Away Placements

Applications must be received no later than 12 weeks prior to the start of the placement to be taken away.

Please note that as a result of the University’s travel directive, at this time, we are unable to approve self-arranged placements interstate or overseas for 2021/2022 placements. Unfortunately, we have no indication as to when we will be able to revert to business as usual. The Faculty will, of course, reassess its position should the Federal and State Government and University directives change and students will be duly notified.

As a result of the University’s travel directive, at this time, we are unable to approve self-arranged placements interstate or overseas. Unfortunately, we have no indication as to when we will be able to revert to business as usual. The Faculty will, of course, reassess its position should the Federal and State Government and University directives change. 

Within Queensland

As you will be aware, the four medical schools within Queensland have agreed to cancel all inbound elective clinical placements for the remainder of 2021. This joint decision was made to ensure the healthcare system was not unduly overburdened and to preserve placement availability to support core clinical placements.  The decision has not been made for 2022 placements, however the faculty will communicate any updates with students once known.

Any student who wishes to self-arrange an elective or away placement within Queensland must, prior to applying, seek approval from Dr Martin Wolley (m.wolley@uq.edu.au). This requirement will remain for the 2021 calendar year. By way of reminder, students are not permitted to self-arrange an elective placement at a UQ-Clinical Unit or affiliated site.

It is important to note that self-arranged placements will still require the relevant approvals including a Student Placement Agreement (SPA). If a SPA is not signed by the placement provider by two weeks prior to the placement start date, the placement will not be approved and the student will be allocated to a placement with a UQ Clinical Unit. Students may wish to consider placement providers where the University has an existing relationship (overarching agreement). A list of these providers can be found here, under the Location tab.

Application Process

For International RRM Placements, students must submit the following documents via the self-placement submission link on your Placements home page:

• International Student Placement Acknowledgement Form (If international placement)
• Confirmation of placement from the host institution in the form of a Letter of Acceptance. The letter must be on letterhead and signed by the supervising consultant
• Weekly timetable of activities to be undertaken during placement, or other evidence of the course and/or placement learning

For ED/Ortho at Queen's University, refer to the application process outlined on the Year 4 Preferencing and Allocations page.

For MIS at Queen's University, refer to the application process outlined on the Year 3 Preferencing and Allocations page.

For MIS at Tan Tok Seng Hospital, refer to the application process outlined on the Year 3 Preferencing and Allocations page.

Before a student commences a clinical placement outside of a UQ clinical site, a contract must be in place. At UQ, the most common type of contract is a student placement agreement. Student Placement Agreements (SPA) are a legal document between UQ Medicine and host placement organisations. They are used for students undertaking a clinical placement. These agreements detail the responsibilities of UQ and the placement provider and set out the terms and conditions of the placement. 

• The Faculty of Medicine will arrange each SPA on behalf of students applying for an away placement, once the academic merits of the intended placement have been assessed.
• Please note that an application for an away placement will not be approved until a relevant SPA has been fully executed. 
• Remember that getting an SPA signed can be a long process. Keep this in mind when you are organising your placements and managing the application processes through the placement provider and UQ. 

NOTE: The University of Queensland, with the help of the Faculty of Medicine has recently adopted the AAMC Uniform Clinical Training Affiliation Agreement as a standard UQ document. Students are encouraged to seek placements at institutions that have also adopted this template. The purpose of the AAMC template agreement is for contract negotiations to be more simplified between the Host and the Home institution when arranging student placements. 

Your placement provider may require you to submit certain documents when you apply for an elective placement.  You can find information on who to contact below.

* This Letter will be issued only to students who are currently in good standing with the University, who have achieved an average GPA of 4.5 and above and have a clear conduct report.  
^The Faculty of Medicine OHS team carry out respiratory equipment fit testing to verify correct fitment and seal of disposable respiratory masks rated for P2 (Australia) or N95 (other national jurisdictions).  Please email the team stipulating which country you’ll be working in. Testing is carried out at Oral Health Centre, Herston or by prior arrangement at limited other locations.

If the documentation your require is not found above, please email the Placements team for further advice - med.placements@uq.edu.au. 

Centrelink

Students who receive Centrelink payments and are planning to complete a placement outside of Australia could be at risk of having their payments ceased.  Students should contact Centrelink directly for further advice. 

If Centrelink request a statement from your education institution, please email the Student Administration team (med.enquiries@uq.edu.au) to request a Centrelink Letter. 

Sites with a Current Overarching SPA

A list of sites with a current overarching Student Placement Agreement (SPA) can be found here. If you are applying to undertake a placement at one of these sites, the Faculty do not have to enter into any further legal negtiations with the placement provider and these placements will generally be approved more quickly. Students must still follow the standard application and approval procedure outlined above, and all application are subject to academic approval.

