University of South Carolina, School of Public Health, Dept. of Health Services Policy and Management

Residencies for the MHA and MPH Degree Programs

Course and Work Requirements | What Makes a Good Residency | Faculty Advisor | Preceptor at work site | Approvals Required | Special Requirements for MHA Residencies | Finding a Location | Proposal | Final Report | Report Format | Exemptions from the Residency
 Approval Forms 

For the forms needed for Proposal approval and Residency completion, download and print this.

In the residency, the student takes a position in an organization involved in public health or the health care system, broadly defined. The student gains general managerial experience within the organization and, in cooperation with the preceptor at the residency site, identifies a specific project to research. The research, besides its direct benefit to the organization, must demonstrate an ability to apply theory to practice. The student writes up this research in a Residency Report that is formally presented to the School of Public Health.

Course and Work Requirements

MHA students take HSPM 797, Management Residency, for 6 hours. MPH students take HSPM 798, Public Health Residency, for 6 hours. Students may take additional residency hours, with Department permission.

MHA students taking all six hours for HSPM 797 in one Fall or Spring semester spend 32 hours/week (4 days) in the facility or agency. MPH students taking all six hours of HSPM 798 in one Fall or Spring semester spend a minimum of 20 hours a week in the facility or agency. Students taking their residency hours during the Summer should expect to devote full-time to their residency. Students employed full-time generally find it feasible to do the residency half-time over two semesters.

Please note that a Graduate Assistantship contract can cover no more than 20 hours per week.

What Makes a Good Residency

The residency requires students to apply and test the theories, skills and knowledge acquired in the academic setting. Practical application of skills and knowledge is an essential part of professional degree programs, offering learning opportunities not available in classrooms. The residency is a planned and supervised learning experience gained through first-hand observations and operational responsibilities in a health services organization. In addition to gaining some breadth of experience within the host organization, students identify and work toward the solution of a specific management problem or policy issue.

The best residency prepares students for employment or advancement in health services policy or management. Good residencies have these characteristics:

  1. Students are challenged to define and/or clarify a management or policy problem in a real world setting and explore appropriate solutions.
  2. Students develop administrative skills and improve self-confidence by participating in management and assisting in multiple projects as assigned.
  3. Preceptors, the on-site supervisors of the residencies, provide students guidance by serving as mentors and by assessing progress and offering professional insight at frequent intervals.
  4. Host institutions benefit from relevant and realistic residency efforts.
  5. Faculty gain assurance of student mastery of theory, management and organizational interpersonal skills.

Faculty Advisor

To supervise the residency, the student has an advisor and a preceptor. The residency advisor may be any faculty member of the Department of Health Services Policy and Management. Advisors not holding ful-time appointments in the Department must be approved by the Chair.

The Faculty Advisor's responsibilities include:

Preceptor

The Preceptor is the person at the residency site who supervises the residency. The preceptor's responsibilities include:

Approvals

Both the Faculty Advisor and the Preceptor must approve the scope and content of the residency project. Both must sign the Residency Proposal and Approval Form no later than two weeks after starting the residency. The Residency Proposal and Approval Form is used as the first page for both the proposal and the final report. Blank Residency Proposal and Approval Forms are available at the Department Office. You can also get a form by printing page 46 of our on-line handbook.

Copies of the final approved residency report will be given to the faculty advisor, the faculty second reader, and the preceptor.  Also, two copies must be given to the Graduate Director for the Department’s archives.  The archive copies must be delivered before the candidate can be cleared for graduation.  This makes six copies total, assuming that the student wants one for himself or herself.

The residency for those in the Gerontology Certificate must focus on the elderly or aging process. It must be approved by the Gerontology Certificate Director.

It is the responsibility of the student to obtain faculty and preceptor signatures on both the proposal and the final report. It is also the student's responsibility to assure that a copy of both the preceptor's student evaluation and the student's evaluation are submitted to the faculty advisor. A grade will not be assigned for the residency AND THE STUDENT CANNOT GRADUATE until the final report and residency evaluation forms have been turned in. 

Special Residency Requirements for MHA Candidates

Halfway through the residency, the MHA student must meet with the faculty advisor, or submit a written mid-term report, to discuss the extent of progress.

MHA students are required to attend a series of four management seminars during the semester of their residencies. The purpose of these one hour seminars is to allow for discussion of the residency experience with other residency students, present their project proposal, present a summary of the final report and evaluate the residency experience.

At the completion of the residency, the student will submit a residency evaluation form which includes a description of the experience gained, the administrative skills developed, appraisal of the applicability of classroom learning to practice, and the strengths and weaknesses of the residency. The Final Report should emphasize the management problem on which the student worked.

Also at the conclusion of the residency, the preceptor will complete a written evaluation of the student's performance during the time of the residency, emphasizing student progress in dealing with the specific management problem(s) undertaken.

Students are assigned a grade of satisfactory (s) or unsatisfactory (u). 

Finding a Location

The residency is the culminating experience for students in health services policy and management. Planning for it should begin as early as possible for the MPH students and at the beginning of the second year for the MHA student. To begin with, entering students have a general idea of why they are interested in becoming a health administrator. As students matriculate, ideas become refined or change due to increased understanding of what the management of health services organizations is all about. The first step in planning the residency is to explore all possible options. Faculty advisors can often help with this. This should begin and proceed as early as possible. As soon as students become aware of the career entry or progression opportunities, they should begin to seek out possible residency sites. Students should explore a range of options, visit sites, talk with graduates and managers in health systems organizations to identify where they would like to work. Again, faculty advisors can frequently assist students, though student initiative is essential here as it is throughout the residency experience.

