CHL5690H: MScCH (FCM) Required Practicum

AGENDA

The MScCH (FCM) required practicum provides an opportunity for learners to apply and reflect on the theory and knowledge gained in coursework by engaging in new academic projects, publications, proposals or program development in their professional settings.

Learners are required to spend a minimum of 160 hours involved in an appropriate practicum to earn the 0.5 FCE credit.

Because the practicum involves the hands-on application of knowledge obtained via coursework, the practicum activities must be new endeavors that are related to either an area of academic core competency1 or one of the Faculty of Medicine’s faculty promotion planks2 to which the learner has been exposed during previous or concurrent MScCH coursework. See Table 1 or references below for specific examples.

1. Harris D. et al. Academic competencies for medical faculty. Family Medicine 2007;39(5):343-350.
2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Academic Promotions Manual 2008-2009.

Practicum Components:

1. Students are strongly recommended to attend the monthly Practicum Sharing Sessions with Dr. Melissa Graham to gain a better understanding of their practicum requirements and to develop strategies to successfully complete their practicum. Student may attend prior to registering for the credit or to having approval of a learning contract/outline. Students should continue to attend while working on their practicum credit.
    
2. Students will develop a learning contract or detailed outline specific to their practicum goals that will explain the proposed steps and final deliverables in detail. This contract/outline must be approved by their Program Director (Dr. Melissa Graham) prior to the student starting their work. The student can spend up to 20 hours of their time log on preparation of their learning contract/outline prior to approval. Students should identify the courses that will formulate the key concept learnings that will be applied during the practicum.
3. The students should identify a practicum field supervisor who is a content expert in their area of work and who will provide operational guidance through the practicum experience. The student should meet with their field supervisor at least monthly and a final evaluation note (letter or email) detailing the students' abilities and project completion success should be included in the final submission. If the field supervisor has a School of Graduate Studies (SGS) appointment with the DLSPH, they may choose to grade the student’s project and submit the final grade to Dr. Graham as a CR or NCR. If the Field Supervisor does not have an SGS appointment, then the project must be submitted to the Program Director for evaluation and marking.
            
4. Throughout the practicum it is essential for learners to reflect on and record their experiences as evidence of purposeful planning and self-evaluation. Reflections often coincide with new learning, revised planning, surprise outcomes, challenges and successes. The student should include a minimum of 3-4 reflections for a 160-hour practicum. The reflections should be no longer than 1-2 pages and should outline a key theme, description of an experience, analysis of lessons learned and the impact on next steps for the project or career application.
    
5. All student must keep an accurate and up to date time log. The program director can ask them for their time log at any time during the practicum to review their progress and plans. The time log should include; date, hours, activity and total hours. Meeting with supervisors, collaborators or stakeholders should be included with names entered under activity.

It is important that you remember to enroll in CHL5690H on ACORN. Though the practicum is listed as a “continuous” course, we recommend that you aim to have the practicum completed and work submitted to the Program Director within 12 months of starting the practicum. The CHL5690H Practicum is graded CR/NCR.

PREREQUISITES

Before beginning a practicum, students should be enrolled in a relevant prerequisite course. The practicum must be approved by the Program Director.