Mandatory Requirements for Clinical Placement
It is a requirement of Queensland Health and our Private Health Care Facilities that students supply a range of mandatory documents prior to commencing clinical placement. These include:
- A CPR certificate from a nationally recognised training authority
- Blue Card (Working with Children Suitability Card)
- Criminal History Police Check
- Hepatitis B immunisation
- QHealth Student Orientation Checklist
- Qld Health placement Deed declaration
- Qld Health Privacy and Consent Deed
Before choosing a placement agency for your clinical course you must submit to the Faculty Administration Office (Level 5, W Block, Toowoomba campus or A103, Fraser Coast campus):
1. 'Working with Children Suitability Card' (Blue Card)
All students must apply for this, and provide evidence to the Faculty Office that this is in the possession of the student. The Card must be carried at all times and be available for inspection during clinical experience.
Please see the Faculty Office to collect a Nursing pre-printed application form. The Faculty Office will certify your application on provision of identification requirements (e.g. driver's licence and student card) and submit your application to the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian on your behalf.
2. Hepatitis B Immunisation
It is a requirement of USQ and Queensland Health that all students must have evidence of Hepatitis B immunization. You are advised that Hepatitis B Vaccinations (a series of three injections) takes six months and need to be commenced no later than the beginning of the first semester of study, in preparation for the first clinical course in semester 2.
Hepatitis B vaccinations are available from the USQ Health Centre or from your own medical practitioner. Four to six weeks after the last injection a blood test is taken to ascertain your titre level (to confirm sero-conversion). This blood test is free at the USQ Health Centre if you show your student ID card.
3. CPR Certificate
Commencing students must hold a current Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certificate from an accredited provider or complete a certificate by the end of the first semester of study, in order to undertake a clinical course in semester 2.
Your original CPR certificate will be need to be shown and a copy handed to the Professional Experience Office in order for you to be eligible for placement selection. CPR must be renewed each year, and you will need to repeat this process, annually, in order for further placement selection.
For students at the Toowoomba campus, Victoria Parker will conduct accredited CPR courses. Other providers can be sourced through contacting the Clinical School. Other accredited providers in the Toowoomba and Fraser Coast include:
- St John's Ambulance
- Queensland Ambulance Service
- Queensland Red Cross
- The Royal Life Saving Society of Australia.
4. Queensland Health Orientation Package and Checklist
Queensland Health provides a detailed summary of Clinical Placement Guidelines. You are required to have read this material and you must complete the 'Student Checklist'. The signed checklist must be handed in to the Faculty Office annually (as for CPR). The Guidelines and Student Checklist can be downloaded from the Queensland Health website.
5. Deed Polls
These are found at the Queensland Health website under Supervision Placement. They consist of:
-
- Privacy and Consent
Both of these must be signed, witnessed and returned to the Faculty Office prior to Clinical Placement. They are required to be signed once only during your student term.
6. Guide to Clinical Placement
To assist students with understanding all aspects of the clinical placements that are an integral part of the Bachelor of Nursing, we require that all students read the Student Clinical Placement and Professional Experience Policy (* PDF 1391KB) produced by the USQ Clinical Team. This document has been created to explain in detail how clinical placements are handled within the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at USQ.
Students are required to return the declaration (located in the first few pages of the Guide) to the Faculty Office to confirm that they have read and understood the clinical placement process.
7. Police Certificate
In compliance with the Federal Department of Health and Ageing policy on working with the older person, it is a mandatory requirement for all undergraduate nursing students in the Bachelor of Nursing program to undertake a Criminal History Police Check (at their own expense) to be able to attend clinical placement. Students can access information about the Police Check at: http://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/police-checks/national-police-checks.aspx
- Students are required to submit a copy of their Criminal History Police Check, obtained from the Australian Federal Police, to their respective Faculty of Science or Fraser Coast Reception early in their first semester of enrolment in the Bachelor of Nursing Program. The original MUST be cited by the Faculty of Science or Fraser Coast Reception or Clinical Liaison Officer.
- If a student has been a citizen or permanent resident of another country other than Australia since turning 16 years of age, a statutory declaration is required to be provided before undertaking placement in an aged care facility (in addition to completing an Criminal History Police Check). A statutory declaration template and information is provided in section 4.3.1 of the Police Certificate Guidelines for Aged Care Providers available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/ageing-quality-factsheet-policechecks-guidelines.htm
Failure to supply any of these mandatory requirements will prevent you from undertaking your professional experience placement.
*This file is in Portable Document Format (PDF) which requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. A free copy of Acrobat Reader may be obtained from Adobe. Users who are unable to access information in PDF should contact the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, telephone 07 4631 2938 to obtain this information in an alternative format.