Practicum Experience

Practicum Sites

A practicum open house is held every April to allow students to meet practicum site representatives and find out more about each organization. By attending this event, you will be better equipped to make decisions about what kind of facility you are interested in and where you may want to spend your practicum year.

» View Practicum Sites

Health Care Administration Practicum

The Health Care Administration practicum is an integral part of your education, allowing you to apply your skills and classroom knowledge as part of a leadership team. Upon completion of the practicum, you will be ready to begin performing as a leader and manager in health care.

The HCAD practicum consists of 50 weeks at an affiliated heath care institution. You will apply and be accepted into a practicum cohort at least one year in advance of beginning the experience. Cohorts begin each August. While in the practicum, you will receive UW-Eau Claire credit for the courses taken at the affiliated institution and pay full tuition and fees to the university. Practicum students receive a stipend to help defray living costs.

The practicum consists of three components:

  1. Fundamental Skills Development: Students gain a basic understanding of the day-to-day activities occurring in a health and aging services organization by observing and/or assisting employees in each department or functional equivalent.
  2. Broader Knowledge Areas. Students complete the following six core units that cross or transcend several organizational lines: resident service management, quality management systems, human resources management, information use and systems, financial management, and marketing and public relations.
  3. Capstone Leadership Projects. Students gain management and leadership experience by taking a lead role on significant projects and/or tasks which they develop and complete during their practicum. These projects are detailed in the program’s annual Leadership Compendium. » View past projects

Placement

Positions for practicum experience are highly competitive and the HCAD program doesn’t guarantee placement in a practicum. Since academic achievement plays a part in selection of students for a practicum, minimum resident and total GPAs of 2.50 are highly recommended. Students unable to secure placement in a practicum should meet with their adviser as soon as possible to discuss future options.

Practicum Leadership Compendium

Past practicum student projects

Eau Claire Advantage

HCAD students complete a practicum experience their last year of the program. The new practicum cohort begins each August. Students apply in the summer for practicum experiences they will have the following year.