Course Syllabus
2013 - 2014

Course Description: This is a Credit/No Credit course in which you will have the opportunity to apply the knowledges and skills you have been developing under controlled conditions in the field. With help and guidance from faculty and staff, you will identify and apply for an appropriate Environmental Health internship. Appropriate internships may be with a local, state or federal public health or an environmental protection agency, a not-for-profit organization or a private sector company, in which the intern will gain:

Supervised application of public health practices and/or environmental control techniques;

Supervised observation and experience in environmental health program planning; and,

Training in the utilization of community resources.

Course Purpose:  The field internship is intended to provide students, majoring in environmental health, with an opportunity to use the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in an actual work setting.  It is intended to be both practical and educational.  You will be expected to devote your full time efforts to the internship in order to gain an understanding of, and an appreciation for, the multiplicity of technical, legal, social, economic, and political factors which impinge upon the planning, development and implementation of environmental health programs to understand and help resolve community problems.

Learning Objectives:  By the end of this internship, you should:

1. Be able to apply the theoretical concepts of the classroom to the realities of the field;

2. Be able to communicate with, and work with, the public and other health professionals;

3. Be able to identify a problem, gather data, and propose alternative solutions to the problem with an understanding of the health, economic, social, legal, and political implications of each alternative;

4. Be able to observe and evaluate conditions and situations likely to have an adverse effect on human health and well-being;

5. Be able to relate the role of environmental sanitation to other public health and environmental protection programs, and to community values, demands and priorities; and,

6. Understand, and be able to describe, the legal and political processes, including, but not limited to, the role of the county commissioners, local and state boards of health, writing rules and regulations, enforcement techniques and the basic rights of citizens.
 

Course Requirements:

 
1.  Duration: The internship is a minimum ten-week (400 hours) practicum in which you will be assigned to an agency full time for the purpose of being trained through observations and instruction, in the conduct of environmental health programs in the community.
 
  a. Each student will be assigned to a local, state, federal or private agency.  Every attempt will be made to find an assignment which is mutually agreeable to you and to the agency involved, however, the Department of Environmental Health has no control over the number or location of the agencies which will accept our students in any given quarter.

 b. The field training or internship may be taken any academic quarter, although most students enroll in the courses during Summer Quarter.  The field training normally begins on the first day of the quarter and ends upon the completion of ten full weeks of training, unless other arrangements are agreed upon between the student and his/her agency supervisor and approved in advance by the course coordinator.


2.  Paid vs. Unpaid Internships:  Due to circumstances over which we have no control most internships are unpaid, however, some organizations have been able to provide our students with some financial assistance to help offset the expenses involved.  Again, the Department has no control over either the amount or the availability of these funds.  We will try to accommodate the special needs of each students as much as practicable, but can not provide any assurance as to whether the agency to which you will be assigned will have funds available, or if they do, as to the amount of those funds.

3.  Academic Credit:  You will be assigned a course grade (CR/NC) based on your performance in the work situation.

  a. Each student is to maintain a log book recording the major work activities in which they were engaged, and prepare progress reports as appropriate.  These may be reviewed by the course preceptor during the course of the internship period and are to be turned in at the end of the internship.

 b. Each student is to complete the Mid-Term Report form (attached) and submit it to the course preceptor at the end of the 4th week of the quarter, i.e., it should be mailed to the course preceptor during the 5th week of the quarter so that he has time to contact you and arrange for a field visit with you and your supervisor.

 c. Credit for the field practice will be granted only when the following have been received by the course preceptor.
  (1) An evaluation of the student's performance completed by his or her field supervisor.  (An evaluation form will be provided to your supervisor at the beginning of the internship.)

  (2) A mide-term progress report.  (See the forms section of this web-site for a downloadable template for your report.)

  (3) A written summary report of the student's activities during the field practice to which the log book is to be attached. The written report should be typed (double spaced), approximately 10-15 pages in length, and present a synopsis of the student's work experiences and personal observations during his/her internship, including the following:

• the organization of the agency or organization (and your place in it);
• a brief description of the nature, scope and appropriateness each of the programs or major activities in which the student either participated or was able to observe departmental activities;
• the effectiveness of the agency or organization in (1) identifying the major environmental health problems within its jurisdiction, (2) developing programs to address these needs, and (3) communicating critical information to other involved professionals, their elected officials, the media and the public (this may be a little problematic for students working in a health care or laboratory setting with limited community contact, however you should consider the extent to which the activities in which you have been engaged address one or more environmental health issues or problems and how it contributes to their prevention or control); and finally,
• the degree to which your coursework prepared you for the duties and activities assigned.


  d. All students are encouraged to work on a significant, independent project of value to the agency.  If you are involved with such project for the agency, attach a copy of the final report or product (or a written description) of the project to your final report for the course.

If you are not able to work on such a project (and not all agencies or organizations are able to supply projects) then you should select the program or activity in which you spent the most time and effort and write a report on it.  This report should include:

* the purpose of the program or activity;
* the statutory or legal authority for the agency to be engaged in this program or activity (if any);
* a description of the activities involved; and,
* the identification of the challenges facing the agency with regard to this program and what they are doing to meet these challenges.




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Course Policies and Guidelines:

1. Each student is responsible for working out an acceptable arrangement for his/her field training with the faculty preceptor for the course, before committing him/herself to a particular internship.

2. Contact the agency at which your field training is to take place in order to schedule a pre-training interview with the person who will serve as your supervisor.  Confirm the date and time on which your field training will begin.

3. This is a variable credit course.  Students should register for ENVH 482 for between 2 and15 credits.  Regardless of the number of credits for which you register, you are responsible for completing the entire 400 hours of the required internship.  Normally, this will be accomplished during a single academic quarter.

4. Maintain the same hours as the environmental health personnel in the assigned agency.  Dress in a manner similar to the personnel and, in effect, function in a role similar to that of a sanitarian.
NOTE:  If your are unavoidably delayed, or must miss a day, call in and notify the supervisor of your assigned agency.

5. Submit a completed mid-term report summarizing your activities to that point and outlining your plans for the rest of the quarter.

6. Complete all agency assigned work, e.g., follow up on field visits or assigned activities involving preparation of reports, follow through on sample reports, or follow up if re-inspections are necessary.  Any activity started is to be completed or is to be in the hands of the agency staff person who is normally responsible for the follow up before terminating the field practice.

7. Conduct yourself in a manner which enhances the productivity of the agency.  Do not hinder or delay the efforts or progress of the agency personnel.

8. If of value to the agency, be involved in an independent activity preferably a field project or study.

9. If the agency permits, function independently and perform services of value to the agency.

10. Utilize your time effectively.  Become familiar with applicable local or state codes, rules and regulations or technical material relevant to your activities.  NEVER waste your time waiting for an assignment.

11. If a problem develops, discuss it first with your agency supervisor, and then if necessary contact your faculty preceptor.