Year 3 & 4 Allocation Process
The below information relates to students who commenced the MD Program (5578) prior to 2023.
Overview of the Allocation Process
The Year 3 & 4 Allocation Process is designed to facilitate the equitable distribution of students in clinical placements throughout the academic year and across all available Clinical Units.
Pathways
You will be allocated to a “home” clinical unit where you will undertake the majority of your placements. You will be part of a relatively small group of students at that site who will follow a similar sequence of placements across the year or “Pathway.”
To facilitate both a sense of belonging and an appropriate breadth of experience, the Faculty has developed “pathways” - the sequence of placements that one student will take across the entire year.
It is important to note that the number of pathways that are made available each year is dependent on operational requirements, and individual pathways may be subject to minor changes. The proposed Year 3 and Year 4 pathways are provided each year (available under the ‘Preferences’ heading), to give you an idea of the likely sequences of placements available at different clinical units, the number of students at each unit and the likely distribution of students across the different hospitals within the unit (if applicable).
Preferencing Process
Each year, you will have the opportunity to submit your preferences via the UQ Placements system, for both Clinical Unit and Semester Order (Year 3) or Elective Block (Year 4) for the main allocation round.
- Further details on the preferencing process are available under the ‘Preferences’ heading, for Year 3 and Year 4, respectively.
- Further information on how to use the UQ Placements system is available under the ‘Placements System – Student Handbook’ heading below.
The Faculty Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team will also publish a Clinical Unit preferencing tracker on the Year 3 and Year 4 preferencing and allocation webpages. This will be available under the ‘Preferences’ heading and will be updated at 9am each morning throughout the preferencing period. There will be a final preference tracker update at 9am on the day that preferencing closes.
Allocation Method
Following a review of the allocation process, which included advice from student representatives and staff from across the medical program, it was decided that allocations for 2022/23 will be made in the following order:
- Students who have been approved for Special Consideration will be allocated first (see Section 8 of the ‘Year 3 & 4 Allocation Guidelines’ for further information on the Special Consideration process). Students who are approved for allocation to a particular Clinical Unit will still be required to preference for their Semester/Block order. Likewise, students who are approved for a particular placement order will still be required to preference for their Clinical Unit.
- Students who submitted an Expression of Interest and were approved for allocation to a Clinical Unit of the Rural Clinical School (RCS) (further details can be found here). Students will still be required to preference for their Semester/Block order.
- Students who selected an undersubscribed unit as their first preference will be allocated to that unit, where possible. Students will not be reallocated out of this unit (as referenced in Step 5 below).
- The remaining students (i.e. those not listed in Step 1-3 above), will be selected at random and allocated to their highest available preference, until all students have been allocated (noting that students who 'opt out' of returning to a UQRCS Clinical Unit in Year 4 will be guaranteed allocation to one of their top 6 preferences).
- Allocations from Step 4 (above) will then be adjusted to provide the highest available preferences for the cohort as a whole, noting that first preferences at undersubscribed sites will be preserved (see Step 3 above). For example, a pair of students who were allocated to their 1st and 10th preferences may be swapped so that they get their 4th and 6th preferences, respectively.
- This adjustment will also take into consideration:
- the spread of International students across the Clinical Units, so that each Clinical Unit has a cohort with no more than 50% International students.
- the gender composition at each Clinical Unit, so that each Clinical Unit has a cohort with at least 25% female students.
- Semester/Block order will be allocated subsequent to Clinical Unit allocation, with the aim of providing the highest available preferences for the cohort as a whole. Students who do not have a preferred Semester/Block Order do not need to submit preferences for their Semester/Block Order.
Given that there will be some level of manual adjustment to the allocations, students are advised to preference where they actually want to go, rather than basing their preferences on perceived demand and/or the likelihood of getting a particular allocation.
Following the release of provisional placement allocations, there will be a process for facilitating placement swaps (further information is available under the ‘Allocation Swaps’ heading below).
Historical Preferencing and Allocation Statistics
A summary of student preferencing and allocation outcomes for Year 3 & 4 placements in 2021-2024 can be found here.
Timeline for Preferencing & Allocations
All key dates for the Year 3 & 4 Allocations Process can be found here.