Numerous state and federal departments and agencies, as well as hospitals and a range of health care organizations, have provided excellent residency locations. Examples include:

Proposal

The best interests of a student are served when a Residency helps to prepare that student for post-graduate employment. In particular, the student should gain the ability to participate effectively and to solve management problems in health care organizations. The problem selected for extensive study and research should be identified in collaboration with the preceptor PRIOR TO STARTING THE RESIDENCY.

The written proposal should be submitted to the preceptor and faculty advisor for review and approval two weeks after starting the residency. For many students, the proposal becomes the first part of the final report. The more work is done early on the proposal, the less has to be done later on the report.

The residency proposal should consist of:

  1. Problem Statement: The proposal should start with a description of the setting of the residency. Then should come a clear statement of the problem to be addressed and a brief rationale for the study. The problem statement and rationale should be followed by a clear description of what learning objectives (student-oriented) and performance objectives (host institution-oriented) are to be achieved, and a specification of desired outcomes. An example might be: "This project will result in recommendations for the number of additional work stations/OR suites/additional personnel needed, based on all clinical and fiscal data, together with explicit professional judgments and preferences of key providers and management."
  2. Initial Literature Review: The purpose of a review of relevant literature is to take advantage of relevant data or other sources of information whether through case studies, the practical implications of empirical research, and/or experts in the field. A good review will improve the quality of the problem statement, the execution and results of the project, and often save time. The review should consist of no less than 10 pages with a minimum of 15 references.
  3. Methods: The methodology section of the proposal should outline what approach will be taken to achieve the results desired. This may include data gathering (primary or secondary data), interviews, case study development and/or other appropriate means.
When the proposal is acceptable to the preceptor and the faculty advisor, they sign the top portion of the Residency Proposal and Approval Form. (As mentioned, this form is available from our Department Office, or by printing page 46 of our on-line handbook.

Final Report

A residency culminates in a typewritten report that follows the format specified below. The residency also requires an oral presentation to faculty, students and others interested in the topic.

As the time for the final reports approaches, students should ask a faculty member, other than the advisor, to be the second reader. The second reader will read the final written report and attend the oral presentation. Final approval of the written and oral reports requires the approval of the faculty advisor, the second Departmental reader, and the preceptor.

Preceptors are strongly encouraged to attend the oral presentation. Oral presentations will not scheduled without signature of the faculty advisor on the Final Approval of Written Report. One week prior to the oral presentation, the student should post announcements of the presentation in the Department and School. The announcement should state the student's name, degree candidacy, title of presentation, date, time, and location.

The report should have a plastic or heavy paper cover and be bound at the left edge. The cover should have the following information centered on the front:

- Title of Project
- Residency Site
- Date
- Student's Name
- Degree for which the student is a candidate
- Preceptor
- Faculty advisor
- Faculty Second Reader
Because both the faculty advisor and the second faculty reader must approve the written report before the oral portion of this requirement, it is strongly recommended that students submit their final report for review two weeks prior to the oral presentation.

As mentioned, candidates must submit five bound copies of the final, accepted, written report. Two copies are for the Department, and one copy each are for the faculty advisor, the second reader, and the preceptor. 

Report Format

Notes, citations, and bibliography must be prepared in a standard style, such as PMLA, APA, Turabian, or the Chicago Style Manual.  The Final Report must meet style and format standards acceptable to the faculty advisor and preceptor. The paper must be double spaced with one (1) inch margins on all 4 sides.  Text should be full-justified.  The main text font should be 12-point, with 10-point font for quotations or references that are inset.

The Residency Proposal and Approval Form, signed by the preceptor, the faculty advisor, and the second reader, should be the first page in the report. The Executive Summary should be the second page. It should be a one page single spaced summary of the problem, methods, results, and recommendations.

The final report must follow this outline:

Residency Proposal and Approval Form
Executive Summary
Title page of Report
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations or Figures (if there are illustrations or figures)
List of Tables (if there are tables)
I. Introduction
A. Statement of the Problem
B. Major Objectives
C. Review of the Literature
II. Methods
III. Results
IV. Discussion
A. Summary
B. Conclusions
C. Recommendations
V. A Brief Review of the Residency
A. Strengths
B. Weaknesses
C. Recommendations regarding the residency
Appendices
Bibliography
The oral report follows the same outline (items I through V) as the written report, except that the Review of the Literature is very brief. 

Exemption from the Residency

An exemption from the MHA residency may be allowed for the very experienced health care manager who is currently employed in a health services organization. The experienced health care manager may take 6 hours of prescribed doctoral course work in either a research or policy track. The student must obtain approval of exempting the residency from the faculty advisor and the Director of the program. At the completion of the course work, the student is required to complete and conduct a Final Report. A grade will be assigned by the course instructor.

On exceptional occasions, an exemption from the residency requirement may be permitted for MPH candidates. These are made on a case-by-case basis, depending on career goals and needed course work. Students wishing exemption should prepare a letter addressed to the chairman of the department specifying the reasons for the request of exemption. The chair will bring the student's request to a meeting of the department faculty, who make a recommendation to the Dean. The Dean of the School of Public Health has final authority regarding MPH residency exemptions.

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The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of South Carolina.
http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/Programs/Residency.html