Physiotherapy professional experience placement

The placement uniform consists of:

• Navy polo shirt with Flinders University emblem and physiotherapy student name badge.
• Navy trousers, tailored, with pockets. No jeans, denim or tracksuit pants may be worn.
• Black or navy (low heel, enclosed) shoes.  

Purchasing uniforms 

Valerie Travers

1/20 Benjamin St, Newton SA

Phone: (08) 8223 5375

Buy online: Valerie Travers website.

Students attending placement must always wear the official Flinders University placement identification badge.

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

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).

Venue orientation

All venues will provide an 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 may not be able to complete this placement.      

Rosters and shifts

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 and complete your allocated days and times of attendance on placement
  
• are ready and fit to attend placement, this includes self-assessment and management of rest and other obligations (including paid employment and other program activities such as assignments). Failure to consider this may place yourself or others at risk and is considered unprofessional practice, as you are unable to meet your professional obligations and thus standards of practice.

Missed placement hours

You must attend all scheduled placement sessions, reflected in the assessment of professional behaviour on placement. Absences are documented by the site and University; you must follow procedures of both the university and placement site for notification of any absences. Non-attendance at placement may only occur due to unforeseen or exceptional circumstances; you must provide supporting information that must be verifiable, as relevant to the circumstance and reason.

In the event that clinical placement hours are not met, review will be required by the nominated Flinders University Placement Support team member and Placement Education Coordinator in conjunction with the Placement Supervisor / host organisation.

If you are unable to complete the requirements of clinical placement within the allocated time due to unforeseen or exceptional circumstances, 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.

Please refer to the Placement Manual and Professional Placement FLO page for the Master of Physiotherapy, for further details on the placement absence procedures and who to contact.

Paid employment

As a student, you may not:

• count paid employment hours in a health care venue towards your placements hours
• undertake a placement in your place of employment (due to conflicting expectations around roles).

If you work in a care facility that also provides student placements, you are requested to advise the placement team.

Elite athletes

If you are an elite athlete, you need to advise topic coordinators and the placement team of your status as soon as this is confirmed. This will enable appropriate placement arrangements can be accommodated. The University’s rule for Elite Athlete status provides further details, including the need to renew applications annually.

Australian Defence Force personnel

If you are a member of the Australian Defence Forces, and expect to be deployed or required for compulsory training exercises during a placement period, please advise your topic coordinator and the placement team as soon as details are known. Wherever possible, alternative arrangements will be made for your placement.

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, it is important that you contact your venue supervisor and the University placement support team member.

If the matter cannot be resolved with the assistance of your venue supervisor and educator from Flinders University:

• 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)
• arrange to meet with your Flinders University placement support team member and discuss your concerns.

If you have done this and the problem continues - what to do next:

• Make an appointment to speak with the physiotherapy placement 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 placement educator/facilitator and/or 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).

What is breach of conduct?

A breach of conduct is when situations arise where there are serious deficits in the way a student conducts themselves or behaves while on placement, for example when a student:

• behave in an unprofessional manner or
• does tasks outside their scope of practice
• engages in unsafe professional practice

When a breach of conduct occurs, the student will be referred to the topic coordinator who will review whether they can continue activity within the topic, depending on the severity of the breach.

Patients and the public expect to be in a safe environment within a placement venue. If at any time a student demonstrates unsafe practice during a placement, they will be immediately withdrawn from the placement venue. The placement educator (facilitator) will then notify the topic coordinator and course coordinator, in writing, of the event or activity that required the removal of a student from the venue.

Unsafe professional practice include:

• inadequate knowledge for safe practice
• inadequate performance of skills, including communication
• unprofessional behaviour that places patients at risk of physical harm, unreasonable emotional distress or neglect
• unlawful or unethical behaviour.

If the issue/s that caused the removal of a student from placement can be resolved, and the venue agrees, a student may continue their placement. Negotiation for the support of a Professional Learning Plan may also be considered.

The topic coordinator, in consultation with the placement educator (facilitator) and relevant clinical staff, will determine whether a student may be reinstated.

If a student’s behaviour or practice is such that they would fail the topic, then they will not be reinstated.