Allocations

The following information relates to students enrolled in Years 3 and 4 of the UQ-Ochsner MD Program.

UQ-Ochsner 2024 Placement Deadlines

The following information relates to students enrolled in the UQ-Ochsner MD Program. 

Students are provided with the opportunity to apply for a placement reallocation during Year 4 at Ochsner after they have been allocated to a confirmed placement and after all allocations have been finalized. This may include requesting a sub-discipline change or complete block order change.

This must be done in accordance with the UQ-Ochsner 2024 Placement Deadlines. Requests will not be considered outside of the published deadlines. Due to logistical and operational components which occur across 2 continents, no exceptions will be made to these deadlines.

• Requests will be handled in the order received. 
• Once a reallocation request has been approved and processed it will be considered finalised.
• As stated in the 2024 Allocation Guidelines, “students are responsible for ensuring that their enrolment in mySI-net matches their allocated Clinical Placements.”

Students wishing to apply for allocation changes under the above conditions must submit the details to med.ocsStudentAdmin@uq.edu.au.

Students are required to undertake the elective course during Year 4 of their program. The elective course includes a placement period that is six (6) weeks in duration. Although the elective is 6 weeks long, many institutions only allow a fixed period of 4 weeks. Therefore, UQ-Ochsner students will initially be allocated for the first 4 weeks at OCS with the remaining two weeks in research or self-directed study. Students must provide a formal learning plan to justify self-directed study, and approval will be at the discretion of the OCS Assistant Director of Curriculum. Applications for the elective placement activity must be made in accordance with the published guidelines and timeline. Further details can be found below.

Elective Preferencing at Ochsner

Preferencing to undertake the elective at Ochsner will occur prior to each semester in which the student is allocated for their elective block. This will be conducted via Placements. Students must preference an elective placement at Ochsner regardless if they intend to apply for a self-arranged external placement. This is to ensure that students have a secured placement in the event that the self-arranged external placement is not approved.

Students are not permitted to contact clinicians at Ochsner directly regarding clinically based elective opportunities and must follow the process conducted through OCS Student Administration.

Elective placements at Ochsner will be released to students approximately 2 weeks after Elective preferencing closes.

Self-Arranged Elective Placements

Students are also able to undertake a self-arranged elective placement somewhere other than at Ochsner Clinical School. Applications for self-arranged (external) elective placements must be received no later than 12 weeks prior to the commencement of their elective placement. Students must not apply for dates outside of their elective block which interfere with a block previous to or subsequent their elective.

All self-arranged placements will require a student placement agreement (SPA) to be signed with the placement provider unless a current affiliation agreement exists between the away institution and Ochsner or UQ. Students may wish to consider placement providers where Ochsner or UQ has an existing agreement. A list of these providers is located on the UQ-Ochsner Blackboard Community Site under Year 4 Electives & Away Placements - Away Elective Information. Without a fully executed SPA, or current affiliation agreement, the placement will not be approved. If neither an SPA nor affiliation agreement can be secured six (6) weeks prior to the commencement of the placement block, students will be allocated to an available placement by the OCS Student Administration Team.

Students may view a list of locations where UQ-Ochsner graduates previously interviewed/rotated/matched on the UQ-Ochsner Blackboard Community Site under Student Resources.

Self-Arranged Placement – Application Process

• Prior to applying for a self-arranged elective placement, students must notify the OCS Elective Clerkship Coordinator of their intended host site (med.ocsStudentAdmin@uq.edu.au).
• Applications for external elective placements must be received no later than 12 weeks prior to the start date of the placement. Due dates can be found here and are also listed below.

• Applications are submitted via the self-placement submission link on your Placements page under your “To Do” list. 
• Following the application due date, the OCS Assistant Director of Curriculum will assess all applications for approval and students will be advised accordingly.  
• The OCS Elective Clerkship Coordinator will then arrange the SPA with your host site (if applicable). Note that getting an SPA signed can be a lengthy process and, in some cases, placements may not be able to go ahead. In the event that an SPA cannot be secured for a placement, students will be allocated an Elective placement at OCS. 
• Once the placement is approved by the OCS Assistant Director of Curriculum and the SPA has been secured, you will be provided with confirmation of final approval via email.

Students are advised NOT to make any travel arrangements until the final approval has been granted.

Ochsner Health is driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate. Coordinated clinical and hospital patient care, all connected electronically to provide convenience for our patients, is provided across the region by Ochsner’s 29 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and over 60 neighborhood health centers. 

ALL clinical placements have travel built into their schedules and ALL activities are not held on the Ochsner Main Campus. Because this is specifically designed as part of the curriculum, no student stays at Ochsner Main Campus for the whole block, and no exceptions are made for any reason. Travel is required for all clinical placements. Students are responsible for their own transportation. The Ochsner Clinical School is not responsible for transporting students and will not make any site assignments or curricular adjustments for individual students based on transportation preferences or needs.

It is important to note that public transportation in New Orleans is not as efficient as it is in Brisbane and other metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Several clinical sites are generally not served by public transportation or have limited service during the early morning and late evening hours which are often required when doing clinical rotations. As a result, all students are strongly urged to have a valid driver’s license and access to a reliable means of transportation. Students are strongly encouraged to prepare in advance and make plans to have their own mode of transportation.