Medicine placement requirements - Flinders University Students

The Doctor of Medicine (MD) delivers outstanding clinical and academic training that integrates clinical medicine with a strong underpinning in the relevant biomedical sciences, while also providing you with a broader understanding of health in a range of social contexts.

The Flinders medical program aims to develop the elements of knowledge, understanding and skill central to varied areas of medical practice, producing graduates well prepared to act as hospital interns and with the potential to follow a full range of medical specialties in subsequent training.

For years 1 and 2, you will be based at a Flinders University campus in either Adelaide or Darwin. Clinical rotations of years 3 and 4 may be undertaken at various locations primarily in Adelaide, rural South Australia or the urban, rural or remote Northern Territory.

As this course is based within a clinical setting, all students must complete and submit all of the mandatory clearance and immunisation screens that are required to undertake placement in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

SA - pre-placement compliance checklist - all years

NT - pre-placement compliance checklist - all years

Pre-requisites for placement

Activity	What you need to do	Form / more information	Submit to
Fitness for placement declaration	Declare your fitness for placement by reading and acknowledging the Fitness for Placement statement on InPlace. Let the University know if you have an access plan.	N/A	InPlace
Student consent for placement	Read and acknowledge the relevant essential conditions around student consent for placement using the applicable form. (Please note: if you are required to undertake multiple placements during your degree, you may be required to read both student consent documents, check with your WIL Support Team if you are unsure.)	Placements undertaken outside Flinders University - Student Consent for Placement Statement (PDF) OR Placements undertaken within Flinders University ONLY - Student Consent for Internal WIL Placement with Flinders University Statement (PDF)	InPlace
Intellectual property for placement	Watch the student IP declaration, then acknowledge your understanding in InPlace. Watch the IP counselling video.	Student Intellectual Property Statement (PDF)	InPlace
Emergency Contact	Confirm your emergency contact details are up to date in the Student Information System.		Student System
Police Check	You will need to provide a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC).	Police Check detailed information	InPlace

Activity	What you need to do	Form / more information	Submit to
International Police Check	Check if you qualify to obtain an IPC	International Police Check (IPC) detailed information	InPlace
Police Check	You will need to provide a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC). In accordance with the Northern Territory government guidelines for clinical placements within NT Health, only National Police Certificates (NPCs) provided by police services in Australian states or territories will be accepted. NPCs issued by 3rd party providers are not accepted.	Police Check detailed information	InPlace
Immunisation Compliance Certificate	See a GP to complete and document the necessary immunisation requirements on the Immunisation Compliance Certificate.	Immunisation compliance detailed information	InPlace
Hand hygiene	Undertake the online National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) module: Hand Hygiene Student Health Practitioners Online Learning Module Upload the certificate.	NHHI - Complete learning module	InPlace

Additional compliance requirements for placement eligibility

Additional compliance for SA placement eligibility

Activity	What you need to do	Form / more information	Submit to
DHS Working with Children Check	Obtain a clearance from DHS	DHS compliance information	InPlace
SA Health Better Placed Deed Poll	Read, understand and sign the SA Health Better Placed Deed Poll	Better Placed Deed Poll information and form	InPlace
SA Tuberculosis Services screening	Complete the online questionnaire and follow any instructions you receive by email from SA TB services. Upload your questionnaire results to InPlace. IMPORTANT: Some vaccinations can interfere with the blood test that is used to screen for Tuberculosis. For this reason, you should delay any vaccinations until AFTER you have been cleared by SA TB Services, or until you have received your IGRA test results.	Tuberculosis Services clearance information pack (PDF) SA TB Services student questionnaire	InPlace
Manual handling	Book and attend a practical training session so you're aware of safe procedures when moving patients and equipment. Upload evidence of completion.	Complete online module via FLO Doctor of Medicine site.	InPlace

