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The internship is intended to broaden students' public health perspectives and provide experience in applying information learned in courses. This course is designed to integrate practical experience in the field of public health with theory and content learned in didactic courses. The student is expected to write a report demonstrating the integration of classroom experience with the on-site internship (proposal form enclosed). This requirement is utilized to assist the student in developing a broader perspective on the work s/he is doing. In addition, the preceptor and the student should both have a sense that the internship activities are contributing to the preceptor’s work.
Our program recommends that MPH students contact a state or county health department or some other health agency to arrange the internship experience. Many of our students have been closely involved with epidemiologists in a variety of settings and have undertaken the analysis of diverse datasets under the guidance of those mentors/preceptors. Internship sites are listed at
http://www.ohsu.edu/public-health/education/mph/intern_sites.doc
*** ATTENTION *** Any internship that will take place in an off campus site requires completion of an “off campus authorization,” which can be completed online: http://ozone.ohsu.edu/risk/oca. This authorization protects the student and the internship site with liability insurance.
Preceptors should provide close supervision and maintain frequent contact with the student. There should be a focus on how a team and the preceptor work and the rewards of doing that work. This is an opportunity for students to explore potential career paths in public health.
Student projects could involve a wide range of tasks, from developing information regarding available services to determining the effectiveness of protocols, therapies, or a consulting service. They could be involved in coding, sorting records, observing, describing projects, analyzing data, and preparing case reports. Students may assist with outbreak investigations or be involved in developing health policy through local or state agencies.
All students participating in this experience will have completed at least Epidemiology I and Biostatistics 1. The faculty strongly recommends taking Epidemiology II and Biostatistics 2 as well before participating in the internship.
Before registering for the internship placement, the student will
complete the Internship Proposal form that is to be signed by the
internship preceptor, the student's advisor, and Katie Riley, the
Epidemiology and Biostatistics Track Director.
At the end of the experience, the student will submit a project report to the preceptor describing the experience and what the student has gained from it. The preceptor evaluates the paper and, based upon the student's performance during the field experience and the report, the preceptor will assign an internship grade of Pass/Fail. The preceptor will send a copy of the internship grade and the report to the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Track Director. This recommendation can be sent via email.
Depending upon the student and the nature of the placement, the student may be interested in doing further work at the placement site that might develop into a thesis project.
The time to credit ratio is 36 hours of internship experience earns one course credit. MPH students need a minimum of 3, and a maximum of 6, internship credits.
If the student is located at DHS, the student must comply with the following expectations (students are already in compliance with #2):
1. Abide by the policies, procedures, practices, rules and regulations of DHS which are in effect when Trainee is at the DHS, as identified by the DHS to OHSU;
2. Provide proof of up-to-date immunications of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Rubella, Rubeola, Hepatitis B or proof of prior disease, yearly proof of tuberculin skin tests and/or chest x-rays, CPR certification and Blodborne Pathogen training;
3. Keep in confidence any and all privileged information concerning clients of the DHS, and upon request to provide proof of certification in HIPAA training at OHSU;
4. Confer with Trainee's Preceptor regarding all client findings, interventions, and patient managemetn plans;
5. Abide by all instruction and supervised oversight of the Preceptor; and
6. Not assume the responsibility, position, or authority of DHS' qualified clinical staff.
If problems or issues arise that are barriers to achieving your learning objectives for the internship/organizational experience, discuss them with preceptor first. Then, if problems or issues cannot be resolved, discuss them with faculty advisor. Address problems early.
Requests for waivers can be made in writing and sent to the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Track Director. Given the goal to increase student skills and develop new insights into public health, the internship requirement is rarely waived. Students with extensive public health experience, such as in a state or county health department, are expected to seek an alternate type of challenge in another area, such as health policy, health care systems research, etc. A student with substantial research experience in an academic setting will be strongly encouraged to seek field experience in a health department or other agency that will broaden the student's horizons in public health.
Click here
to download a packet of information including the Internship Guidelines,
Field Experience Minimum Requirements, Internship Proposal form,
and Internship Report form.
PHPM 504 Internship Orientation
posted 10/14/08:
Please see description below. If you are interested in this internship, please contact Todd Bratton at tbratton.health@cowlitz.org
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe and the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) have a unique internship opportunity for one OHSU student in the Master of Public Health Program.
The selected student will be working on a project to identify the health status and health needs of Cowlitz Indian Tribal Members. The majority of the student’s time will be spent revising and/or developing mail surveys which will capture the health status and needs of the tribal members. The surveys will be developed in a manner that allows for collected information to be compared to national data.
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, in Washington State, was federally-recognized in 2002. The Tribe has no reservation, but there are nearly 3700 enrolled members dispersed throughout the Northwest and beyond. A new Tribal Clinic is under construction and will open in late summer, 2009. The Tribe’s Health and Human Services Department programs include an Ambulatory Medical Clinic, Chemical Dependency services, Vocational Rehabilitation, Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence advocacy and services, Tobacco Prevention, Diabetes Education, Contract Health Services, and Elders, Senior Nutrition and Caregiver support services.
Project Goal:
Provide accurate data for the Tribal Health and Human Services Department to use in planning and delivery of health services.
Project Objectives:
1. Quantify health status of enrolled Cowlitz Indian Tribal Members
2. Determine the health needs of Cowlitz Indian Tribal Members residing in the seven- county Contract Health Service delivery area.
Project Activities for Intern:
1. Revise and reformat existing comprehensive survey into separate health needs and health status questionnaires (including instruction sheets) which will capture quantifiable, comparable data.