Rural Clinical School Allocations
If you are allocated to a Clinical Unit of the Rural Clinical School (RCS) you will be challenged to go further and do more. You will gain a greater depth and breadth of experience and benefit from hands-on, face-to-face, up-close-and-personal experience. You will get to live and work in a vibrant rural community and experience the many attractions the place and its people have to offer. Find more information on RHMT funding requirements and the RCS EOI process, click below:
Clinical Units
Students will have the opportunity to nominate their preference (rank order) for allocation to a Clinical Unit. For the purposes of allocation, Clinical Units which are part of the Greater Brisbane Clinical School are considered to be Metro Clinical Units.
Clinical Units | Hospitals |
GREATER BRISBANE CLINICAL SCHOOL | |
The Prince Charles Hospital, Caboolture Hospital, Redcliffe Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital Northside | |
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Redland Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital, Queensland Children’s Hospital | |
Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Queensland Children’s Hospital, Toowong Private Hospital, Ramsay Clinic New Farm | |
Mater Hospital Brisbane, Queensland Children’s Hospital | |
Greenslopes Private Hospital, Queensland Children’s Hospital, The Park Centre for Mental Health | |
Ipswich Hospital, Queensland Children’s Hospital | |
RURAL CLINICAL SCHOOL | |
Bundaberg Hospital | |
Hervey Bay Hospital | |
Toowoomba Hospital | |
Rockhampton Hospital | |
^ International students will not be allocated to a Rural Clinical School site. To facilitate this, students must preference these Clinical Units last. However, there may be limited availability for International onshore students to be allocated to the Rockhampton Clinical Unit in Year 3 and/or Year 4. Further details can be found here.
Special Consideration
Students should read this information in conjunction with the Allocation Guidelines and Key Dates.
Students may have a circumstance that will impact on their ability to undertake placements at a specific site or semester order. This is known as Special Consideration, and allows the student to apply to be assigned to a placement through a process that is separate to the usual method of placement allocation. The Special Consideration process will open prior to the start of allocation preferencing.
In 2025, Students can request Special Consideration for one or more of the following:
a) Clinical Unit
b) Placement Order
c) Rural Placement Exemption (RRM)
All applications for Special Consideration must be supported by evidence, will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and will be made at the sole discretion of the Faculty. While all reasonable attempts will be made to accomodate Special Consideration requests, this may not always be possible due to operational requirements. If approved for special consideration, students must still submit their preferences in Placements.
The following will be considered grounds for Special Consideration:
- Have a medical condition requiring specialised treatment or care that is only available at a designated location. Students must provide evidence (for example, a medical certificate) to support their application.
- Have a medical condition which amounts to a temporary disability, and cannot be properly supported at a specific Clinical Unit.
- Have an approved UQ Student Access Plan (SAP) that will impact on their ability to undertake one or more placements. Students should provide a copy of the pages of their SAP which outline the considerations or adjustments that are required. No other personal details or information will be disclosed or requested.
- Have Elite Athlete Status - see eligibility requirements here.
- Have principal/primary carer responsibilities, which require a specific placement location to enable carer responsibilities to be fulfilled.
- Be undertaking a Research Higher Degree at UQ in accordance with the program rules relating to concurrent enrolment in a Research Higher Degree, which requires a specific placement location to facilitate the Research program.
- Have evidence supporting approval of, or application for, a self-arranged elective placement during a defined clinical placement block^.
- Have been approved, have applied, or expect to apply to undertake an international medical licensing examination, which requires a specific placement order to facilitate an external elective placement^.
- Be commencing Year 4 in 2025 and have applied for an Onshore-OCS Partner Swap or AHP Semester Swap (as per the published Guidelines), where both Students have already obtained the required letter of support.
^ Special consideration allows for allocation to a specific placement block. Students still must apply and receive academic approval to undertake a self-arranged elective placement. Being approved special consideration does not constitute academic approval.