Additional compliance for NT placement eligibility

Activity	What you need to do	Form / more information	Submit to
NT Government Deed Poll	Students will have access to a range of confidential information while attending a placement and need to be familiar with and understand the relevant requirements of maintaining confidentiality. Students must read, understand and sign the and upload to InPlace	NT Department of Health student placement information and forms	InPlace
Tuberculosois screening	Follow information as directed on the NT Government website information on TB.	Guidelines for the control of Tuberculosis in the Northern Territory Tuberculosis Clearance Form	InPlace
Ochre Card	To undertake placements in the Northern Territory you are required to have a working with children clearance in the Northern Territory, known as an Ochre Card.	Ochre Card detailed information	InPlace
Manual handling	Book and attend a practical training session. Upload evidence of completion.	Complete online module	InPlace
COVID-19 Vaccination	NT Health vaccination policy requires placement students to have up to date COVID-19 vaccinations applicable to health care workers as recommended by Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). ATAGI recommends a primary course of vaccinations against COVID-19 followed by a booster for those eligible. Some health care environments may have additional or varying requirements and students will be notified in these circumstances.		InPlace

Detailed compliance information

Department of Human Services (DHS) clearances

These clearances are valid for three years from date of issue (unless revoked prior), except Working with Children Check which has an expiry of five years.

There are four types of screening offered by the DHS; Aged-Care Sector, Working With Children Check (WWCC), Vulnerable Person employment, and Disability Services employment. Refer to the pre-placement compliance checklist to determine which screenings you require.

Formerly known as Department of Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) clearances, DHS clearances are state-based clearances used that are used to determine suitability for employment within specific care sectors in South Australia.

Note: Working With Children Checks issued prior to 1 July 2019 are known as Child-Related Employment Screenings.

Obtaining DHS clearances

WIL team will initiate your application with DHS.
Await application email – It may take 5 – 10 business days to receive an email from the DHS Screening Unit. Be advised that the email may be sent to your junk/clutter folder.
Activate and complete application – Once the activation email is received, follow the links to log into the DHS Screening portal and complete the application. Students are responsible for paying the application fee.
Complete ID Verification – There are three options for completing the ID verification:
- Verify online – Recommended for students with Australian ID documents.
- Requesting organisation – Recommended for students that cannot complete online verification. Students selecting this option will need to bring 100 points of ID (eg student ID and passport) to the CMPH college office, FMC level 5 or the CNHS college office in Sturt N101.
- Print and seek verification – Not recommended. Students selecting this option must have their ID verified by a Justice of the Peace and post the application to DHS.

Existing clearances can be renewed up to 6 months prior to expiry. It is recommended that clearances are renewed early to ensure there is no lapse in compliance.

View more information on the DHS website.

What is the difference between DHS clearances and the Police Check?

The Police Check is a printout of all disclosable criminal convictions as recorded by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC). DHS clearances involve additional probity checks and continuous monitoring. Both are required.

Ochre card - Working with children clearance

Your working with children clearance notice, the Ochre Card, is valid for two years. It is issued by the screening authority.

You must by law apply for a working with children clearance, also called an Ochre Card, to work or volunteer with children in the Northern Territory (NT).

Information checked

A working with children clearance is an assessment of the risk of harm or exploitation that you may pose to children.

It involves a check of:

your police history
employment records
character references
or reports about your recent behaviour.

The check is conducted by the Northern Territory Screening Authority, appointed by the Minister for Children and Families.

The authority works with Screening Assessment for Employment in the Northern Territory (SAFE NT), a unit of the Northern Territory Police.

The information you submit to SAFE NT will be kept private unless it is required by law to be disclosed.

Students are responsible for paying the application fee.

View more information on the NT Government website.

International Police Check (IPC)

An International Police Check (IPC) is required by students if in the last 10 years they have lived in a country other than Australia, for more than 1 year since turning 18 years of age.

Fit2Work is an accepted provider of an IPC or you may already have an IPC and can upload this as evidence on InPlace.

Police Check (NCCHC)

Students must supply a valid Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) prior to the commencement of their placement.

Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC)

Valid for three years from date of issue

Commonly referred to as a Police Check, a National Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) is a document that lists all criminal convictions recorded against a person in the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) database. For more information visit the ACIC website.