2. Prepare and print survey instruments for mail-out, including preparation of confidential return envelopes.
Internship Requirements:
1. Be an enrolled student in the OHSU MPH program.
2. Consult with project participants on an ongoing manner as necessary.
3. Follow Policies, Procedures, and other applicable rules of the NPAIHB, OHSU, and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe.
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Health and Human Services Department will provide a written evaluation of the Internship.
posted 8/21/08:
Community Profile Intern
posted 7/11/08:
Justin Denny, a former MPH student and residency director at OHSU, is currently working for WHO in Vientiane, Laos. He is keen to hear from anyone from the OHSU/PSU MPH world should they have experience with and an interest in a three to four month work assignment with WHO to work with him.
The work includes assisting with:
1. Pandemic Planning Activities
-Assistance with coordination and conducting of interviews of provincial Lao health authorities in order to add content to the Lao national avian influenza plan.
-Assistance with the introduction and role out of the Lao national plan to provinces via regional workshops (via preparing, conducting and debriefing)
2. Communicable Disease Surveillance Activities
- Assistance with a Microsoft Access based communicable disease data entry system
- To assist with dengue (and other infection) outbreak data & report generation and analysis
More details:
- Duration 3-4 months, start date in Fall (September would be ideal)
- Looking for a public health background (international health experience a bonus)
- Basic knowledge of statistics/ computer savy
- Round trip flights will be included (and daily stipend paid ~ $3,000/month)
Anyone who is interested, please send Justin your CV (dennyjd@gmail.com)
posted 7/10/08: Student Research Assistant: State of Black America Report
The Urban League of Portland is seeking a Student Research Assistant.
Responsible To: The State of Black Oregon Advisory Committee
Purpose: The Student Research Assistant will participate in the design, execution, analysis and evaluation of the State of Black Oregon report findings; collate data from existing data sources, such as census data, state and county data, coordinate written summaries and submissions The State of Black Oregon is a report on the disparities between African Americans and the majority population based on key social and economic indicators. The report in Oregon follows the National Urban League's Equality Index, measuring the relative status of black versus white Oregonians in health, education, economics (employment, business, homeownership), criminal justice and civic engagement. It may also include comparisons over a designated period. The State of Black Oregon will contain recommendations for policy changes and practice across local, state and federal authorities, and the private sector. The State of Black Oregon is scheduled to be published in October 2008.
Required abilities and dispositions:
- High personal motivation, self-management, and detail-orientation; ability to take responsibility in meeting deadlines and making progress without direct supervision.
- Strong spoken and written communications skills.
- Capacity and will to learn new software, research methods, and work routines quickly,
- Motivation to engage in and manage a wide range of intellectual and physical work, ranging from organizing case studies to analyzing proposed data-collection designs.
- Ability to share responsibilities and rewards with a networked team of coworkers, Preferred additional qualities:
- Strong existing computer skills with Microsoft Office (especially Excel), and general Internet and electronic communications.
- Articulate and tactful communications skills; readiness to meet and work directly with partners and clients.
- Junior or senior standing in the fall, or graduate student with an interest in social policy, sociology, urban studies, or black studies. Responsibilities:
- Handle and protect confidential and sensitive data with integrity. o Manage data collection projects, enter and retrieve data, identifying appropriate data sources, learn and use technology to do these tasks more efficiently.
- Assist staff and clients in the design, execution and evaluation of the research project, including literature reviews, surveys, focus groups, data integration and analysis.
- Produce written, tabular and visual materials for research reports and presentations.
Position details: This is an unpaid position; a per diem stipend will be available. Researcher will be acknowledged in the authorship credits. The location of the project is at the Urban League of Portland, 10 N. Russell Street, Portland, OR 97227; some short distance travel might be required. Please apply to Midge Purcell, 10 N. Russell Street, Portland ,OR 97227. Telephone: 503 280 2626. email: mpurcell@ulpdx.org or online at http://www.ulpdx.org
posted 5/30/08:
Graduate Student Research Seed Grant on Problem Gambling
posted 5/15/08:
Invitation to MD or MPH students for a summer work project.
Mid-Valley IPA is a non-profit 501-C3 organization that manages the Oregon Health Plan enrollees for Marion and Polk counties.
Over the past several years, MVIPA has developed a number of community projects which in aggregate constitute a social network of services to coordinate care, and improve communication, between various sites of service (PCP office, Hospital, Home, and Long-term Care Facility).
These projects represent ideal subjects for a Thesis. Some have been in place long enough to have accumulated sufficient data for biostatistical analysis, others are fairly recent but offer an opportunity for a description of program development or design of outcomes data measurement.
The populations to whom these programs are directed:
· Young pregnant mothers with chemical dependency.
· Frail Medicare/Medicaid patients, at-home or, resident in long-term care facilities without adequate access to primary care.
· Medicare enrollees with multiple chronic conditions enrolled in the Stanford "Living Healthy" chronic care self-management program.
· Patients with chronic pain and co-occurring mental ill-health and/or chemical dependency enrolled in an evaluation and cognitive behavioral treatment program.
Students interested in these opportunities could perform most of the work at-home or at OHSU. The out-of-town commitment would be limited to that required to familiarize themselves with the program facilitators and sites of service.
Students would be employed as individual contractors to Mid-Valley IPA at a generous hourly rate.
Contact:
David Balmer MD, MPH, FACPM
Medical Director MVIPA
dbalmer@mvipa.org
(503) 587 5120
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