Psychology (Postgraduate)
What you need to do
Placement subjects in the Psychology Postgraduate Program include PY6001, PY6002 and PY6003. You must ensure you are enrolled in the relevant subject prior to commencing placement.
As a JCU professional health student, it is your responsibility to ensure all pre-placement requirements (PPRs) are met. Please seek the advice of your placement coordinator or the Professional Experience Placement Unit to confirm the pre-placement information and resources related to other States, services and facilities. Please ensure you have read the guide to submitting PPRs.
View the Master of Psychology Placement Checklist
View the 2023 Psychology Placement Calendar
Pre-placement enquiries: Please contact the Professional Experience Placement Unit. All other enquiries to Placement Coordinator Kelly Horne
Website: College of Healthcare Sciences
COVID 19 UPDATE FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING PLACEMENT IN ALL HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN QUEENSLAND:
Students attending placements in Queensland Health facilities must continue to follow the directions on the Queensland Health website Preparing for your Clinical placement.
Students are classified as healthcare workers and can follow the same directives as healthcare staff. Queensland Health requires that employees, or prospective employees, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and maintain that vaccine protection (through any relevant booster doses). This has been a mandated requirement since September 2021.
Further information on accessing proof of your COVID-19 vaccination status is available on the QH webpage Proof of COVID-19 vaccination
Information on entering or returning to placement in a high-rise workplace setting is available on the QH webpage Visiting high-risk settings.
Information on Boosters and additional doses- COVID19
Mater Health Facilities Queensland
If you are going on placement to a Mater Health Facility in Queensland please read the document below regarding COVID requirements:
Postgraduate Students
Please read the below-listed placement procedures, and complete and sign the Student Declaration to confirm that you have read and understood them.
The below documents contains vital information for all healthcare students about the responsibilities of both students and the University concerning professional experience placement.
DTHM Professional Experience Placement Procedures
DTHM Procedure for Infectious Disease
JCU Professional Experience Placement Requirements Procedure
JCU Review of a Student's Suitability to continue a Course involving Placement
JCU WHS - PRO-023 Infection Control Procedure
Once you have completed and signed the above-linked Student Declaration, please email it to the Professional Experience Placement Unit.
You must complete and sign the JCU Confidentiality Acknowledgement every year.
It is recommended that students download Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to fill/sign forms. This is a free program. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
In signing the Acknowledgement, you – the student – acknowledge that you have been instructed in the concept of patient, client and business confidentiality, and will respect clients’ confidentiality at all times, including during tutorials, lectures and discussions, both professional and private.
Please download, complete, sign and email the Confidentiality Acknowledgement to the Professional Experience Placement Unit and retain a copy for your professional portfolio.
Clinical ID cards are not the same as JCU Student ID cards. To get a Clinical ID, you must have first obtained a JCU Student ID.
During professional experience placement, you must wear your Clinical ID at all times, including placements at the JCU Dental, JCU Health General Practice and JCU Allied Health and Interprofessional Clinics within the JCU Clinical Practices Building.
First-Year Students - After the census date, you will receive an email from the Professional Experience Placement Unit with instructions on how to order and collect your card. (Townsville Building 134 and Cairns A1). Cost $15.
Clinical ID cards are valid for the duration of your enrolment. It should be returned to JCU on completion of your degree.
Lost or Expired Cards - If you lose your card or it expires before you complete your course, please send an email to healthplacements@jcu.edu.au to receive instructions on how to get a new card. Cost $5.
All students enrolled in a Psychology higher degree accredited at a fifth year or higher must be provisionally registered from the start of enrolment in the degree. Provisional registration must be maintained for the duration of enrolment in any component of an accredited qualification, including coursework, practicum and research thesis.
Registration can be obtained with the Psychology Board of Australia under the umbrella of the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
A copy of your AHPRA registration must be lodged with the Professional Experience Placement Unit.