Police Checks (NCCHCs) can be issued by:

State and Territory or
Private brokers that have been accredited by the ACIC

An acceptable Police Check (NCCHC) must meet the following requirements:

Unsupervised Contact within the Health/Aged Care Sector.
The following information is provided to assist you complete an application form for your Police Check:
Reason for Check – Unsupervised Contact with Vulnerable Groups (if there is a character limit, ensure Unsupervised Contact is recorded at a minimum).
Proposed Place of Work – Health/Aged Care Sector
Location – Adelaide, South Australia

Please note – if you are completing a Police Check for a Northern Territory placement, please follow the instruction provided by Flinders NT or your discipline specific checklist. In the absence of this advice, follow the above instructions to complete the application form.

Students are responsible for the cost of obtaining their Police Check (NCCHC).

Students completing placements in South Australia may choose to apply for a Police Check (NCCHC) directly through their local police, or through a commercial broker. If a Police Check (NCCHC) is required urgently (e.g. sooner than 4 – 5 weeks) then it is advisable to apply online through an accredited broker that offers fast turnaround.

Police Check (NCCHC) providers:

South Australia Police (SAPOL) - We strongly recommend you use the SAPOL Police Check as this the most accepted document.
Third party providers are https://flinders.checked.com.au and www.cvcheck.com.
State clearances are most widely accepted across organisations and interstate, third party provided clearances may not be accepted by host organisations outside of the control of the University.

Please note that Flinders University does not endorse these providers and cannot guarantee their turnaround times.

What happens if there are offences listed on my Police Check?

Students with criminal convictions should to refer to the SA Health Criminal and Relevant History Screening Policy Directive. Students with serious criminal convictions may be precluded from placement. Students with criminal convictions are advised to meet with their course coordinator to discuss their ability to satisfy the requirements of their placement topic.

Will you accept a Teachers Registration Board (TRB) Registration Certificate?

No. The Teachers Registration Board (TRB) undertakes a Police Check (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) as part of the registration process, however, no outcomes are listed on the registration certificate. You are required to obtain a separate Police Check (NCCHC).

How can I obtain a replacement Police Check?

Replacement Police Checks (NCCHCs) can sometimes be obtained by contacting the organisation that issued the original certificate. In many cases, students who have lost their Police Check (NCCHC) will need to apply for a new one.

NT Health placements and the National Police Certificate

In accordance with the Northern Territory government guidelines for clinical placements within NT Health, only National Police Certificates (NPCs) provided by police services in Australian states or territories will be accepted. NPCs issued by 3rd party providers are not accepted.

Immunisation and vaccinations

Valid indefinitely.

The Immunisation Compliance Certificate sets out the immunisation requirements for students and identifies acceptable evidence of immunity for each disease. The Immunisation Compliance Certificate must be completed by an immunisation provider, this can include General Practitioners (GPs) or Registered Nurses (RNs).

Students are responsible for:

Understanding the immunisation requirements.
Ensuring the immunisation provider completes the Immunisation Compliance Certificate correctly.
Ensuring the immunisation provider provides the student with evidence of immunity, including vaccination records and blood test results (serology).

Completing the Immunisation Compliance Certificate may require several appointments with an immunisation provider. The schedule of appointments will vary depending upon previous vaccination history and the availability of medical records. A typical appointment schedule may include:

First appointment
- Review vaccination history
- Request blood test to determine immunity
Follow-up appointments
- Administer vaccinations according to schedule
- Blood test to determine immunity post-vaccination (required for Hepatitis B)

Who can complete the Immunisation Compliance Certificate?

The Immunisation Compliance Certificate must be completed by an immunisation provider in Australia. This can include General Practitioners (GPs) and Registered Nurses (RNs). Students are encouraged to utilise the Flinders University Health, Counselling and Disability service.

Do I have to be fully compliant with the immunisation requirements to attend placement?

Some students may find that they are unable to complete the immunisation requirements before their first (and sometimes second) placement. In such cases, students can be deemed provisionally compliant and allowed to attend placement if they meet the following criteria:

All other pre-placement requirements are met, AND
At least one vaccine dose has been given (or immunity confirmed by blood test) for all vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), AND
The student is not overdue for vaccines and/or blood tests

Can Hepatitis B immunity be confirmed by vaccination record?

