How Do I Keep a Practicum or Field Placement Hour Log?

Use the hour-log system your program approves, record actual time and ask who decides each activity's category. Keep uncertain entries separate from approved totals until the designated reviewer resolves them. Confirm the signature and correction process early. Do not include SeatTime practice in practicum, field or licensure hours; it is fictional rehearsal.

This is a planning guide, not an official log or a ruling about what counts. Your program sets its placement requirements; consult the relevant state board for licensure requirements. CSWE's licensing FAQ makes that distinction for social work, and ACA's licensure guide directs counseling applicants to their state boards.

Ask for the definitions before adding totals

The CACREP 2024 glossary excludes observation, record keeping, administrative work, supervision and role-plays from its definition of direct service. That does not tell you which other category, if any, your program allows for a particular activity. Do not transfer that counseling definition into an MSW or MFT log without your program's instructions.

Ask your coordinator for the current form and written category definitions. Then check the rules for start and end times, breaks, overlapping activities, rounding, remote activities, review frequency and signatures. If a rule is unclear, record the question alongside the facts rather than selecting the category that gives the most hours.

A fictional reconciliation exercise

The times below are invented. None is a decision about credit. Use this exercise to rehearse the questions you would bring to the person who approves your actual log.

Do not add a separate supervision entry on top of the same minutes without first asking how the approved system handles overlapping activities. Record what happened once, then ask how it should be represented.

A suggested weekly review routine

1. Compare your entries with your actual schedule and approved records.
2. Check for missing dates, duplicate periods and time that was only planned.
3. List uncertain categories as questions for the reviewer.
4. Ask the reviewer to resolve them through the required process.
5. Follow the program's approval and storage instructions for the completed log.

Keep client-identifying details out of this practice worksheet. Ask what identifiers, if any, the official system requires; use only that approved system for actual records. An hour log and a clinical note have different purposes. For a separate fictional writing exercise, see documentation basics.

If you are short of the required hours

Bring the gap to your coordinator promptly: "My approved total is below the plan. Which placement options and next steps should we discuss?" Do not relabel activities, count future appointments or add simulator reps to fill the difference. Ask for a revised plan through the program. SeatTime cannot approve an entry, sign a log or make a placement activity eligible.

Frequently asked questions