When BSRI welcomes practicum students, it’s not about “extra help”—it’s about building reciprocal partnerships that strengthen both the student’s growth and our collective impact. In this reflection, we share why and how we host students, and spotlight a recent collaboration on maternal health equity that produced a policy-facing white paper, community training tools, and fresh insight for the field.
BSRI’s Approach to Hosting Practicum Students
At BSRI, practicum placements are more than résumé builders—they are intentional partnerships designed for reciprocal learning. We believe early-career practitioners bring fresh perspectives and lived experience that can expand our collective capacity, especially when they are embedded into real projects rather than siloed into side assignments.
Our approach blends autonomy with steady mentorship. Practicum students work alongside our evaluation and facilitation teams, contributing to live projects in ways that advance both their learning and the project’s impact. We prioritize scaffolding—clear roles, guided reflection, and exposure to the full project lifecycle—so students can test skills, engage deeply with stakeholders, and see how their work shapes tangible outcomes.
Values guide these partnerships:
- Care. Practicum experiences prioritize learning over output, ensuring that students can take risks, ask questions, and grow.
- Reciprocity. Every practicum project is designed to produce mutual benefit—advancing the student’s goals while strengthening BSRI’s work in the field.
- Integration. Students are embedded in active, high-impact projects so their work is relevant, connected, and immediately applicable.
- Mentorship. Each placement includes consistent coaching, reflection prompts, and feedback that build both confidence and competence.
When done well, practicum experiences strengthen not just the student’s development, but also BSRI’s own practice—offering fresh insights, sharpening our methods, and deepening our commitment to equity-driven systems change.
From Interviews to Policy: A Practicum Project on Doula Access and Systems Change
In 2024, Mika Cooper, a graduate practicum student joined us for the final phase of a multi-year innovation project to improve maternal health equity in Florida by expanding access to community-based doula care. Black and Indigenous birthing people face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates, and doula programs—rooted in culturally responsive, continuous support—offer a critical lever for change.
Over 180 hours, Mika became an integral part of our project team. She synthesized interviews with 40 birthing individuals and 15 doulas, identified key themes around trust, bias, and systemic barriers, and co-authored Maternal Health in Crisis: Why Integrating Doulas into Healthcare Systems Matters. This white paper combined narrative framing, systems-level analysis, and policy-relevant recommendations, and was shared with more than 100 stakeholders, including state maternal health task forces.
Her contributions had direct impact:
- Policy Influence. The white paper was shared with project stakeholders to inform strategies around policy change and expanding insurance coverage around doula care access to improve maternal health outcomes. It became a tool for sparking conversations on how to integrate doula services into Medicaid reimbursement and other sustainable funding pathways.
- Systems Awareness. By synthesizing interviews with 40 birthing individuals and 15 doulas, the project elevated lived experience as central evidence in maternal health policy conversations.
- Capacity Building. Mika strengthened her skills in culturally responsive evaluation, qualitative synthesis, and policy writing, while BSRI refined its co-authorship model for future practicum and junior staff collaborations.
As she reflected, “My practicum research strengthened my understanding of how public health policies shape equitable health care access. The most distinctive aspect of working with BSRI was the personalized and professional development opportunity I received. Through mentorship and hands-on projects, I was able to gain valuable guidance on how to structure my academic portfolio and ways to strategically shape my professional brand to align with my future career goals.”
For us, it underscored that when we braid mentorship, lived experience, and systems analysis, we create stronger stories — and strategies — that drive real change.