No. Immunity to Hepatitis B must be confirmed by blood test. For students undergoing a course of vaccinations, the blood test is to be completed 4-6 weeks after the final (3rd) dose of the vaccine.

I have been vaccinated against Poliomyelitis but do not have a record of this. What can I do?

If a student is confident of their previous vaccination against Poliomyelitis, the Poliomyelitis Statutory Declaration (PDF) can be completed and will be accepted as evidence of immunity. Students that are unsure of their vaccination history should complete a course of vaccinations.

What happens if I can’t be fully vaccinated/immunised?

There are several reasons why a student may not be able to fulfil the immunisation requirements:

Hepatitis B carrier: In cases where serology confirms Hepatitis B infection, students must provide evidence of this. Students that carry the Hepatitis B infection are able to attend placement, but will be limited in the types of care settings in which they can work.
Hepatitis B non-responder: In cases where post-vaccination serology does not confirm immunity to Hepatitis B, a booster dose may be given followed by another blood test. If immunity is still not confirmed, students may provide documentation from their medical practitioner, and will be considered as having met the immunisation requirements.
Medical contraindication: Students with a medical contraindication to vaccination should follow the advice of their doctor. Once the Immunisation Compliance Certificate is completed to the extent possible, and a letter from the doctor is provided, students will be considered as having met the immunisation requirements.

Students who cannot be fully vaccinated/immunised for the above reasons will be required to meet with their placement education coordinator to discuss strategies for ensuring the safety of themselves and others while on placement.

Students who refuse to be screened or vaccinated, or who refuse to provide this information to the University, are not considered as having met the immunisation requirements and will be refused a placement on this basis. Vaccination refusal will impact a student’s ability to complete their course; students that refuse vaccination are advised to meet with their course coordinator.

Do I need to provide evidence of flu vaccination?

Students are required to obtain an annual flu vaccination, and evidence of this may be required by your placement venue, so please carry the influenza vaccination certificate on your person.

Influenza vaccination certificate

Immunisation Compliance Certificate

Other blood-borne diseases

For Hepatitis C (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - it is recommended that students obtain serological evidence with regard to these two diseases as it is important to know their status especially if the student is exposed to bodily fluids. Students are not to advise their HCV or HIV status.

While students do not have an obligation to notify AHPRA about an infection, the student must comply with CDNA guidelines.

Preparing for placement

Uniform

While you are not expected to wear a specific uniform, you must ensure you are professionally attired and easily identifed. An important part of professional practice in health care settings is the reduction of transmissible hospital acquired infections. To that end hand hygiene and other standards, including the ‘Bare Below the Elbow” guidelines, which reduce the risk of transmission of infections in hospitals are critical. You need to:

Clearly display your student ID card at all times.
- If lanyards are permitted by the placement venue, lanyards must comply with occupational health and safety requirements of that venue.
Wear hair secured above the shoulders; secured away from your face; ponytails should not hang below or touch shoulders, hair should be firmly secured with plain bands and clips. Beards should be neatly trimmed or fixed as close as possible to the skin with clips.
Remove bracelets, wristwatches, dangling earrings, necklaces and rings (ONLY exceptions - simple unadorned religious bands e.g. plain wedding ring or Kara bracelet which must be secured (taped) as high up the arm as possible). Bands/bracelets containing stones are not permitted.
Remove all nail polish (including clear).
Remove acrylic fingernails and nails should be trimmed and clean.
Wear a freshly laundered uniform, and clean shoes each day.
Shower and attend to personal hygiene before attending the laboratory or placement.

Additional uniform information for placement in the Northern Territory

The standard in the tropics:

Women

Skirts (at least knee length), long pants and ¾ pants; tops that are not revealing or skin-tight.

Men

Long pants, ¾ pants and long shorts; shirt or neat polo shirt – no obvious branding or logos please

Enclosed shoes are essential for occupational health and safety reasons.

