Student Clinical Placements

What is a Clinical Placement?

Clinical placement is supervised patient management in the pre-hospital or medical facility involved in primary care. We ask student s to complete their clinical placement after their practical workshops so they have the basic skills to enable them to implement appropriate care in accordance with any local clinical practice guidelines.

Student Clinical Placement is required in the following courses

HLT41120 — Certificate IV in Health Care — 80 Hours

HLT51020 — Diploma of Emergency Health Care – 160 Hours

After you have completed your theory units and practical workshops, the clinical work placement is a part of putting your new skills into practice to perfect your techniques to build your confidence in face to face patient management.

As an example, the Diploma of emergency care practical unit requires students to preform a clinical assessment and implement standard care in an out-of-hospital context on at least five different patient presentations for an illness or trauma impacting health status

This would include

  • Primary Survey
  • Secondary Survey
  • Planning and implementing patient management based on assessment, time-criticality and available resources
  • Monitoring a patient, e.g.: Patient observations Pulse Blood pressure and ECG if appropriate
  • Transferring care using a systematic approach to a handover

They are required to use any applicable clinical practice guidelines or protocols to

  • Manage a patient’s airway
  • Cardiac monitoring through limb leads only
  • Cardiac rhythm evaluation as shockable or non-shockable
  • Administering and responding to the effects of pharmacological therapy to treat and manage a patient’s illness or condition
  • Performed basic life support and be able to assist in advanced life support on an adult, child, and infant simulation manikin according to established clinical guidelines and protocols

These skills must have been demonstrated in the workplace or in a simulated environment that reflects workplace conditions. Students will be seeking a work placement at the end of their course after they have completed all learning units and attended a practical workshop and webinars designed to prepare them for the work placement.

All prehospital care workers have had to go through some type of training environment to help them develop real world clinical people skills to develop your confidence in a supported clinical environment

Where can you complete Clinical Placement?

We have a list of contacts of companies or organisations that will offer to support you in clinical placement.

You are encouraged to seek your own clinical placements that will help support your learning.

International Paramedic College Australia recommends that students seek to undertake clinical experience with a number of different places to broaden or develop specific skills in various fields that may help in developing a network for your new career. Students may be seeking to work in event medical, mining or civil prehospital care services and so may seek to gain experience in a sector relevant to their career pathway.

State-based ambulance services and St John Ambulance have various volunteer programs that can be excellent places for clinical placement. Refer to their websites to find out how to apply.

Suggested Clinical Placements

  • Event Medical Services provide a diverse range of medical support to events all over Australia
  • Local and National Sporting organisations
  • State-Based Emergency Services (e.g. SES in NSW)
  • Theme Parks Train services and large public events
  • Emergency Services Offices MESO (medic in mines or civil construction projects)
  • Defence Force
  • State Ambulance Services in Tasmania and South Australia have extensive volunteer programs
  • Local GP Clinics and Medical Centres
  • Remoter Aboriginal Medical Services
  • Patient Transport Services
  • Royal Flying Doctor services
  • Aero medical transport services
  • Volunteer overseas e.g. Nepal Vanuatu

While we can help with contacts for clinical placement, it is your responsibility to source a clinical placement and comply with any workplace requirements they may have. We will provide you with a clinical placement record booklet where you can document your experience.