Clinical Electives (non-JCU students)

Update 6/6:

International applications are not able to be accepted by The College of Medicine and Dentistry at this time. We recommend checking back on this website in 2-3 months in case the situation resolves.

Update 30/5:

Clinical Elective applications at James Cook University are now closed for the period June to November to all Australian Domestic medical students.

Students are reminded not to contact clinicians directly to apply – all applications made directly via clinicians will not be approved. Please see below links for the application process

Places are still limited at this stage.

JCU Medicine has established a Clinical Electives Program for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students and is authorised to process medical clinical elective placements in the North Queensland Region. North Queensland region placements are undertaken at the Townsville, Cairns and Mackay hospitals with a particular focus on rural and remote health, tropical medicine and health care for underserved population. Any medical electives South of Mackay are administered by University of Queensland and information regarding these placements can be found on the UQ website.

Applications for this program are open to all Queensland, interstate and international medical students who have completed at least 1 semester of clinical training. The placements for these electives are available for a maximum of 8 weeks.

Annually, JCU MBBS students undertake international clinical placements in various countries. This could not be achieved without the global friendships developed by staff over a long period of time. In return for international organisations accepting JCU students, JCU (in collaboration with Queensland Health) assist international students to experience medical training in Queensland through this elective process. International students need to be in the final year of their degree at the time of the placement.

Queensland Health (the government body that administers the public hospital system in Queensland) introduced a deed of access in January 2006. James Cook University has signed the deed of access and undertakes all student elective placement administration on behalf of Queensland Health hospitals north of Mackay (inclusive), in consultation with the relevant Queensland Health facility.

There is only a limited number of placement available in a wide range of medical and surgical disciplines across the 3 hospitals in North Queensland. You will be asked to list your preferred disciplines as well as your preferred locations on your application.  All requests are considered first on the availability of a place in their preferred disciplines, at their nominated preferred hospitals for the time period requested.  We do our best to find a suitable placement, however, there is no guarantee that your application will be successful.

Please ensure you have reviewed all of the information on the pages below to ensure you have a full understanding of the application process involved before submitting your application.

Application information and documentation

• Application process
• Supporting documentation
• Placement Dates and Application Deadlines
• Placement Locations and Length
• Placement Requirements
• Payment of Fees & Placement Cost
• Refund and cancellation policy
• Frequently Asked Questions

Clinical Indemnity and Insurance Forms

• Form 1a ‘Clinical Elective Placement Indemnity Form
• Form 1b. ‘Declaration by the Dean of Medicine of the Students’ University’
• Form 2a ‘Clinical Elective Placement Acknowledgement and Declaration – Home University’
• Form 2b ‘Clinical Elective Placement Acknowledgement and Indemnity Form – Student’
• Public Liability Application Form  - Medicine Students
• MIPS – Medical Indemnity Protection Insurance
• Blue Card Application Form 
• Confirmation of Identity Form (Overseas Students)
• Checklist