BALTIMORE COMMUNITY PRACTICUM COURSE (BCP)
The Baltimore Community Practicum course is a field experience in Public Health Practice and Training. It is a non-paid, for-credit, field experience that allows you to apply your public health skills "at the elbow" of experienced public health practitioners. You must apply and be accepted prior to registering for the appropriate academic credits. Placements are part-time placements for 1 to 2 half-days per week with local public health agencies, community-based organizations, and health departments. Students must apply for the course during the JHSPH 1st term. For the 2011-2012 academic year, the application deadline is Monday, September 12, 2011 at 5 pm. Students must be able to participate in the course and field placement throughout both 2nd and 3rd terms.
To view the syllabus for the Baltimore Community Practicum course, click here.
To review and apply for available internship opportunities through the course, visit: https://apps4.jhsph.edu/POS/search.aspx.
PHASE
PHASE works with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and local health departments. It is open to all graduate students (MHS, MPH, PhD, and DrPH). Students must apply for the program during the JHSPH 1st term. Students must be able to participate in the course and field placements throughout 2nd, 3rd, and 4th terms. For more information regarding PHASE, please visit the PHASE website housed through DHMH. Additionally, feel free to review the Frequently Asked Questions regarding the PHASE program.
To view the syllabus for the PHASE course, click here
To review and apply for available internship opportunities through the course, visit: https://apps4.jhsph.edu/POS/search.aspx.
Q: I am a doctoral / combined-degree / part-time JHSPH student. Can I still apply to these internships?
A: Absolutely! These internships are open to any and all JHSPH graduate students. We encourage you to review the internships and apply to any that are of interest to you!
Q: What are the main differences between the 2 courses?
A: The biggest differences are the length of the internship, the required course seminar, and the placement sites. PHASE internships are largely state and local health department placements, run from 2nd term through 4th term and has a required monthly lunchtime seminar (on the 4th Monday of the month from 12:15 pm - 1:15pm (lunch provided -- room to be determined) on the following dates: Oct 24th - Orientation; Nov 1st; Nov 28th; Jan 30th; Feb 27th; March 26th; and April 23rd. The Baltimore Community Practicum internship placements are largely local community-based organizations and local health departments, run from 2nd term through 3rd term, and has a required weekly Tuesday afternoon seminar from 3:30pm to 4:20pm (with some flexibility with 3rd term scheduling). The first page of this handout gives further explanation. Q: What is covered in the required seminars?
A: Best practices for community-academic partnerships, principles for service-learning and community-based participatory research, history of East Baltimore and the relationship with Johns Hopkins, reflections and lessons from fellow students, civic professionalism, and much more! Q: What if I have a class conflict during the lunchtime seminar (for PHASE) or the weekly Tuesday afternoon seminar (for BCP)?
A: These seminars are required components of the course, so if you have a class conflict and are unable to shift your schedule around to attend the seminars, you will not be able to participate in the course. Contact the professor(s) teaching the course that is in conflict and see if you can work out an alternate arrangement. Unfortunately, we are not able to be flexible with this component of the course, so do take a look at your schedule of classes before applying! Q: What if I really can’t fit the course into my schedule but I still want to do an internship?
A: There are other non-BCP/ PHASE internship and federal work-study opportunities publicized regularly through SOURCE’s weekly service Scoop (sent out every Tuesday) and other listsservs on campus. Make sure you are subscribed to the weekly service Scoop so you are informed of internships that come up throughout the year! To subscribe, simply send a blank email to source@jhsph.edu with “Subscribe” in the subject line. Q: I’ve looked through all the internships but so many look interesting to me. Is there a limit to how many I can apply to? What if I’m only interested in 1 internship – does only selecting 1 internship lower my chances of getting accepted?
A: There is no limit to the number of internships to which you may apply. However, be sure to only select the internships that you would be willing to accept, and be mindful that you will need to write a brief (not more than 500 words!) statement of interest for each internship you select. Two important factors to keep in mind are: (1) the number of hours the internship requires (some may require evening and/or weekend hours – these are mentioned in the search engine), and (2) transportation: can you conveniently travel to the internship for your on-site hours? The SurveyMonkey application has “map-it” links that will show you the internship location – use the “get directions” feature on Googlemaps to navigate from home or school to make sure you are able to travel to the site (via public transportation, car, or on foot). We review all applications and resumes/ CVs as fairly as possible, and will do our best to accommodate your top choice(s), which you can indicate in your statements. However, each year, there are always a few internships that seem to draw many more students than others. So, while selecting only 1 internship may end up working out in the end, we cannot make any guarantees, especially if that internship happens to be the most popular one! Some flexibility always gives more room for options. Q: What sorts of questions are asked in the internship application?
A: We ask you to tell us a bit about yourself – your skills, previous coursework, why you are interested in the particular internship(s) you selected, and what you would like to learn from the experience. We also require you to email us a copy of your up-to-date resume/ CV. Don’t wait until the last minute – there are 38 internships to choose from this year! The second page of this handout lists all the questions in the SurveyMonkey application
Q: What are the internships like? Can I work from home?