Inherent requirements for professionalism in the MD

This is a postgraduate course for a professional degree. Postgraduates are expected to act as adult learners. Professionals are expected to act and behave in a manner that reflects the codes of their profession. The standards are usually stem from showing respect for others, ie patients, colleagues and staff by dress, behaviour and communication. This document clearly states the codes and expected of MD students.

Practising professionalism as a medical student

2020 AMA Guide to Social Media and Medical Professionalism

Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia

SA Health clinical placement requirements for healthcare students

You are required to read and understand the SA Health Clinical Placement Requirements for Healthcare Students (PDF)

Fitness for professional practice

If you have an existing condition or develop an illness or disability that may impede your ‘fitness for professional practice’, you must have the Flinders University Fitness for Professional Practice form (PDF) completed by a medical practitioner.

This form needs to be submitted to the placement education coordinator as soon as possible (for existing conditions, at least two weeks prior to the start of the semester).

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)

Under the national law, all students enrolled in an approved program of study, or who are undertaking clinical training in a health profession, must be registered as a student with their respective national board.

The university is responsible for ensuring that students who are enrolled in an approved program of study who are undertaking clinical training in a health professional are registered. The University provides this information to AHPRA.

More information regarding student registration.

How to prepare psychologically for work placements

Gareth Furber, the eMental Health Project Office with Health, Counselling and Disability Service has provided this valuable resource on How to prepare yourself psychologically for work placements.

You can follow Gareth on his blog for more information on student health and wellbeing.

Student wellbeing resources

In addition to Health and Wellbeing Service on the main campus students there are other services open to support the health and wellbeing of medical students.

Doctors Health South Australia

Doctors Health South Australia provides health and wellbeing support/advice/counselling and confidential health services to Doctors and Medical Students.

There are services available in practices across the state of SA by experienced GPs who have undertaken additional training to meet the specific needs of doctors and medical students.

Please refer to the Doctors Health SA webpage.

If you click on find a GP you will see some of the GP practices include some rural sites including Mt Gambier, Angaston, Victor, Tumby Bay and Mt Barker.

They also offer telemedicine for students based rurally

They also have a Northern Territory chapter/presence for any NT based students.

Drs4Drs Support Service

The Drs4Drs Support Service provides crisis support as well as non-urgent mental health support, and complements services provided by the network of State-based doctors' health advisory services that are also funded by DrHS.

All services funded by DrHS are completely confidential. DrHS does not receive any information that could identify anyone using this service.
Accessing the Drs4Drs Support Service is simple. Doctors and medical students can call 1300 374 377 (1300 DR4 DRS) or visit Drs4Drs.com.au - a national one-stop-shop for wellness and support resources for the medical profession.

Further services

View more information on the available counselling services, including those in rural SA and NT.

EASA offers an integrated package of psychological and organisational development services to organisations across the Northern Territory. This is a free service for students.

During placement

Attendance

Venue orientation

All venues will provide a compulsory orientation for students prior to or on the first day of placement. Some venues require that students attend an on-site orientation in person, others provide an online package prior to placement, and some venues will require both.

On your first day of placement you will:

produce your current compulsory pre-placement compliance documents
meet the venue staff
be shown around the venue
be advised of any specific requirements for the venue.

If you do not attend or complete your allocated placement venue orientation, you will not have met the venue compliance criteria and your placement educator (facilitator) will send you home; you will not be able to complete this placement.

Rosters and placements

As part of your professional responsibility, you are required to ensure that you:

have completed or attended a placement venue orientation
know where to arrive and meet on day one
know your placement times
attend all rostered placements
attend for the entire allocated placement
are well rested before each placement. Failure to be rested places yourself or others at risk and is considered unprofessional practice, as you are unable to meet your professional obligations and thus standards of practice. For example, it is not acceptable to:
- go from a paid placement to a placement or vice versa
- work all night on an assignment and then go to an early placement.

Arriving at placements

It is your responsibility to arrive at your venue at least ten minutes before the placement begins. This will ensure you arrive in a timely manner and be prepared to engage in a full handover of your patients or clients, ask required questions and assist the previous placement to complete activities before leaving.

