THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA and THE MONTANA PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION STUDENT PRACTICUM PROGRAM WHAT IS A PRACTICUM? Gain a deeper understandingpublic health efforts of practicum sites Practicum benefits For the Student: Apply public health skills in a real-world setting. Gain confidence in time management and effective communication. Enhance teamwork and networking capabilities. For the Public Health Department: Assistance with projects. Mentoring and coaching opportunities. Prepare for accreditation. A practicum provides an opportunity for public health students to: Explore areas of interest . Observe and learn from leaders in the field. Gain a deeper understanding of the problems, policies, programs, and processes that occur in the practice of public health. Make a positive impact on the public health efforts of practicum sites. Practicum sites are a variety of organizations from local and state health departments to national and international nongovernmental agencies. background Learning objectives While each practicum will be topic‐driven and hence different, the objectives and format will generally be the same. The learning objectives of the Public Health practicum are aimed at providing students the following opportunities: • Apply and test public health concepts and theories in practice settings; • Implement one or more of the ten essential services of public health; • Utilize problem‐solving skills to assess and analyze public health issues; • Propose and, to the extent possible, implement effective intervention strategies; • Justify the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork to address public health problems; • Learn to function successfully as a public health professional in a work setting. MPHA and Montana Department Of Health and Human Services is now offering a $1000 stipend for MPH students who successfully complete their practicum projects! The University of Montana School of Public and Community Health Sciences requires that Masters of Public Health (MPH) students participate in a 200hr practicum project related to public health. To assist in this effort, the Montana Public Health Association (MPHA) has partnered with the University of Montana to create a public health practicum program. MPH students are matched with local MT public health departments which allows for an opportunity to apply theory learned during MPH coursework outside of a typical classroom setting. A goal of the experience is that the project will mutually benefit both student and department in addition to meeting the MPH Capstone requirement. Application process Additional information Public health departments first submit project requests to MPHA which then facilitates public health-related tasks to be completed by the MPH candidate. At the project’s conclusion, students are assessed on demonstration of meeting public health objectives and competencies in addition to working with site mentors in a professional manner. MPH student first consult with their academic advisors prior to signing practicum agreements. Practicum learning objectives are decided based on the scope of the project. View a listing of practicum topics, summaries, and MPH Candidate’s Practicum testimonials at: http://health.umt.edu/publichealth/3current-students/mphcapstones/201630practicumlist.pdf Current MPH Practicum opportunities are listed at: http://health.umt.edu/publichealth/3current-students/Practicum%20Opportunities.php For Additional Information Please Contact: Lora Wier, MPHA Executive Director lwier@3rivers.net  University Of Montana Internship Services: (406) 243-2815. Poster created by Angela Dusko, MPH Candidate