Introduction

Field Practice Objectives and Competencies

At the end of the semester or the completion of the field practice hours, students and their Field Supervisors are required to complete an evaluation of their field practice experience which is designed to assess how successful the experience was at giving students the ability to:

• Distinguish what public health is and is not, and to differentiate public health from personal health care in theory, ethics and in practice, and in terms of legal mandates and funding mechanisms.

• Demonstrate firsthand knowledge of community agencies, organizations or other workplaces in which public health interventions and/or health risk assessments are carried out, including their mission, organizational structure, primary methods used to prevent illness and injury, and any specific populations targeted and unique health risks they present.

• Demonstrate ability to apply principles and methods of the student's GSPH education to a community, workplace or other public health practice environment; this includes ability to apply one or more of the many public health intervention/health risk assessment strategies used to address health determinants at the individual, group, or population level.

• Recognize and describe issues of cultural diversity in public health including health disparities, risk factors and social determinants of health.

• Development of leadership skills and ability to effectively interact with public health professionals, leaders and community members from diverse communities.

• Recognition of professional and ethical standards of behavior appropriate to chosen concentration and opportunities to integrate these behaviors into their field work.

• Describe the many public health careers and lifelong learning options.