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General Requirements

General Requirements for All: (except Occupational Medicine, Madigan PMR and students applying for a general waiver)
A summary of steps to complete the practicum is included in Appendix B.

The practicum may be taken at any time after the student has completed their first quarter in the program. This allows the student to complete preliminary coursework in the understanding of the core functions of public health (assessment, policy development, and assurance) prior to beginning the fieldwork placement. The practicum project may be undertaken as a single block of time or may be spread over one or more quarters. Recognizing that this is practical experience as opposed to academic coursework, one 40-hour week (FTE) earns one course credit.

Students are required to complete a minimum of 120 hours of practical fieldwork in a public health practice setting. It is 120 hours of fieldwork at/or for the site. The 120 hours does not include technical aspects of the practicum requirements such as completing the Practicum Agreement with the site supervisor and getting the required signatures. The 120 hours does not include the work students need to do to create their poster and written assignment.

All MPH students, (Occupational Medicine, Preventive Medicine (Madigan) and Extended Degree Program, see above) must complete a minimum of three (3) credits, BIOST 595 (Master’s Practicum), EPI 595 (Masters Practicum), ENVH 599 (Field Studies),HSERV 595 (Fieldwork in Community Health), NUTR 595 (Nutritional Sciences Master’s Practicum) and PHG 595 (Public Health Genetics Master's Practicum) to satisfy the MPH practicum requirement. A maximum of 6 credits of practicum may be taken with faculty advisor's approval. Students are required to register for the minimum three (3) credits, 120 hours the first time they register for the practicum.

Blood-borne Pathogens Training
Students will receive blood-borne pathogen training through their departments during their first quarter in the program. Contact your department program coordinator. If your department does not conduct scheduled training, blood-borne pathogens training is held quarterly thorugh the UW Environmental Health and Safety department. Register online, http://www.ehs.washington.edu/pubcookie/pso/bbprform.php, or call (206) 543-7201 to register by phone. Training must be completed before the practicum fieldwork can be started.

HIPAA Training
The American Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a set of rules to be followed by health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. HIPAA took effect on April 14, 2003. In the health care and medical profession, the great challenge that HIPAA has created is the assurance that all patient account handling, billing, and medical records are HIPAA compliant.

Some provisions of the HIPAA involve patient / hospital interaction. For example, patients must be able access their record and correct errors and must be informed of how their personal information will be used. Other provisions involve confidentiality of patient information and documentation of privacy procedures. It is these provisions that have led to regulation-specific software updates, specialist consulting, and in some cases complete overhauls of medical billing and records systems.

Because of the current trends and concerns of confidentiality HIPPAA training is required and must be completed during the first quarter of entry into the MPH program. All students that need HIPAA training can take the online course, a 90-minute training module, through the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC). Contact your department program coordinator to complete the form to get a user id and password to gain access to the training module. The UWMC Compliance Training Website is at: http://hccs.amc.washington.edu/.

Immunizations
All MPH students are required to report to Hall Health, unless the student’s department has arranged to have a special clinic in Health Sciences, to have an immunization review during the first quarter of enrollment. Hall Health will forward a report of immunization status directly to your department/program student coordinator.

Please note: In affiliation agreements between the school and some agencies, students are required to be immunized for measles, mumps, rubella (or have a positive history or titer), hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, varicella, plus TB testing. Please check with the MPH practicum coordinator before you start your practicum to see if you will need the additional immunizations. Also check Appendix D for a listing of agencies with this requirement.

Entry Codes
An entry code is required to register for a practicum courses. The entry code is obtained from the department/program student coordinator. Students should register for the practicum during the registration period for the quarter in which they intend to complete the practicum and associated written assignment and Power Point poster.

Additional (one to three) practicum credits may be added if the field experience exceeds the minimum requirements and the student’s faculty advisor approves. A maximum of six (6) credits may be applied toward the MPH degree. All students (see exception for PCMI students - Question #15 ) are required to have completed the steps below before they will be allowed to register for practicum credit.

  • Washington State Patrol Background Check & Self Disclosure – on file in department
  • Blood-Borne Pathogens Training – provided by the department
  • HIPAA Training – provided by the department
  • Immunizations, complete and up-to-date - Report from Hall Health on file in department
  • MPH Practicum Prerequisites Form – on file in MPH Practicum Office
  • MPH Practicum Agreement – on file in MPH Practicum Office

FOR YOUR INFORMATION -
CAR INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR UW STUDENTS – Office of Risk Management
Your personal insurance is your primary source of liability coverage, and the UW would cover you only if your personal policy is exhausted. You should contact your personal auto liability carrier. Your personal insurance is your only source of coverage for damage to your vehicle. As for rental cars, unless coverage is provided under the State Automobile Rental Agreement, whoever rents the vehicle must accept the CDW offered by the rental company. See UW Operations Manual D14.1, Section 3 for full details. Also, see the Car Insurance Coverage chart - http://www.washington.edu/admin/travel/car.insurance.html

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Please direct all questions regarding the practicum program to:

Rene' M. Lucas, MPH Practicum Coordinator
Dean's Office
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Box 357230
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-7230
(206) 685-8904

© 2001-2007 University of Washington School of Public Health

MPH Practicum Program
Box 357230, Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 685-8904 • fax (206) 543-3813
e-mail rlucas@u.washington.edu

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