Medical School

Participation, attendance and engagement guidelines

The Medical Program Participation Guidelines have been developed to support you to engage optimally with your learning in the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Program with your wellbeing in mind. The guidelines aim to:

  1. Clarify the expectations of you as a medical student in relation to participating optimally in the MD Program while preparing for future professional practice.
  2. Outline the flexible approaches available to you to prioritise your health.
  3. Inform you about the processes in place to enable you to manage absences.

The Medical School expects you to read these guidelines carefully, and that you will take responsibility to look after your health and manage your learning in accordance with these guidelines. The School encourages you to inform relevant personnel and to seek support early as outlined in these guidelines.

  1. Overview
  2. Participation and attendance requirements
  3. Out-of-hours expectations
  4. Absence notification and documentation
  1. Implications for lack of participation, attendance and unnotified absences
  2. Transition, Orientation and Introductory Periods
  3. Student support

7. Student support

Prioritising your health

The Medical School understands that it is important to prioritise your health as this is a key component of good medical practice. Staying healthy contributes to your ability to practise safely, it is recommended that all students (and indeed all doctors) have their own GP to support their health needs. If you are facing challenges please reach out to the Medical Student Support Team.

There may be times when you need to take time off during the semester and these guidelines offer the flexibility for you to do so within reason. If you need to take time off to prioritise your health, you are asked to inform your tutor or clinical supervisor of your absence in a timely manner and submit an absence notification. It is important that you take personal responsibility for managing your study life balance and plan all personal appointments, so they do not significantly impact participation in the Learning Experiences. All reasonable attempts should be made to avoid clashes with your Learning Experiences.

If you do not participate in studies due to significant accumulated absence and/or non-participation, you are likely to require an interruption of studies. Academic guidance will be offered to you to support you through the process of interrupting your studies.

If you experience health issues that affect your ability to participate in your courses, you will be encouraged to focus on your health prior to returning to study, when fit to do so. Teaching and Clinical Unit staff, Academic Guidance Leads, and the Medical Student Support Team are available to support medical students both within the program and during their return to studies. For more information, please click here.

Student Academic Support

If you feel that you are unable to satisfactorily participate in the required Learning Experiences during your courses, you are encouraged to contact your Learning Community in the first instance for advice.

Indications for reaching out to your Learning Community:

  • You have missed >10% of an immersion, longitudinal placement, sequence of learning Experiences or learning block*
    • In year 1 and 2 a learning block is equivalent to the 8-9 week sections between break weeks
    • In year 3 and 4 a learning block is a core component of an immersion – e.g. Anaesthetics within Critical Care Plus
  • You are concerned about whether or not your pattern of attendance and engagement is on track to meet requirements

Indications for reaching out to Academic Guidance:

  • You are having difficulty developing your Learning Plan
  • You are struggling to meet you learning goals
  • You have missed >10% of an immersion, longitudinal placement, sequence of learning Experiences or learning block*
    • In year 1 and 2 a learning block is equivalent to the 8-9 week sections between break weeks
    • In year 3 and 4 a learning block is a core component of an immersion – e.g. Anaesthetics within Critical Care Plus

If your participation is unsatisfactory due to prolonged absence or other reasons for non-engagement, you may be advised to apply for an interruption to studies or withdraw from the course. The decision to interrupt your studies is complex. You will be encouraged to contact your Course Coordinator, Learning Community, the relevant Academic Guidance Lead and the Medical School Student Support Team to assist you to work through your options.

Disability support

Where your participation in a course is impacted by a permanent or temporary disability or medical condition, we encourage you to work closely with the Medical Student Support Team to develop a Student Access Plan (SAP).

MSST will work with you, the Learning Community and the Course Coordinator/s to develop reasonable adjustments to assist you to meet the requirements of the program including participation and attendance. These adjustments need to align with the requirements of your profession. There is also likely to be variation depending on your stage of learning and the context of the learning environment.  As such these adjustments will be reviewed regularly and may vary year to year in the MD program.

You are encouraged to take a proactive approach by discussing how your medical condition or disability will impact your participation in your course/s with your Learning Community and Course Coordinator/s at your earliest convenience and preferably prior to commencement of that course.