructors will continue to use our AI detection software for each assignment submitted so it will be flagged.
Using any AI tool in your work must be acknowledged in-text every time it is used, not in your list of references. You will include a summary of what the AI tool was used to do, followed by the AI tool brand name, version/extension #, manufacturer/owner, and date used in parentheses.
For example,
Themes from participant responses were identified using a chatbot session (ChatGPT, model GPT-4, OpenAI, May 17, 2024).
Failure to acknowledge the inclusion of AI-generated content in any work submitted violates our academic integrity policies and will be considered an infraction with the associated penalties for plagiarism as outlined in the Student Handbook.
The Student Orientation has a module "Artificial Intelligence Literacy for Students", please refer to this module for more information about navigating the use of AI.
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 Enrollment and Retention Counselor if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. Tuition charges may still apply. Students are strongly urged to consult with Student Financial Services, as course withdrawals may affect financial aid or Veterans benefits.
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.