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
GOING RURAL
If you’re a Queensland nursing, midwifery or allied health student needing financial support to go on rural or remote placement, and meet the eligibility criteria, Going Rural can assist.
Going Rural financial assistance is capped at $1000 for rural or remote placement travel and/or accommodation expenses.
See Going Rural Eligibility Criteria ,Guidelines and application form : Going Rural · Health Workforce Queensland
For further information please contact the Future Workforce Team on:
Phone: 3105 7800
QLD Health Clinical Placements and COVID-19 Vaccination Update
JCU is following the instruction of Queensland Health concerning its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please visit the QLD Health COVID-19 and Clinical Placements webpage for the latest local government area restrictions and vaccination requirements.
JCU recommends that Healthcare students who undertake clinical placements as part of their Course requirements be vaccinated against COVID-19 to ensure they can attend clinical placement. Healthcare Students are in the 1B cohort, and most vaccination clinics will have priority appointments available for them.
Students, please use the Vaccine Eligibility Checker and book in as a Healthcare Worker to be eligible to make your first appointment and receive the first dose of the two-dose vaccination course. Remember to take your JCU Clinical ID Card and Medicare Card to your appointment.
QLD Health COVID-19 vaccination information for Healthcare Workers
QLD Health - Hospital Vaccination clinics:
- Townsville Campus Healthcare Students: Townsville University Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination Hub info.
- Cairns Campus Healthcare Students: Cairns Hospital COVID-19 Vaccination info.
- Mackay Campus Healthcare Students: Can call 07 4885 6000 and ask them to transfer your call to the COVID vaccination clinic so that you can make an appointment.
After each vaccination, please submit your COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate (avail from myGov) or another evidence document to dthmplacements@jcu.edu.au so that your InPlace record can be updated. Students should also update the 'Other Vaccinations' section of the QLD Health Student Orientation Checklist.
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.
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.
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.