A practicum is an internship taken for academic credit through an accredited college or university but performed at a nursing facility under the direction (preceptorship) of a licensed nursing home administrator. It must be a “for credit” academic course (not an AIT directed solely by a facility or management company). It may be paid or unpaid, depending on the arrangements you are able to make with the facility or the management company responsible for the facility. The majority of practicums (99%) are unpaid, but there is no prohibition on paid practicums.
Most often the practicum is the capstone experience before licensure, taken after the other courses and just before taking the exams. It may also be referred to as an AIT Experience, Internship, Administrative Experience, or Field Experience. While the board has no rules prescribing that it must be taken in this sequence, some schools require that all or part of the other required courses be completed before a practicum is arranged. Talk with your academic program director.
Your academic program director will also work with you to arrange for an administrator and a facility for your practicum. In some situations, you will be required to interview with one or more administrators to identify a good fit. If you have some ideas about a facility and administrator who would be willing to serve as your preceptor and practicum site, discuss this with your program director. Your program director will approve and arrange for training for the prospective preceptor to be sure that s/he follows a plan acceptable to the sponsoring academic institution.
You must devote at least 20 hours per week to the practicum. Most often students work full time—40 hours per week—on the practicum. Should an alternative plan be needed, it would require board approval.
Yes, upon mutual agreement of the academic institution and nursing facility preceptor, a licensed nursing facility may serve as the practicum site for a student who is employed by the nursing facility, provided that the student is relieved of all previous duties during the time of the practicum experience.
If you are already employed at a facility, there is no prohibition in board rules on doing your practicum at that facility provided you are relieved of your previous duties while engaged in the practicum. Some sponsoring academic programs advise strongly against and may even prohibit doing a practicum in a facility where you are employed. Even if you can shift your mindset, other staff may frequently have difficulty seeing you in the intern or “preparing administrator” role, and may call on you to perform your previous duties. Doing your practicum in another facility also gives you an opportunity to learn how others do things and may expose you to a totally different environment from that you’ve known. The board encourages applicants to use the practicum as the best possible learning experience to broaden your perspective on the full gamut of nursing facility settings.
The practicum must be supervised by a preceptor who is a currently licensed nursing home administrator or health services executive who has been licensed and practicing as a nursing home administrator or health services executive for at least two years. A preceptor may not supervise a student who is a related individual or who resides in the immediate household of the preceptor.
