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190.1 Practicum Orientation
Your 130 clinical hours: blocks, logs, supervision, safety and evaluation
Your materials
Slides (PowerPoint) Handout (Word)
For instructors
Facilitator guide Printable pre and post tests Quiz (LMS import)
What you will learn
- Describe the four practicum blocks and how the 130 hours add up
- Keep an accurate hour log and track the competency checklist
- Explain the roles of the site supervisor and the RN
- Follow the safety plan and professional rules at your site
Start here
Think of the first day at a new job. What did you wish someone had told you before you walked in?
Lesson
Practicum by the numbers
- 130 hrs Supervised clinical hours in community settings
- 32 Items on the competency checklist
- 2 Formal evaluations, at 65 and 130 hours
Source: OAC 4723-26-13; program handbook
The four practicum blocks
| Block | Hours | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation and shadowing | 20 | Learn the site; shadow experienced CHWs |
| Supervised client work | 60 | Serve clients across at least three life stages |
| Group education and outreach | 30 | Teach sessions, health fairs, community outreach |
| IDEAS project | 20 | Plan, carry out and share a community project |
Who supports you at your site
- Site supervisor: Your daily guide. Assigns work, checks your log, and gives feedback. Qualified and approved by the program.
- Registered nurse: Teaches and signs off any nursing tasks on your checklist. You do nursing tasks only under RN direction.
- Program faculty: Visits or checks in, reviews your checklist, and helps solve problems with your site.
- Your cohort: Your classmates. Share what you learn, without client names, and lift each other up.
Keeping your hour log
If it is not on the log, it did not count.
- Log the same day: Write date, start and end time, and the block for each shift.
- Describe the work: Name the task and life stage served. Never write client names.
- Link to the checklist: Note which competency items you practiced that day.
- Get signatures: Your site supervisor signs the log each week.
- Submit on time: Upload your signed log to the LMS each week.
Professional at your site
Do
- Arrive on time and call ahead if late
- Wear your ID and dress for the setting
- Keep client information private
- Ask questions when you are not sure
- Stay within CHW scope of practice
Do not
- Use your personal phone for client contact
- Post about clients or the site on social media
- Give medicine or medical advice
- Do nursing tasks without RN direction
- Take on routine office work in place of CHW tasks
Your safety plan
Before your first shift, complete a safety plan with your site supervisor.
- Check in and out: Tell your supervisor where you are going and when you are done, every time.
- Know your exit: Know how to leave any place quickly. You may always leave if you feel unsafe.
- Report concerns: Tell your supervisor the same day about any threat, injury or unsafe situation.
- Emergencies: Call 911 for emergencies. Call or text 988 for mental health crises, including your own.
Seeing upstream at your site
- What we see: At a Hough clinic, you see many patients come back to the emergency room for asthma.
- Why it happens (upstream): Old housing with mold and pests, nearby truck traffic, and no time off work for follow-up visits.
- What we can build on (assets): Tenant groups, a housing code office, school nurses, church health ministries, and families who know their buildings best.
Situation: the busy site
Situation: Dominique is placed at a Glenville community center. For two weeks her supervisor has her filing and covering the front desk. She has logged 25 hours but served no clients.
What should Dominique do?
- Log honestly what she did each day
- Talk respectfully with her site supervisor about CHW tasks
- Bring her competency checklist to show what she needs
- If nothing changes, contact program faculty
Talk it over
- Which practicum block are you most excited about, and which worries you?
- What will you do if you feel unsafe at your site?
- What community problem might your IDEAS project take on?
Study sheet
The big idea: Practicum is where we practice CHW work for real, safely and with support, across the life span and in the community.
Key points
- Practicum is 130 hours in four blocks: 20 orientation, 60 client work, 30 group work, 20 IDEAS.
- Client work must cover at least three life stages.
- Log every shift the same day, with no client names, and get weekly supervisor signatures.
- An RN teaches and signs off nursing tasks; never do them without RN direction.
- Evaluations happen at 65 hours and 130 hours.
- Follow your safety plan: check in, know your exit, report concerns.
Remember
- Blocks: 20 + 60 + 30 + 20 = 130 hours
- Competency checklist: 32 items
- Evaluations at 65 and 130 hours
- Emergency: 911; crisis: 988
Ask yourself
- What skills on the checklist do I most need to practice?
- Who will I call first if something goes wrong at my site?
Vocabulary
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Practicum | Supervised, hands-on CHW work in a real community setting, required for certification. |
| Clinical hours | Hours of supervised practice with people and groups; Ohio requires at least 130. |
| Site supervisor | The qualified person at your practicum site who guides your work and signs your log. |
| Hour log | Your record of each practicum shift: date, time, block, tasks and supervisor signature. |
| Competency checklist | The list of CHW skills you must show at a satisfactory level before you finish. |
| Life stage | A period of life, such as pregnancy, infancy, adolescence, adulthood or older age. |
| Safety plan | Your written plan for checking in, leaving safely and getting help during practicum. |
| IDEAS project | A community project using Identify, Develop, Enact, Assess, Share, worth 20 practicum hours. |
| Site agreement | A signed, current written agreement between the program and a practicum site. |
| Reflection | Short writing about what you saw, why it happens upstream, and what assets could help. |
Real-life situations
The forgotten log
Andre in Slavic Village worked four shifts at his site but did not log them. At the end of the month, he cannot remember exact times.
What to do
- Do not guess or round up hours
- Talk with his site supervisor to confirm dates and times from site records
- Log only what can be confirmed and get it signed
- Set a phone reminder to log at the end of every shift
Why: Hour logs are official records. Honest, same-day logging protects the learner and the program.
Asked to check blood sugar
At a senior center in Old Brooklyn, a staff member asks Latoya to check a resident's blood sugar. She has not been checked off on this skill by the RN.
What to do
- Politely say she is not yet approved to do this task
- Find the RN or a qualified staff member to help the resident
- Tell her site supervisor what happened
- Ask the RN when she can be taught and checked off
Why: Nursing tasks are done only when an RN has taught them and directs the CHW. Saying no protects the resident and the learner.
A threat on the street
During outreach in East Cleveland, a man shouts at Kevin and follows him toward his car.
What to do
- Move toward a safe, public place and leave the area
- Call 911 if he is in danger
- Check in with his supervisor as soon as he is safe
- Report the incident in writing the same day
- Talk with his supervisor about support and whether to adjust the outreach plan
Why: No practicum task is worth a learner's safety. The safety plan comes first, every time.
Activity: My practicum plan
About 30 minutes.
- Write your site name, your site supervisor's name and phone, and the program contact.
- Fill in a sample hour log for one made-up shift, with no real names.
- Look at the competency checklist and circle five skills you most need to practice.
- Complete the safety plan form: check-in method, exit plan, and who to call.
- Write one community issue you might explore for your IDEAS project.
Post-test
Ten questions. You need 75% to pass, with one retake. Your result is saved in this browser.