Practicum in Biomedical Informatics

• Students should complete at least 24 credit hours in their respective School of Biomedical Informatics master’s program before participating in a practicum. Students seeking to complete a practicum earlier must consult with the Assistant or Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
• Students must work a certain number of supervised contact hours under the direction of their Practicum Preceptor in order to earn the required number of credit hours for the practicum course. Required contact hours and credit hours are listed below:



BMI 6000 (for Applied Students in the 36 credit hour program)	BMI 6000 (for Traditional Students in the 42 credit hour program)
135 Contact Hours	270 Contact Hours
1-3 credit hours (Total of 3 hours required)	1-6 credit hours (Total of 6 hours required)

• Students can complete all required practicum credit hours during one semester or the course can be taken over multiple semesters, repeated as needed, for a maximum of 3 or 6 semester credit hours (for BMI 6000) to meet degree requirements.
• Please note that there is a $540/SCH fee charged to all students enrolled in practicum credit hours.

• Students will work with the School of Biomedical Informatics Practicum Coordinator for any necessary program agreements with the practicum site if agreements are not already in place (Exception: If you are doing your practicum at UTHealth, no program agreement is needed).
• A practicum proposal must be submitted by week three of the semester of enrollment to the SBMI Practicum Coordinator and it will be approved, in writing, by your Faculty Practicum Advisor. A sample practicum proposal can be found below. The proposal should include:


• The practicum site and the location(s).
• Name and title of Practicum Preceptor and a phone number and email address.
• A list of organizational requirements (and potential preferred requirements) for the practicum site.
• A list of Behavioral Learning Objectives for the practicum. Refer to the Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Learning Objectives in the sample practicum proposal below for reference.
• A description of what duties the student will complete.
• A list of the outcomes that the student expects to achieve.
• A list of the proposed deliverables.
• A specific timeline for when the practicum will start and be completed.
• A job description for the practicum position.
• Students must obtain IRB Approval, if required.
• Students must obtain approval from the Office of Academic Affairs for practicum registration during the semester(s) in which they enroll in the course.

MATERIALS THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE PRACTICUM PRECEPTOR

• Please note that the student’s Practicum Preceptor should have a Graduate degree, or a Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of five years of work experience in biomedical informatics or related fields at the practicum site. She or he should have decision-making authority at the practicum site and be in a position or role that facilitates optimal learning opportunities for the student. It is also imperative that the Practicum Preceptor can allocate sufficient time to supervise the student and provide mentoring in the field of biomedical informatics.
• Students must submit a letter of introduction and a resume or curriculum vitae (see below).
• Students are advised that some sites may require a health screen, a background check, drug test(s), personal liability insurance, or other site specific requirements. Please note that you may need to accomplish these tasks through a specific contractor at your own expense.
• Students should request assistance from the School of Biomedical Informatics Practicum Coordinator in determining what documentation is required by the practicum site and how to handle the submission of said documentation.