Optional Elective Placements

The purpose of the Optional Elective program is to provide medical students with an avenue to gain additional clinical experience during the MD Program. Approved students undertaking an Optional Elective placement are covered by UQ's travel, public liability and indemnity insurance. Optional Electives are not a compulsory component of the MD curriculum and students are not assessed during their placement. The placement will not be noted on the students' academic record.

Note that this is separate to the Year 4 Personalised Learning (Elective) Course. For further information on the Year 4 Elective course, please see the Year 4 PLC Elective page.

Guidelines

Location Guidelines

Year 1 & 2:
Optional Elective placements must be undertaken in Australia and are limited to observership experiences only.
Year 3 & 4:
Placements may be undertaken globally, subject to DFAT and LMIC restrictions outlined below. These placements can be clinical or non-clinical.

Placement Restrictions:

Placements cannot be completed at the Ochsner Clinical School (OCS) or UQ Clinical Units, except for the General Practice Clinical Unit with prior approval. Students must not contact UQ Clinical Unit clinicians regarding Optional Elective opportunities.
For placements at General Practices in the greater Brisbane area, approval must be obtained from the UQ General Practice Clinical Unit (med.gp@uq.edu.au) before approaching the General Practice.
Students must not contact clinicians from Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service facilities, as they do not accommodate out-of-curriculum placements.
For placements at UnitingCare facilities (e.g., Wesley Hospital, St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital, Buderim Private Hospital, or St Stephen's Hospital), students must contact the UnitingCare Clinical School (medical.school@uchealth.com.au) first and refrain from direct communication with clinicians.

DFAT and LMIC Restrictions:

To ensure the health, safety and wellness of students and to ensure UQ meets it's duty of care obligations, authorised travel is not permitted to countries/regions rated by DFAT Smart Traveller as:

- Level 3 (reconsider your need to travel)
- Level 4 (do not travel)
- Level 0 (where no advice has been issued by DFAT Smart Traveller.
- Low-middle income countries (LMIC), or below, as defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Eligibility and Conditions

You must be an enrolled MD program student with no misconduct issues.
Optional Elective placements can be undertaken during the summer break. Final-year students must complete their placement before their graduation date.
The placement must be in a health or medicine-related field.
You must satisfy the entry requirements of the institution where you are applying.
Students are responsible for covering all costs associated with the placement.
The placement must be supervised by a qualified health professional.
The University will not enter into agreements with external sites for Optional Electives.

Important Information

Optional Elective placements are considered Unpaid Work Experience placements by the Education (Work Experience) Act 1996. Optional experiences must meet the below criteria:

Unpaid Work Experience placements cannot exceed more than 30 days (240 hours) in one calendar year.
If you completed an Optional Elective placement during the last Christmas break and a component of that placement was in the current calendar year, this will count towards the max number of 30 days you can complete this year.
If your placement spans over 2 calendar years (i.e. December to January) you must submit a separate application for each component in each calendar year.
If you have completed any other Unpaid Work Experience placements in the same year as your application, these placements will also count towards the 30 day limit.

Note that in addition to Optional Elective placements, a number of other optional placement opportunities are also considered Unpaid Work Experience placements, including but not limited to:

IMPORTANT TRAVEL REQUIREMENT

Registering with UQ International SOS

All students undertaking Work Integrated Learning or Work Experience opportunities 50km away from their usual campus must register with International SOS (ISOS).

ISOS provides UQ travellers with:

24/7 pre-departure medical, safety, and security advice.
Routine and emergency assistance while travelling.
Support during crises, including locating and confirming traveller safety.

lease note that the WIL team monitors travel warnings before departure to ensure the placement location remains suitable. For more details on health and safety, review the Student OHS site.

What to do next:
Follow the step-by-step instructions on the UQ Travel website to ensure your travel is registered and updated.

UQ Travel Insurance

Students undertaking UQ-authorised WIL opportunities are covered by:

Public Liability
Professional Indemnity
Medical Malpractice (if applicable)
Clinical Trial (if applicable)
Student Personal Accident
Travel Insurance (if applicable)
WorkCover (WEP)

Please refer to UQ Insurance Services for full details of the benefits, terms and conditions.
Remember that it is your responsibility to submit the forms as required. If you would like conduct private travel before or after your placement, please seek additional insurance advice.

Application Process

Step 1 – Complete Required Forms

Download and complete the UQ Unpaid Work Experience Application Form and Placement Provider Details with your placement provider.
- Ensure both forms are signed by you and the provider, either electronically or in print format.
- These forms are required to ensure you are covered by UQ’s insurance during your placement.
For international placements, also complete and sign the Student International Placement Declaration Form.