To check your registration status or to review the relevant registration standards, visit the AHPRA website: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/
The Townsville Hospital and Health Service (THHS) require all students doing a placement at any of the THHS facilities, including regional hospitals and community health centres to complete Fire & Evacuation training.
When undertaking a placement at the Townsville University Hospital, please complete training for the Main Hospital Building (Ground Level, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3) and the Sub Acute building. This certification is only valid for 12 months. If completing a placement at any of the other THHS facilities, please complete the training applicable to that facility.
THHS Fire and Emergency Response Training (You must use your JCU email address to create your account).
Please email your certificate of completion to the Professional Experience Placement Unit and take a copy with you to your placement.
If you require assistance to complete the training, please refer to the Fire and Emergency Response Training User Guide
The hand hygiene online learning module provides education on hand hygiene and, more broadly, the principles of infection prevention and control.
You will be required to register on your first visit to the National Hand Hygiene Initiative website. Please register as a student and select the Student Health Practitioners Module (e.g all students) training package. The module should take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete.
National Hand Hygiene Initiative Online Training (please note that your login details for Hand Hygiene Australia will work on this website)
After completing the learning package and correctly answering all of the quiz questions a completion certificate will be emailed to you. Please provide a copy of the certificate to the Professional Experience Placement Unit. You should retain a copy of the certificate in your professional portfolio to take with you to your professional experience placement.
To undertake a clinical observation or placement in the JCU Clinics at the Clinical Practice Building students must complete additional requirements as listed below:
Fire & Evacuation Training - Please select location Clinical Practice Building, select Visitor and then select Levels 1 and 2. Once you complete the training, you will receive a certificate which will be valid for 12 months.
JCU Student Confidentiality Deed - Read and sign to confirm understanding.
JCU Health - Student Pre-Placement Manual - Read and understand.
Please submit the Fire & Evacuation Certificate and the signed Confidentiality Deed via email to healthplacements@jcu.edu.au
Before placements in NSW Health facilities can proceed, James Cook University must have a current Student Placement Agreement with the Local Health District in which the placement is to occur. Without the Student Placement Agreement, the placement cannot proceed.
Student clearances for clinical placements
IMPORTANT: Student Placements and COVID-19 (includes information about the COVID-19 vaccine)
Before a student can commence a clinical placement in a NSW Health facility, students must complete the following mandatory requirements.
In preparation for your placement in New South Wales please go to the following website:
https://www.heti.nsw.gov.au/Placements-Scholarships-Grants/clinical-placements/student-compliance
FAQs for student placements in NSW
Print the NSW Clinical Placement Checklist and complete the below requirements:
- National Criminal Record Check
- Read the policy directive Employment Checks – Criminal Record Checks and Working with Children Checks
- The Professional Placement Unit should have a copy of your current National Criminal History Check
- NSW Health Code of Conduct
- Read and sign the policy directive NSW Health Code of Conduct
- Print and complete the Code of Conduct Agreement for Students undertaking Clinical Placements form.
- Health and Immunisations
- Read the policy directive Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination Against Specified Infectious Diseases, in particular, page 38 - Attachment 4 Checklist: Evidence required from Category A applicants.
- Gather your immunisation evidence as per the immunisation policy. The Professional Placement Unit should have a record of your immunisations but be aware that NSW requirements do vary slightly.
- Print and complete Attachment 6: Undertaking/Declaration Form.
- Print and complete Attachment 7 Tuberculosis (TB) Assessment Tool
All forms should be emailed to your JCU Placement Coordinator in the first instance and then emailed to healthplacements@jcu.edu.au
Students undertaking clinical placements in hospitals or other health services in NSW are not required to obtain a Working with Children Check however, Students must ensure that their Queensland Working with Children Check (Blue Card) remains current.
Whilst you are preparing your mandatory requirements for verification, your JCU Placement Coordinator will enter your Name, DOB, email address and Student ID number on Clinconnect, the NSW Student Placement Portal. All student placements in NSW Health facilities are processed through Clinconnect.