Placement requirements

No precise start or finish times

Clinical phase predominantly consists of clinical work placements. Starting and finishing time varies between services, units and sites. Since students are expected to work as a student member of the clinical team on many of their placements, it is not possible to prescribe exact starting and finishing times.

Medicine is a 24‐hour, 7 day a week profession

In clinical phase, most student placements will be during day times. However valuable learning occurs after hours, due to different mix of presentations, different staffing levels, and different service availability. It is important for students to be exposed to after‐hours clinical work, including evenings and weekends. It is also important for students to gain an understanding of the nature of after‐hours clinical work, in preparation for their future roles as doctors.

Night duty

In most settings, night duty is not required in third year. Students may attend at nights for their own extra learning provided they have express permission from the clinical supervisor of the unit or service.

On call

At some sites, particularly rural and remote settings, students will be required to be on call with their supervisor.

The MD course is full time

As work‐integrated learning, students should expect to work similar hours to those expected during their intern year, ie 37.5 hours minimum and up to 50 hours per week.

Timetables and compulsory attendance

All timetabled activities are compulsory unless otherwise stated. Timetables will be designed to ensure that placements with very early starts or very late finishing times do not result in unreasonably long days due to additional timetabled activities

allow some flexibility for study time (see note below)
in line with the recommendations in the AMA guidelines to safe working hours timetable will:
- allow students to have at least one 24 hour period every 7 days with no scheduled activities
- schedule students for no more than one night of after-hours work per week and no more than one weekend per month averaged over the course of the clinical attachment
- minimise the occasions on which students are required to work more than 10 hours in a period
- ensure that minimum breaks between shifts enable students a minimum of 8 hours continuous sleep

Timetable clashes

Administration staff creating timetables will do their best to avoid timetable clashes. However, there will always be instances where there are clashes due to the nature of working with multiple clinical service providers, and health care in general. Students should clarify with their local site administration or supervisor the priorities to observe when clashes occur, as these will vary by site.

Flexibility to allow time for personal study

It is not possible to prescribe specific personal study time across all sites, as the nature of timetables varies by site and service availability. Furthermore, it is recognised that during many clinical placements, students have opportunities to spend time reading and studying as part of the placement. These factors will be taken into account when timetables are created. This may result in some timetables have an overt ‘personal study session’ where the rest of the timetable is intense, and other timetables with no overt personal study sessions where there is highly likely to be some ‘down‐time’ during the clinical placements.

Extra clinical work

All students are encouraged to maximise their clinical learning opportunities. However, if a student chooses to stay late, or do extra sessions, this is their own choice. Students may not miss compulsory timetabled sessions because they chose to do extra work of their volition.

Short‐notice sessions

Some clinical placements, particularly those for Community Based Medical Education students (CBME), are scheduled at short‐notice. This is usually due to clinical placements being confirmed or changed at late notice. External factors such as weather and transportation can also affect placement schedules. Students therefore need to have real‐time access to timetables and cannot rely on a standardised timetable to reflect true placements.

Missed placement hours or placements

Any hours missed during your placement must be ‘made up’ as you need to attend for the allocated duration. Please refer to the site leave and remediation policy:

Missed placement hours may mean that you:

cannot complete the topic requirements for placement
may not meet the course graduation requirements
may not meet the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) minimum requirements for registration.

Contact your placement supervisor as soon as possible to discuss strategies for making up missed hours. With limited placement opportunities available, it is not always possible to negotiate make-up placements or an extension to your placement.

View further information about while you're on placement

Problems and concerns

This section provides guidance for finding solutions for issues that may arise during a placement, and suggestions about appropriate people to contact.

Issues sometimes arise on placement that you may not be able to resolve by yourself. Who to contact and potential solutions are covered below. Keep in mind that you are required to maintain professional behaviour and communication at all times, especially with those at the placement venue.

The placement communication framework (available below) provides information about who to contact when you have a question about your placement.

First point of contact

When an issue arises at the venue where you are doing your professional experience placement, the first person to contact is your course coordinator.

Make sure you have all relevant issues documented (for example, keep a full record of dates, times, what happened, any correspondence such as emails, and similar).
Make an appointment to speak with your course coordinator.
If the matter if still not resolved arrange to meet with the Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning).

