Certificate students are expected to directly provide clinical services to people in the community at large. As such, they're expected to build these clinical skills at their field placements through the support of site supervisors and college faculty. Students will complete the bulk of their coursework prior to entering the field, and courses are designed to give students theoretical and practical knowledge before entering into their internships.
Typically, students complete their field training in the fall or spring semesters, but students occasionally complete their internships in the Summer 2 semester (July-August).
Days/times of internship hours depends on the site. Students are required to participate in a weekly group supervision seminar that is run at the College. The Practicum/Internship seminar runs in the evenings (7:00-9:00 pm) so that internship students can still work and attend an evening class. The seminar provides peer and faculty support surrounding internships and provides students with additional internship skills (e.g. support on writing clinical documentation, case study presentations, etc.). Other specific requirements are dictated by the clinical sites themselves.
Supervisors are expected to be "qualified" based on the definitions set forth by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. See the Mass.gov website for updated definitions and requirements of site supervisors. Program Director and/or Field Placement Coordinator can answer questions about whether a site would be considered appropriate for a student field placement.