When the NSW Placement coordinator has reviewed your mandatory requirements, they will then update your status to “Verified” on Clinconnect. This will then allow the processing of your placement to be approved.
Approximately 2 weeks prior to the commencement of your placement, the Student will receive an email to inform you of your StaffLink ID and temporary password.
Mandatory Online Learning Modules
Students will be required to log in to My Health Learning with their eight-digit StaffLink ID username and password.
Students will be compliant with mandatory training when all modules are listed as Completed except for Hand Hygiene which when completed will be termed, Current. It is advised that you start and complete a module in one session. All modules need to be completed before the placement commences.
The mandatory modules include:
- Privacy – It’s yours to keep (replaces Privacy Module 1 - Know your boundaries: students must complete the new module)
- Work, Health & Safety and Hazardous Manual Tasks (replaces Introduction to Work Health and Safety: students must complete the new module)
- Hand Hygiene
- Between the Flags – Tier 1: Awareness, Charts and Escalation (eLearning)
- Cyber Security Fundamentals
- Infection Prevention and Control Practices - Clinical (Course Cod: 46777047)
- Personal Protective Equipment for Combined Transmission Based Precautions (Course Code: 294450660)
- Donning and fit checking of P2 or N95 respirators in NSW healthcare settings (Course Code: 319438161)
- Security Awareness
eHealth NSW is strengthening security for NSW Health’s corporate systems by asking NSW Health students to set up a new profile. This profile will provide greater security and will help students to more easily spot security threats. It will also enable students to reset their passwords without having to contact the State-Wide Service Desk.
Please refer to the following guides:
- Guide for students - How to set up your NSW Health security profile.
- Guide for students - Log into HETI Online and Complete Mandatory Training
- Guide for students - NSW Health Student Online Accounts (Stafflink ID and Password)
- Guide for students - What to do when you experience issues with logging into My Health Learning
- FAQs for students
- The NSW Health Clinical Placement Information
- The NSW Health Verification Forms
For any technical issues, users will need to contact the State Wide Service Desk on
All students are now required to have respiratory mask fit testing prior to attending placement in a Hospital. Mask fit testing is an annually renewed requirement.
All Mask Fit testing will now be conducted by Alliance Safety Equipment Pty Ltd.
All students must use the online booking platform for fit testing appointments. This is for students on the Townsville, Cairns and Mackay campuses.
Which facial hair styles are suitable with a disposable respirator?
Free mask fit testing for students who book and attend the appointment, 2 missed appointments will result in the student having to source and pay for their own mask fit test.
Cancellations of appointments must be made the day before - “no shows” may result in the student having to pay for their mask fit test.
You will be required to show your student card at your appointment and your certificate will be emailed to you.
Remember you must email your certificate to healthplacements@jcu.edu.au
Work Integrated Learning (WIL)/Placement Scholarship:
Applications for round one will open 3 April 2023 and close 28 April 2023
Applications for the NAFEA Equity Rural Placement Scholarship are now open. Applications close 3 March 2023.
The Equity Rural Student Placement Scholarship Program is an initiative to provide financial assistance to students experiencing financial hardship to undertake placements/work integrated learning activities in rural and remote settings.
Approved applications will be awarded scholarships up to $1500.
Funding is provided to assist students with the out-of-pocket costs incurred as a direct result of the placement. These are costs which are additional to everyday living expenses and are incurred as a direct result of a placement requiring relocation, including:
- Travel costs,
- Accommodation.
Please check you meet the eligibility criteria prior to applying, see: http://nafea.org.au/programs/scholarships/. Please note that there have been some changes to the scholarship application criteria and application process.
GOING RURAL
Going rural funding
Going Rural is a placement support program for nursing, midwifery and allied health students currently disadvantaged by financial placement constraints. Health Workforce Queensland can provide you with travel and accommodation assistance up to $1000 per rural or remote placement.
