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Student Placements
Professional Experience Placements (PEP)
The Tasmanian School of Medicine strives to ensure that students have ample opportunity to learn and apply their knowledge in the clinical environment, including sufficient patient contact to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to assume appropriate clinical responsibility upon graduation.
To gain experience in the clinical and wider health care environment, students are provided with a large number of professional experience placements (PEP)and clinical rotations within hospitals, general practices, various health care agencies, and non-government organisations throughout the BMedScMD. This clinical education forms an integral part of the Medicine program.
For each year you study in the Medicine program you will need to complete Safety in Practice declarations and paperwork. These must be done according to the procedures listed on the College of Health and Medicine PEP Compliance website.
The key document is the Safety in Practice Agreement (PDF 334KB) form and this must be scanned and loaded into the PEP management database InPlace. If you have any questions regarding this process contact the External Liaison team of the Tasmanian School of Medicine. If you are at a clinical school you will need to contact the administration team at the clinical school.
The Professional Experience Placement Checklist (PDF 456.4KB) on the College of Health and Medicine web pages can help you review this process and monitor whether you have done what is required. All PEP Safety in Practice processes must be completed by week 2 of first semester in any particular year of study or, if you have enrolled late, prior to beginning your course of study. Students who do not complete the paperwork are not eligible to undertake placements.
Some organisations require separate paperwork to be completed before students can be placed with them. These processes are detailed in the information for individual years of the Medicine Program, and relate primarily to clinical attachments with healthcare providers. Check with Unit Coordinators upon enrolling in a unit for details and if you have any questions direct them to the relevant student administration officers Note also that students are required to wear name badges and may be required to meet dress codes while on placements.
Clinical School Placements
Students may be allocated to any one of the clinical schools in Years 3, 4 and 5. The Graduate Outcome Attributes of students, summative assessments and learning outcomes of the program at each Clinical School are the same.
Students have the opportunity to indicate their allocation preference for one of the three Clinical Schools and the Tasmanian School of Medicine acknowledges the importance of giving students ample time to consider their preference.
While every effort is made to take account of students’ preferences in the allocation process, not all first preferences will necessarily be met and the final decision will rest with the Head of the Tasmanian School of Medicine, taking into account the needs of the student, the needs of the clinical schools and the number of vacancies available.
Rural Experiences
The Medicine Program incorporates rural experiences and placements throughout the program. In the early years, Rural Week gives students an overview of regional communities and health care in Tasmania. This includes the opportunity to engage with Aboriginal health care services. In later years more extensive placements occur through the Rural Health Teaching Sites and through attachments at the clinical schools.
Attendance and Engagement Requirements
Attendance is expected at all synchronous learning sessions (face-to-face on-campus or at external venues, and online via web conferencing such as zoom), to support your own learning and the development of a learning community. Unit Outlines for each year of the medicine program specify learning activities and assessment tasks at which participation is required.
The Medicine Program additionally has significant online learning activities such as asynchronous modules available in the learning management system, My Learning Online (MyLO), and you are expected to keep up with these. Your early engagement in assessment tasks due before census date in each semester may be monitored, and failure to complete these may result in your enrolment being cancelled.
A Reminder
If you have any questions about your study in the Medicine Program, first consult the MyLO section for the Unit you are studying that semester and carefully read the Unit Outline as it has detailed information about the program and what is expected of you.
Any remaining questions can be directed to your Unit, Rotation or Year Coordinators. Consult the Key Contacts and Information section for further details.
This Guide is meant to help you with broad information about the Medicine program and is not intended to direct your learning on a day to day basis.
Occupational Health & Safety
Laboratory orientation and safety
Students receive a briefing on laboratory safety in the first week of semester. They must undertake and pass a small online test on MyLO regarding laboratory safety before undertaking any activity in the laboratories. Students must wear all the required safety equipment and obey all required safety procedures in the laboratories.
The Tasmanian School of Medicine’s technical support staff provide guided orientation sessions in the laboratories to help students understand safety, equipment use and required procedures, including how to deal with emergencies, should they arise
Safety during placements
Safety during Professional Experience Placements (PEP) is monitored closely by the organisation you are placed with and by the College of Health and Medicine and the Tasmanian School of Medicine. Remember to fill out any paperwork required before a placement at any health service. Additional paperwork may be required before you enter your clinical placements at the Clinical Schools.
Insurance coverage
The University of Tasmania has insurance policies that cover students while they study with the University. Talk to your unit administration team if you have any queries about insurance coverage.
First Aid Certification
The Tasmanian School of Medicine requires all undergraduate medical students to have a current St John Ambulance Workplace 2; Senior First Aid Certificate, or its equivalent, by a Recognised Training Organisation (RTO). It is recommended that the certificate be completed before entry into the program, or alternatively by week 10 in first semester, (the exact date will be advised by your Professional Experience Placement Coordinator during Orientation week). The Certificate is to be uploaded onto InPlace (the UTAS placement management system) by the due date and retained for sighting by health care agencies or the University of Tasmania if or when required. If you do not submit your current Apply/Provide First Aid Certificate to the School via InPlace by the due date, you will not be eligible to undertake Professional Experience Placement (PEP).
