Away Placements

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

For Medical Specialties and International RRM,  students must submit the following:

• Application form for away 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. 
• Additional documentation as required by the relevant discipline. 

For PLC Elective and 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.

Additional supporting documents

Sometimes, placement providers require additional documents to support a placement. These may include:

• A 'Letter of Good Standing' - contact the Clinical Placements (med.placements@uq.edu.au) team for the relevant documentation.
• Home school verifications from overseas insitutions contact the Clinical Placements team (med.clinicaladmin@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 placements team (med.placements@uq.edu.au) to request a Centrelink Letter. 

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

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. 

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.

DFAT 3/4/0 Countires

If you intend to travel to a country that is considered to be of high risk to Australian travellers, then you will need formal approval from the University to go there. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) groups countries by perceived risk, and travel to DFAT category 4 countries (do not travel) will generally not be allowed. Travel to DFAT 3 (reconsider your need to travel) and DFAT 0 (not rated) countries will require formal approval, and this can take many weeks to obtain, so please consider this in your planning. Generally, we 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.

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

In 2020-2022, there will be several opportunities in the program for students wishing to undertake a placement interstate or overseas.

^ 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.

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. The Faculty is committed to developing additional opportunities, but at present, Queen’s is the only definite one that is available.

To be allocated to the place at Queens University, you will be asked to indicate your interest to the placement team in August 2019. This place will then be allocated to one student per placement block by means of a random ballot, with further information provided in due course.

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 thier home country. To undertake an “away” RRM placement, you must identify a suitable supervisor within a context that matches the criteria outlined by the RRM team. In specific terms that means a supervisor who works:

• In a city or town of less than 100,000 people
• In a workplace that is more than 25km from a major teaching hospital
• In a range of clinical contexts, that incudes General Practice but could be others (see RRM guidelines for specifics)

As the onus is on you to arrange the RRM placement, we include having an away placement in a certain placement block as a valid reason for special consideration. If you are interested in undertaking an “away” RRM placement in 2020, you should start to consider this soon, so that you have arrangements in well before the close of special consideration processes (further details are provided below). That way, we can ensure that you are allocated to a set order of placements that matches your away placement. Please note, you must arrange your placement within one of the pre-defined 6 week placement blocks for 2020 - we anticipate publishing these dates in early 2019.

It is important to note that you will still need to apply for, and obtain approval from, the RRM Discipline to undertake an away placement for RRM (further information on the application process is available here). In terms of special consideration, proof that you have commenced making arrangements for an away placement for a particular block will be sufficient evidence. 

Elective (Personalised Learning Course)

In Year 4, you are able to undertake a self-arranged placement at a location other than a UQ Clinical Unit (i.e. interstate or overseas). You will need to apply to undertake your 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.

Medical Specialties

In Year 4, you are able to undertake a self-arranged placement at a location other than a UQ Clinical Unit (i.e. interstate or overseas) as either 1 x 6 week block, or 1 x 4 week and 1 x 2 week block. You will need to apply to undertake your 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.

You will also be provided with the opportunity to undertake your Medical Specialties placement at the UQ Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, Louisiana (subject to availability).

Surgical Specialties & Critical Care 

As you may be aware, 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, you 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.

Allocation Process (Phase 2)

As you may be aware, mid-way through Year 2 you will be allocated to a sequence of clinical placements (called a placement pathway) at a particular clinical unit for Year 3 of the program (the same process will occur mid-way through the next year for Year 4 of the program). While you will be able to preference from a range of clinical units and a particular semester order, it is important to note that we cannot guarantee that you will get your first preference in this process.

We understand that a lot of time and money goes into arranging international placement opportunities and many of these placements will need to be arranged well in advance of the allocation process outlined above. For that reason, prior to the allocation process, we have a procedure known as “special consideration”, which allows you to tell us of particular circumstances that necessitate you being allocated to a certain clinical placement at a certain point in the year.  For example, if you are an international student and are in the process of arranging a Rural and Remote Medicine (RRM) placement in Block 1 of Year 3, you can apply for special consideration to ensure that you are allocated an offering that includes RRM in Block 1. Applications for special consideration will be open in May 2019 – further details will be provided shortly.

In 2021-2022, there will be several opportunities in the program for students wishing to undertake a placement interstate or overseas.

^ 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 MD Observership takes place at the end of year 1. This will allow you to gain exposure to the practice of medicine in a clinical healthcare, research or community setting prior to the clinical placement phase of the program in years 3 and 4. You are responsible for finding your own placement and you will have the option to undertake this placement in Australia or overseas.  As a global medical school, you are encouraged to pursue overseas placement opportunities and you may also consider interstate placements.

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.

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, you are able to undertake a self-arranged placement at a location other than a UQ Clinical Unit (i.e. interstate or overseas).  You will need to apply to undertake your 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.

Medical Specialties

In Year 4, you will be provided with the opportunity to undertake your Medical Specialties placement at the UQ Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, Louisiana (subject to availability).

Surgical Specialties & Critical Care 

As you may be aware, 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, you 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.