Where appropriate and as far as is possible, your anonymity will be preserved.

Remember that you have free access to the University Health, Counselling and Disability Services.

Are you experiencing bullying or harassment?

Flinders University is committed to ensuring that students can participate in workplaces that are free from bullying, harassment and discrimination, and where people are respected and diversity is embraced.

The College complies with the Flinders University principles outlined in No bullying at Flinders.

If you feel that you are being, or have been, bullied or harassed at a placement venue, report this immediately to your topic coordinator.

Also, seek support and assistance as soon as possible from the University Student Equal Opportunity Adviser, who provides assistance to resolve complaints that arise from harassment or bullying, under the University’s Equal Opportunity Policy (PDF).

Flinders University is committed to providing a safe and respectful learning environment and there is no place for sexual assault or sexual harassment at Flinders University.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment, or you are concerned about an incident or behaviour, contact us. We will be there to listen, provide information about options available to you and support you through the process.

Driver and vehicle safety

Attending your placement will mean that you are required to travel to and from or within your placement, in your own vehicle.

Please ensure you read and understand the Driver and Vehicle Safety Procedures .

It is highly recommended that students undertake the Driver and Vehicle Safety Quiz, particularly if you a travelling Rural and Remote.

For travel two (2) hours or more you will need to complete the Journey Management Plan and submit to the College WIL support team or Site Administrator.

Note: Rural and Remote may have additional requirements for travel that you will need to comply with for travel. Not accessing this information does not preclude you from being allocated a Rural or Remote placement.

Rural placements

Medical students may undertake rural or remote placements during their course. A rural location is defined by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard Remoteness Areas 2-5.

Rural and remote placements provide unique opportunities to immerse yourself in a rural community and gain hands on experience working with patients and their families. Rural placements are supported by a dedicated network of rural clinical supervisors and rurally based staff.

When rural and remote placements become available, your college WIL team or Flinders University Rural & Remote Health SA will advise you of your rural placement.

ABC Radio stations Northern Territory

Financial assistance

The College of Medicine and Public Health understands that students can struggle financially with the costs of living away from home while undertaking placement. There are resources available to help:

FUSA – FUSA’s Financial Advocacy service can assist with all things financial
Scholarships – You are encouraged to apply for any scholarship for which you are eligible.
Flinders University Rural & Remote Health SA financial hardship assistance. Information regarding funding will be provided via FLO.

Rural orientation

Rural orientation will be provided to support your preparation for a rural placement, discuss issues or concerns and meet other students going to the same venue and region. Attendance at these sessions is compulsory and will assist you in making the most of these experiences.

Travel and accommodation

During placement, you will be required to cover the costs of your accommodation, meals and travel.

Accommodation may be offered at a subsidised rate. Once allocated to a placement your details will be forwarded to the Flinders University Rural & Remote Health SA team who will make contact with you regarding the available options.

Please refer to the Flinders University Driver and Vehicle Safety Procedures (PDF).

Relevant documentation:

Placements in the NT

Accommodation eligibility

Students may be eligible for subsidised accommodation for some placements within the Northern Territory. For information regarding eligibility please contact site administrator.

For those students that are allocated to sites and meet the eligibility, a welcome pack will be provided that provides all relevant information regarding the placement.

Tropical cyclones in the Northern Territory

Tropical cyclones pose a serious threat to Northern Territory communities. The NTMP has a cyclone procedure and will implement when necessary.

Elective placements

Students in the final year of the MD may have an opportunity to undertake elective placements.

Elective placements provide students with the opportunity to enrich your medical education by experiencing healthcare in an unfamiliar setting.

An information session about the elective placements will be held in year 3.

Interstate and overseas electives must be approved by the topic coordinator.

WIL have a responsibility to students to ensure that you are safe on your travels and therefore ask for some additional information (PDF) to be provided as part of your application and understand clearly the caution associated with travelling (PDF).

Travel insurance

The university offers travel insurance free of charge for students undertaking travel for approved university study.

Field trip vehicles