Public Health
What you need to do
Before preparing for a public health professional experience placement, please contact the Subject Coordinator for TM5571 Public Health Placement to discuss your options and the subject requirements:
Assoc. Professor Richard Franklin
College of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Veterinary Sciences
Phone (07) 4781 5939
Richard.Franklin@jcu.edu.au
COVID 19 UPDATE FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING PLACEMENT IN ALL HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN QUEENSLAND:
Students are now classified as healthcare workers and can follow the same directives as healthcare staff. Employees and volunteers engaged directly by a healthcare facility, and students on an educational placement, are not considered visitors and should follow the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for healthcare workers.
The following applies to students while on placement within public and private hospitals, Multi-purpose Health services, aged care facilities, disability accommodation services, and corrective service facilities in Queensland:
Students who have tested positive for COVID19 (RAT/PCR):
- The day of the positive test result is Day 0
- Isolate for a minimum of 7 full days after a positive test (7 full days is 7 x 24-hour periods)
- May return to placement on Day 8 provided you are asymptomatic
- There is no need to retest for COVID-19.
Students who are close contacts:
- can continue placement providing they test negative for COVID-19 and have no symptoms consistent with COVID-19
- Must advise the Healthcare facility and wear appropriate personal protective equipment including N95 masks in clinical buildings if advised to do so.
- Must comply with the vaccination requirements that apply to the person as an employee at the health care facility
- Must return a negative COVID-19 test result before their first shift and on days 2, 4, and 6 during the 7-day period after becoming a close contact. The day of last exposure to the COVID-positive person is Day 0.
- This requirement applies for the 14-day period after you are identified as a close contact.
- Returning close contacts must also have breaks on their own or outside
Mask Fit Testing
- All students must continue to have a current mask fit test compliance card/certificate to attend placement in all Hospitals. Mask Fit Testing is required to be renewed annually. Please contact the Placement Unit (Townsville: 47814697 or Cairns: 42321065) if you need further information.
- Students must be clean shave to wear N95s
Management of Diagnosed Cases of COVID-19 and Close Contacts Direction (No. 3) Effective from 15 July 2022
Workers in a healthcare setting (COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements) Direction (No. 4) Effective from 12 March 2022
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
Arranging your placement
This guide will assist you to organise your professional experience placement. However, you may be required to fulfil additional requirements depending on where your placement will occur (e.g. a national Working with Children Check, current resuscitation certification, current vaccinations). Please confirm with a representative from the placement facility what their specific requirements are, and ensure you meet these requirements prior to beginning your placement.
Prior to placement, you must ensure you have:
- Formally enrolled in the subject TM5571 Public Health Placement
- Developed a learning contract to be endorsed by the subject coordinator and placement supervisor
- Completed and submitted the form Approval to undertake public health placement.
- Completed a health and safety plan via RiskWare
Forms and supporting documents including the TM5571 Subject Outline will be provided to you by the subject coordinator.
The work you will be undertaking during your placement must be voluntary. It is not with your employer.
The placement must be public health related; it cannot be clinical practice.
You should not be undertaking any medical procedures as part of your placement.
Your placement must consist of 152 hours of voluntary work, which equates to four weeks of work at 38 hours per week.
These hours can be undertaken as a block or spread out over the semester, e.g. 15 hours a week for 10 weeks.
As a Public Health placement student, you are responsible for covering all costs associated with your placement, e.g. accommodation, travel expenses.
Please read the below-listed JCU and DTHM placement procedures, and complete and sign
the Student Declaration to confirm that you have read and understood them.
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.
The below documents contains vital information for all students of the Division of Tropical Health and Medicine (DTHM) 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.
JCU Confidentiality Acknowledgement
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.
Download, complete, sign and email the Confidentiality Acknowledgement to the Professional Experience Placement Unit and retain a copy for your professional portfolio.
There are three pieces of assessment for TM5571 against which you will be graded as competent or not competent:
- Learning Contract (30%)
- Risk management plan via Riskware (10%)
- A portfolio that includes analytical reasoning and a reflective journal or your learning (70%)
The hurdle requirements for TM5571 involve two letters from your supervisor:
- The first letter verifies acceptance of your placement and includes the Approval to undertake public health placement form
- The second letter verifies your attendance at placement and completion of activities specified in your learning contract
Students approved to undertake an overseas placement must register their trip with JCU for insurance and safety purposes. Registration should be done at least eight weeks before departure where possible.
Please follow this link to complete JCU's Pre Departure Checks & Travel Registration Form (online) for your overseas placement.
If your placement is in the United States or Canada, please contact the subject coordinator to discuss if JCU insurance will cover the placement.
Applications for round one have closed. The second round open from 1st September to 30th September 2022
(WIL)/ Placement Bursary Flyer
(WIL)/ Placement Scholarship Flyer
Applications for this round will close on Friday 29 April - CLOSED
The second round will open on 1 Sept 2022, closing 30 Sept 2022.
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.
NAFEA Scholarship
Equity Rural Scholarship – Now open, Closes 1 August 2022
The Equity Rural Placement Scholarship Program in an initiative of NAFEA intended to assist WIL / field experience administrators by providing financial assistance to students who have been assessed as experiencing financial hardship to undertake placements in rural settings and nominated key priority areas. Students need to provide evidence of being assessed as experiencing financial hardship. If students are not able to provide this as part of the application process, they need to outline their financial situation; and, if they are successful, they will be required to provide supporting evidence. Students who have been awarded an equity scholarship or are in receipt of Centrelink are strongly encouraged to apply (Note: this is not an exhaustive list).
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.
Further information is available at https://nafea.org.au/scholarships/