The following will not be considered grounds for Special Consideration:
- Private accommodation and/or transportation arrangements;
- Financial considerations (including current employment and/or business arrangements);
- Location of partner or family (except where special consideration has been approved due to carer responsibilities);
- Family celebrations and/or social events (for example, weddings and birthdays) (refer to attendance guidelines);
- Religious grounds (refer to attendance guidelines);
- Principal/primary carer responsibilities for pets or animals; and
- Internship interviews, either in Australia or overseas.
Rural Placement Exemption
In 2025, Students (Domestic and International) are able to apply for a Rural Placement Exemption via the Special Consideration Process.
If approved, Students completing MEDI7315 Rural and Remote Medicine (RRM) placement will complete in lieu of RRM, MEDI7321 Medicine in Society (MiS) in either blocks 3 or 6
If a student is granted a Rural Placement Exemption, they will not automatically be granted Special Consideration for allocation to a Clincial Unit of the GBCS. Sutdents who are granted a Rural Placement Exemption may still be allocated to a Clinical Unit of the RCS, unless they have also been granted Special Consideration to remain in the GBCS.
How to Apply
2025 Special Consideration applications open: 12 midday 27 May 2024
2025 Special Consideration applications close: 12 midday 03 June 2024
APPLY HERE
Late Applications for Special Consideration
In exceptional circumstances, students may apply for late Special Consideration after the designated application period has closed. Late applications must meet one or more of the Special Consideration categories outlined above and also meet one of the categories below. Applications should be emailed to med.placements@uq.edu.au.
- (a) Students must demonstrate, with supporting documentation, that exceptional circumstances existed that made it not possible to submit their application for Special Consideration during the designated application period; or
(b) Students must demonstrate, with supporting documentation, that there has been a significant and unexpected change to their personal circumstances subsequent to the closing date of the designated application period.
- A lack of knowledge or awareness of the procedure to seek special consideration and the associated timelines is not considered a circumstance beyond their control and does not meet the criteria for a late application to be considered.
- All applications for late Special Consideration will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to operational requirements.
- Approval of applications for late Special Consideration will be made at the sole discretion of the Faculty.
Allocation Swaps
Following the publication of provisional allocations, students can apply to swap their allocation by:
- finding a swap partner and emailing med.placements@uq.edu.au
- completing the swap request form and indicating their preferred Clinical Unit and/or Elective Block.
To facilitate communication regarding swap requests, a dedicated discussion forum is now available on Blackboard:
- Year 3 and 4 MD Community Site 2024 > Discussion Board > Onshore Placement Allocation Swap Requests for 2025
If a student has not been able to find a swap partner themselves, they should complete the swap request form and indicate their preferred Clinical Unit and/or Elective Block. Swap requests will be facilitated by the Faculty, where there is a match between two student requests.
Students are required to swap their entire pathway and are not able to swap individual placements within the year.
All applications for swaps will be accomodated where possible, however are subject to operational requirements. We cannot guarantee the fulfilment of swap requests.
Application Dates: 2-13 September 2024
Discussion Board: Year 3 and 4 MD Community Site 2024
Reallocation of Placements - Year 4 (Ochsner and Onshore)
The Faculty recognises that some students may wish to spend more time in Australia (for Ochsner students) or in Ochsner (for Onshore students) during Year 4. The eligibility criteria and application process for swaps between Ochnser and Onshore are outlined in these Guidelines.
It is important to note that the Guidelines are applicable to Year 4 only.
If you have any queries related to the guidelines, please do not hesitate to contact the Faculty's Work Integrated Learning team (med.placements@uq.edu.au).
Placements System - Student Handbook
Each year, students will have the opportunity to submit their preferences for allocations. Information on how to preference in the Placements system can be found here under the heading 'Year 3 & 4 Placement Guidelines and Handbook'
Placements is a University wide system for managing your program related placement activities. Placements will allow students to manage and view all placement related tasks and schedules in one location.
Students will lodge their preferences via the “to do” list that will display on their home screen. There will be a separate page for each preference type relevant to each year. For example, Clinical Unit and Semester Order for Year 3.
Year 3 - one page will display Clinical Units and another will display semester order. Students will be able to rank order their preferences by dragging up/down or using the arrow buttons.
Year 4 - one page will display Clinical Units and another will display elective blocks. Students will be able to rank order their preferences by dragging up/down or using the arrow buttons.