A: The internships vary widely. Some will have you splitting your time and working on a variety of projects and tasks while others might only have you working on one project. All the internships offer a variety of opportunity to develop and/or build on a number of public health competencies that range from communications to evaluation to survey development to outreach (and the list continues). You can use the search engine to search by public health practice activity to get a feel for the internships that match your interests. Each internship in the database has been thoroughly put together, but there is definitely room for some flexibility once you have been matched with the internship. Based on your skills, knowledge, and interests, you can communicate with your preceptor about the specifics of the project and how both parties can maximize the experience. The internships require a minimum of 4-5 hours (or 1 half-day) per week ON-SITE and in the field, and preceptors are required to have work space accommodations for their intern. Some internships will require more hours per week than others, and this can be viewed in the internship search engine as well. Do not apply to an internship if you might not be able to juggle the time commitment. Q: Do I have to work during the January Intersession break?
A: No, you are not required to work during the January Intersession break. If you are around during the break and wish to work on your internship between 2nd and 3rd terms, you are definitely welcome to discuss this with you preceptor, but it is not required. Q: How do the academic credits work?
A: You register for 1 credit per term for the seminar portion of the course, and 1 credit per 4 hours of on-site work you complete per term, for a total of a minimum of 2 credits per term. So, for example, a BCP student who is accepted for an internship that requires 4hrs/ wk of on-site work (1 half-day) will register for 2 credits 2nd term, and 2 credits 3rd term, while a PHASE student who is accepted for an internship that requires 8hrs/ wk of on-site work (1 full day) will register for 3 credits 2nd term through 4th term (1 credit each term for the seminar, plus 2 work-credits for the 8hrs/ wk). It is rare that a full-time student is able to work more than 8hrs/ wk (1 full day) given their other course load. Q: How competitive are the internships? I have limited public health practice / population-based health experience – will this affect my application?
A: Students apply for these internships for many reasons and come with a variety of prior experience and skills. Some are looking to transition into a new area, while others are looking to continue doing work that is familiar to them. We try to find the best fit between internship/ preceptor and student, so an eager student with a strong desire to learn will still be considered for an interview! Q: I am an MPH student who is required to do a practicum to graduate. Do I have to take one of these courses?
A: BCP and PHASE are only 2 of a plethora of ways an MPH student can fulfill the practicum requirement. We try our best to accommodate all students, but know that there are not the only ways to fulfill that requirement. Refer to p.48 in the MPH Program Manual for more details and contact Janet Carn (jcarn@jhsph.edu) or Tara Glickman (tglickma@jhsph.edu) if you have more questions specific to the MPH practicum requirement. Q: I am interested in the CBPH (Community-Based Public Health) Certificate. Do I still need to take the Baltimore Community Practicum course if I already have some prior population-based health experience? Can I take PHASE instead of the Baltimore Community Practicum course to fulfill the certificate requirement?
A: Yes, you must take the BCP course in order to fulfill requirements for the CBPH certificate, even if you might have already had prior population-health experience. Q: I would like to set up my own internship instead. What are my options?
A: Pre-identified internships require the least amount of up-front legwork on the part of both the student and the community, so we encourage students to plug in to internships that have already been developed. Another place to look for possible internships is through faculty at the school. Speak with your department faculty to find out which faculty members might be looking for additional students for their research projects. You may be able to register for “special studies” credits by doing an internship with a faculty member. You are encouraged to set up a one-on-one appointment with SOURCE staff so we might better assist you in finding an opportunity that meets your needs as well as those of the community (Simply email SOURCE at source@jhsph.edu with your interest and a few dates/times that work for you). Q: I am an MPH student and some people tell me it’s never too early to start thinking about capstone ideas. Can I use BCP or PHASE as a starting point?
A: BCP and PHASE have served as springboards for many capstone and theses projects over the years. Many of the BCP internship projects can be extended through 4th term to coincide with capstone activities. Q: What happens after I submit the online application?
A: After submitting the online application and a resume/ CV, we will review them and refer you to around 3 sites for interview if you qualify for the course. You will then be responsible for contacting the prospective preceptor(s) for an in-person or phone interview during the weeks of Sept. 19 through Oct. 5. During this process, both students and preceptors will send us feedback on their preferences. There will be a second round of application review, taking into account feedback from the interview process in order to make a final match. Pending student demand, there could be a second round of internship placements/ interviews, but all final placements will be made in time for you to register for the courses during add/ drop period for 2nd term. Q: I won’t be able to make it to the Info Session on Wednesday, August 31st in Sheldon Hall - Room W1214 from 12 noon - 1:30 pm, is it possible to get a copy of the slides?
A: Sure – here’s a link to download them. Q: Who do I contact if I still have an unanswered question?
A: You can contact Jennifer Le at jle@jhsph.edu with any additional questions you might have! We look forward to assisting you.
These programs are sponsored in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DHMH), the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), SOURCE (Student Outreach Resource Center), Maryland Association of County Health Officers (MACHO), MidAtlantic Public Health Training Center (MAPHTC), and a variety of community-based organizations (CBOs) and local health departments (LHDs). We are grateful for their support!
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