Practicum Evaluations: Getting Honest Feedback, Not Praise
An evaluation with every box marked 'exceeds expectations' tells you nothing. How to draw honest, specific feedback from an overly kind preceptor.
Supervisor Relationships Articles for MPH Students
11 articles to help with your MPH practicum
Your preceptor shapes the entire practicum experience, and the relationship is rarely simple: absent mentorship, overworked supervisors, personality clashes, feedback that never comes, and mid-practicum turnover all happen regularly. These articles give MPH students realistic strategies for getting what they need from busy preceptors while remaining professional and evaluation-ready.
Preceptor Turnover Mid-Practicum
When your preceptor leaves mid-practicum, your plans feel upended. Follow these steps to rebuild support and protect your hours and objectives.
Difficult Conversations About Problems
Something's wrong at your practicum but you dread raising it. How to address problems with your preceptor without damaging a relationship you need.
Practicum Mentorship Gap: Finding Career Guidance Elsewhere
Your preceptor talks deadlines, never your career. How to spark real mentoring conversations and build guidance from multiple sources instead.
Navigating Office Politics at Your Practicum Site
The org chart hides who really holds influence at your practicum site. How to read workplace politics as an outsider and position yourself wisely.
Personality Clashes with Supervisors
When you and your preceptor just don't click, every day feels harder. Diagnose the friction and adapt your approach without losing yourself.
The Overworked Preceptor Dilemma
Cancelled meetings and unanswered emails from a stretched-thin preceptor? Get strategies to protect your learning when supervision falls short.
Preceptor Feedback That Never Comes: Escaping the Vacuum
Weeks of work and all you hear is 'looks good'? Stop waiting in the feedback vacuum and learn to draw specific, useful input from a busy preceptor.
The Fear of Asking Questions at Your Practicum
Afraid asking questions will expose what you don't know? Strategic questioning actually builds credibility. Here's how to ask without looking lost.
Mismatched Expectations From Day One of Practicum
You expected community assessments; your preceptor planned spreadsheet updates. How a day-one expectations conversation prevents months of friction.
The Invisible Preceptor Problem: Too Busy to Supervise
Your preceptor cancels meetings and ignores emails, leaving you unsupervised. How to secure minimal viable guidance and structure your own learning.
Quick answers
- How do I prepare for a practicum interview?
Research the organization, prepare two or three stories showing relevant skills, know your schedule and program requirements, and bring questions of your own.
- What is a practicum learning agreement?
It is a written plan signed by you, your preceptor, and your program that sets your objectives, projects, deliverables, competencies, schedule, and supervision.
- What should I do before my practicum starts?
Finish clearances and trainings early, map every required form and deadline, draft your objectives, and plan a day-one expectations talk with your preceptor.
- What happens in the first week of practicum?
Expect orientation, account setup, trainings, introductions, and a slow start on real work. Use the quiet time to learn how the site runs and ask questions.
- How do I get my preceptor to sign my hour logs?
Make signing easy: send a clean, complete log on a regular schedule, give a clear deadline, and start multi-signature forms three weeks before they are due.
- How do I prepare for my midpoint evaluation?
Review progress on each learning objective, total your hours, gather two or three examples per objective, and bring honest challenges with a plan to adjust.
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