Step 2 – Request UQ Approval for Unpaid Work Experience

Log in to your UQ InPlace dashboard.
Access the Self-Placement submission in your ‘To Do’ section.
- Note: You can undertake a maximum of 30 days of work experience per calendar year. If you have reached this limit, the Self-Placement option for Unpaid Work Experience will no longer appear on your dashboard.
Fill in the required details in InPlace (most of this information will be available on your signed Unpaid Work Experience form).
Upload your forms as a single document, including:
- a) Placement Provider Details Form
- b) UQ Unpaid Work Experience Application Form
- c) Student International Placement Declaration Form (for international placements only)
Submit your application at least 7 days before the placement start date.
- Important: Forms submitted less than 7 days before the placement commencement date may not be approved or may only be partially approved. Backdating in the system is not possible, which could result in you not being fully insured during your placement.
Your submission will be reviewed by the Faculty, and further instructions or confirmation will be provided.

Helpful Notes

If the host institution requires the Faculty to complete an application form, please email med.placements@uq.edu.au.
Some host organisations may request additional documents. For further details on obtaining these, refer to the ‘Additional Documents’ section.

Additional Documents

Students may be requested to submit additional documents to the host organisation. The following provides a guide as to where you can obtain some of the documents -

Document	Contact	Timeframe (Working days)
Confirmation of Enrolment	Request via myRequests on My.UQ page. Further information can be found here.	Approx. 3 days
Academic Transcript		Approx. 3 days
Letter of Good Standing*		Approx. 7 days
Letter of Endorsement**		Approx. 7 days

* 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. Students must wait for the release of official results before obtaining this letter.

** A Letter of Good Standing is not available until after Semester 1 grade release, therefore in its place we can provide a Letter of Endorsement

Proof of Insurance- By completing UQ's Optional Elective process, it means the student will be covered by insurance. Details of this insurance can be found under the Insurance website. Please note: students returning to their home country will be protected for malpractice, public liability and travel insurance (excluding medical and evacuation cover).

Opportunities

INTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES

Year 1 MD (Non-Ochsner) students may apply for one of the below Optional Elective opportunities:

TROHPIQ Rural Elective Experience Scholarship (TREES) with the support of the Mayne Academy of Rural and Remote Medicine (Application dates: 30 June to 21 July)
Towards International Medical Equity (TIME UQ) Goondir partnership – see website for dates

PAH Year 3 ED Clinical Immersion Opportunity

The Princess Alexandra Hospital Emergency Department stands as a prominent trauma centre and one of the most active emergency facilities in Australia. We are excited to offer the chance for 8-10 UQ MD candidates to participate in a two-week immersion program spanning from November 18^th, 2024, to January 5^th, 2025.

This opportunity is open to current MD3 students and to MD4 students who plan to continue their enrolment into 2024. Successful candidates will be paired with either a Senior Health Officer or a Registrar and will share their 40-hour work schedule for a duration of two weeks. During this period, participants will work closely with a physician who actively manages patients, patient records, and medication charts, and will have the opportunity to assist in medical procedures.

We encourage applications only from candidates who can fully commit to all eight shifts within a two-week timeframe, which includes night shifts, public holidays, and weekends.

Please bear in mind that to apply, you must submit a comprehensive CV highlighting your previous clinical experience and indicating your availability for a consecutive two-week period starting on any Monday from November 18^th, 2024. The last period will start 23^rd December, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr Rob Eley r.eley@uq.edu.au.

Applications will open Monday, 30 September at 0900 and close by 1700 Friday, 1 November, 2024.

Apply Here

EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES

External providers can express interest in providing opportunities for UQ MD students. These placement opportunities are not organised and specifically endorsed by the Faculty but may be of interest to students. Details can be found below for students to investigate further.

UQ Healthy Living (UQHL)

UQ Healthy Living is an over 50’s allied health facility that leads the way in harnessing the collective benefits of interprofessional care. The first of its kind, UQHL is a multidisciplinary service promoting longevity and wellbeing, resourced by students, supervised by leading clinicians, and supported by cutting edge technology. This unique synergy delivers affordable, quality care that considers a patients physical, mental, and emotional needs, while educating tomorrow’s clinicians in a collaborative, innovative environment.

Interested medical students will not only gain a deep level of understanding of the scope of practice for physiotherapists, psychologists & physiotherapists, but also gain an appreciation for how allied health and primary/specialist care can work collaboratively for improved patient outcomes.

Tasks and Responsibilities

contribute to clinical case conferences with allied health clinicians and students
participate in the daily student interprofessional meeting
attend intake assessment appointments and co-facilitate certain sections of this assessment under supervision
contribute to collaborative decision-making to ensure appropriate treatment recommendations for UQHL clients
observe a range of allied health appointments
observe a range of allied health programs (My Health for Life, Good Living with Arthritis Denmark, LiveWell group exercise for diabetes)
assist with cardiac observations (blood pressure SPO2, heart rate) prior to and post cardiac rehabilitation exercise sessions.

To learn more click here.

To apply please contact Brad McGregor (Clinical and Operations Manager)

b.mcgregor@uqhealthcare.org.au.

Opportunities to commence from Semester 1, 2023.

Wynyard Medical Centre

Wynyard Medical Centre is a general practice located in Wynyard, Tasmania that has previously hosted observership students. Interested students are asked to contact Dr Roland Ark with cc to office administration