Queensland Health Facilities

As you may be aware, the four medical schools within Queensland are currently unable to accept inbound elective clinical placement applications. To ensure the healthcare system is not unduly overburdened and to preserve placement availability to support core clinical placements, students are not permitted to contact any Queensland Health facilities or clinicians employed at Queensland Health facilities directly to enquire about elective placements.

If students are interested in self-arranging their elective or away placement, they are encouraged at this point to source placements at Private Hospitals NOT affiliated with a medical school. Current affiliations are listed in the table below and students are asked not to approach these affiliated sites.

Once Queensland Health inbound placements are permitted to recommence, please note that applications for placement within the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Services must be coordinated through the UQ Placements team. This includes Gold Coast University Hospital, Robina Hospital, Nambour, Caloundra, Gympie, Maleny, and Sunshine Coast University Hospital.  Students are not to contact individual clinicians to arrange/request clinical placement. Please direct all enquiries to the placements team - med.placements@uq.edu.au

UnitingCare Hospitals

Wesley Hospital, St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital, Buderim Private Hospital or St Stephen's Hospital in Hervey Bay - any students interested in undertaking a placement in one of these facilities need to contact UnitingCare Clinical School in the first instance and are not to contact clinicians directly. You can contact them on medical.school@uchealth.com.au. For more information, including details about their non-refundable enquiry and application fees, see the UnitingCare Clinical School​ website.

DFAT 3/4/0 Countires

If international placements are permitted, self-sourced placements in a country with a DFAT advice level 3, those with no advice issued, and/or in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMIC), as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will require a Risk Assessment to be completed by the student. These placements will be considered on a case by case basis and approval is at the discretion of the Faculty of Medicine. Please note that this approval can take many weeks to obtain, so you should consider this in your planning.

Generally, the Faculty are more likely to allow travel to DFAT 3 countries where you have family there (and intend to stay with them), you know the language and customs etc. Self-sourced placements are not able to be undertaken in countries with a DFAT advice level 4 (Do Not Travel).

As per UQ’s PPL 1.90.01 University Travel Management Policy, placements in country with a DFAT advice level 3 and No advice issued will require an ‘International High Risk Travel Business Case’ and ‘International High Risk Travel Destination Approval’ form to be completed by the student, for consideration and approval by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement).

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact the Placements Team (med.placements@uq.edu.au).

VSLO - Visiting Student Learning Opportunities

The AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program allows you to search and apply for clinical, research, and public health opportunities in the US. You will have access to many resources, cross-cultural tools, and information on engaging in a global health experience.

Find out more

There are currently several opportunities in the program for students wishing to undertake a non-UQ placement:

^ Please note, international students will enrol in either RRM or MiS, therefore it is not possible to undertake both as away placements. Domestic students must undertake a UQ-arranged RRM placement in Queensland.

* If oversubscribed, these placements will be allocated by random ballot.

Observership

The Summer Block Observership (Ochsner) takes place at the end of Year 1. This placement will allow Ochsner students to gain exposure to the practice of medicine in a clinical healthcare, research or community setting in Australia, prior to returning to the US for Phase 2 of the program. Students will have the option of finding their own placement and may undertake this placement anywhere in Australia.  

Onshore students are not required to udertake an Observership placement as part of their program requirements, however students may self-arrange an optional placement at the end of Year 1. Further details can be found here.

Medicine in Society (MiS)

In Year 3, all international students are required to undertake the Medicine in Society (MiS) course, and generally this is held in Brisbane. Currently, we have one pre-approved MiS placement at Queen’s University, Canada for each of the six placement blocks in Year 3. Further information can be found here. 

Rural and Remote Medicine (RRM)

In Year 3, all domestic students are required to undertake the Rural and Remote Medicine (RRM) course. International students can also request to “transfer” from MiS to RRM to facilitate an overseas “away” RRM placement in their home country.  There are certain criteria that are required from the placement in order to receive academic approval for this placement.  Further information can be found here. 

Elective (Personalised Learning Course)

In Year 4, studentsare able to undertake a self-arranged placement at a location other than a UQ Clinical Unit (i.e. interstate or overseas). Students will need to apply to undertake their placement at a non-UQ site no later than 12 weeks prior to the commencement of your placement, to allow time for the relevant approvals. Further information can be found here.

Medical Specialties

In Year 4, students will be provided with the opportunity to undertake their Medical Specialties placement at the UQ Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, Louisiana (subject to availability). Further information can be found here.

Surgical Specialties & Critical Care 

In Year 4, the Surgical Specialties (Orthopaedics & Ophthalmology) and Critical Care (Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics and Intensive Care Unit) are not placements in themselves, but a series of two and three week placements within the Advanced Hospital Practice Semester (depicted below).

Like Medical Specialties, students will be provided with the opportunity to undertake these placements at the UQ Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, Louisiana (subject to availability). In addition to these, we also have one pre-approved placement in Emergency Medicine/Orthopaedics at Queen’s University in Canada for each of the six placement blocks in Year 4. Further information can be found here.