Practicum reports are written by students in medical professions such as nursing, medicine, and psychology to communicate the entire practicum experience. The practicum report will include a summary of the student’s goals and objectives, an explanation of the practicum’s rationale, a description of the practicum’s environment, a record of all activities and outcomes, and a self-evaluation of the experience. After completing the practicum, the student will be able to better understand his or her strengths and weaknesses by writing this report. A title page, an outline, and several other components, all of which should be typed in double spacing, are required for report formatting. The report must accurately articulate what the student has learned and identify future focus for either practice or research, combining professional experience and academic knowledge.
The first step in writing the practicum report is to create a title page. Students will need to come up with a title that sums up their practicum experience in a few words. Their name, as well as the semester dates for submitting the practicum report, must appear beneath the title. The title page will also include the college program that students are enrolled in.
The next page after the title page should contain a description of the practicum experience. The description will be brief and will provide a summary of the practicum experience. Though there are no formal rules about how long a description should be, it should be brief.
An introduction follows on the next page. This section should describe the student’s practicum experience and identify the supervisory authority. This section of the practicum report should also reflect the experience’s goals and the students’ responsibilities during the practicum. Following the introduction, a table of contents should be included to clearly identify the sections that follow.
Expanding on the introduction, the next few pages should detail all of the activities the student participated in during the practicum, as well as any observations made during those activities. Furthermore, students will explain the successful and unsuccessful outcomes of those activities. This section is usually labeled “Activities and Outcomes” by the authors of such reports.
The final section of the practicum report is usually a self-assessment. This section’s goal is to explain the value the student gained from the practicum, as well as to reflect on the goals set before starting and compare them to the final results. This section includes identifying areas for improvement, as well as further study or research. Students will create an appendix for the practicum report and attach any relevant documents related to the experience after completing this section.