College of Public Health Guidebooks

DrPH Applied Practice Experiences

DrPH Applied Practice Experiences (APE)

All DrPH students will engage in one or more practice-based experiences. The applied practice experiences (APE) should develop the student’s advanced practice and leadership skills and knowledge through completion of meaningful projects for public health organizations, including government, non-government, non-profit, industrial, and for-profit settings. These can include the student’s own work setting, or another setting that the student selects, and the student must identify a mentor in the organization who will guide the student during these experiences.


 Directions and Forms

APE Process Overview

COPH FORM: DrPH Applied Practice Experience Form

Purpose & Setting: All DrPH students will engage in one or more practice-based experiences. The applied practice experiences should develop the student’s advanced practice and leadership skills and knowledge through completion of meaningful projects for public health organizations, including government, non-government, non-profit, industrial, and for-profit settings. These can include the student’s own work setting, or another setting that the student selects, and the student must identify a mentor in the organization who will guide the student during these experiences. Please see the section on Practice-Based Mentors.

Process: While attending each DrPH Institute, the student will start a proposal for an applied practice experience. The student will then work with their faculty advisor and an identified mentor to develop a complete proposal for the competencies, learning objectives, activities, and deliverables required for each applied practice experience. The final proposal must be approved by the student, the faculty advisor, the mentor, and the DrPH Director.

Competencies: The student is expected to achieve demonstrated growth in at least five of the DrPH competencies throughout the series of practice experiences, and at least one competency must relate to leadership or management. The student will identify the targeted competencies for each applied practice experience in their proposal, drawn from the competencies specified in the list of DrPH Courses and Competencies for their concentration. The experiences proposed to meet these competencies can be done in a single large project, or several smaller projects, and can be spread across multiple semesters; this depends on the objectives, activities, and deliverables of each practice experience.

Learning Objectives: In consultation with the faculty advisor and mentor, the student will identify the learning goals for the applied practice experiences based on the competencies targeted. The student will honestly assess their experience and build upon any limitations to enhance the skills and knowledge needed as an advanced professional, or to inform the doctoral project the student would like to pursue. Carefully considering the additional experiences needed to round out the student’s skills and practical knowledge is primary, along with ensuring that opportunities are included to enhance leadership skills.

Activities: Details of the practice activities are developed and agreed to jointly by the student, mentor, and faculty advisor. This represents the heart of the three-way agreement that is integral to developing practice experience. It is necessary to describe the specific actions, projects, processes, and tasks that will allow the student to meet the chosen competencies and objectives. Activities should take the form of statements that begin with action verbs, that are specific, measurable, and time-limited. The student should also state the expected dates for involvement in and completion of the activities, including a temporal view of the entire lifetime of each proposed activity.

Deliverables: The proposal must include deliverables that both meet the needs of the organization, and demonstrate reflection on development of the stated competencies and fulfillment of the learning objectives. This may require more than one deliverable (e.g., the completed project for the organization plus a reflection on competencies and learning objectives achieved). The student should consider what type of deliverables are appropriate for the organization, whether a report on activities performed, a summary of data collected and analyzed, tests from training sessions, etc.

Evaluation: The practice site mentor provides guidance on an ongoing basis, and assists the student with the project deliverables as needed. The student will submit the final deliverables to the faculty advisor, who will provide a final evaluation of the quality and achievement of the deliverables, and whether the student met the stated learning objectives. The deliverables, reflection paper, and signed evaluation must also be submitted to the DrPH Director for final review and approval. 

 Courses and Competencies

Here is the table of courses and competencies for each concentration in the DrPH. You must use the competency list that applies to your concentration for your APE requirement. At present there is only one concentration: Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health, that is effective in Fall 2017. We are also developing a second concentration: Public Health Laboratory Science and Practice, which will be submitted for Fall 2018 approval. We will post those documents as they become available. Students who are admitted to a particular catalog year can select a different catalog year later on, and may request to change their concentration as concentrations become available. To change their concentration, students must complete and submit the USF Change of Graduate Concentration form to cophdoctoral@usf.edu.


 Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health

DrPH Courses and Competencies 2017  


 DrPH Courses and Competencies:  Advanced Practice Leadership in Public Health Fall 2017

COURSES (22 credits)

F=CEPH FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES                                                   

C=APL CONCENTRATION COMPETENCIES

Cluster 1: Community Engagement

PHC 7103

Transforming PH Practice

3 credits

F6. Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values and potential contributions from multiple professions and systems in addressing public health problems

F9. Promote equity within public health programs, policies and systems

F14. Design a system-level intervention to address a public health issue

F17. Propose interprofessional team approaches to improving public health

C1. Demonstrate a commitment to public health professional values

C2. Demonstrate holistic thinking ability and understanding of the inter-connectivity of system elements

PHC 7932

Policy & Advocacy

1 credit

F5. Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behavior and policies

F16. Integrate scientific information, legal and regulatory approaches, ethical frameworks and varied stakeholder interests in policy development and analysis

PHC 7466

Health Disparities/ Cultural Competency

1 credit

F4. Propose strategies for health improvement and elimination of health inequities by organizing stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, community leaders and other partners

F10. Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies and systems

Cluster 2: Leadership and Management

PHC 7119

Org Behavior in PH Systems

3 credits

F7. Create a strategic plan

F8. Facilitate shared decision making through negotiation and consensus-building methods

F9. Create organizational change strategies

F12. Propose human, fiscal and other resources to achieve a strategic goal

F13. Cultivate new resources and revenue streams to achieve a strategic goal

F17. Propose interprofessional team approaches to improving public health

PHC 7149

Practical Applications II: Public Health Leadership

1 credit

F11. Assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses in leadership capacities, including cultural proficiency

C3. Influence others to achieve high standards of performance and accountability

Cluster 3: Communication and Education

PHC 7934

Scholarly Writing in Health Sciences

3 credits

F5. Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behavior and policies

C5. Communicate public health research, policy, or practice in a scholarly paper suitable for publication in a recognized journal

PHC 7504

Innovative Education in Public Health

1 credit

F18. Assess an audience’s knowledge and learning needs

F19. Deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational or community settings

F20. Use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices

Cluster 4: Evidence-Informed Public Health

PHC 6411

Introduction to Social Marketing

3 credits

C6. Use concepts and methods from social and behavioral sciences in the design and implementation of community health research and intervention programs

PHC 7154

Evidence-Informed

PH 1

3 credits

F1. Explain qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and policy analysis research and evaluation methods to address health issues at multiple (individual, group, organization, community and population) levels

F3. Explain the use and limitations of surveillance systems and national surveys in assessing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programs and to address a population’s health

PHC 7156

Evidence-Informed

PH 2

3 credits

F2. Design a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, policy analysis or evaluation project to address a public health issue

F6. Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values and potential contributions from multiple professions and systems in addressing public health problems

F15. Integrate knowledge of cultural values and practices in the design of public health policies and programs

C4. Translate research-informed approaches to public health practice





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