School of Nursing and Midwifery

What should I expect?

Structure and duration

Most clinical placement experiences are undertaken in blocks of time (i.e. 2, 3, 4 or 6 weeks duration) and must be attended on a full-time basis (i.e. 40 hours per week) at any time across the year. Clinical placements require rostered shifts covering the 24-hour period, inclusive of weekends and public holidays. Students are expected to abstain from paid employment during a period of full-time clinical placement, to ensure students have a sufficient length of breaks to maintain their wellbeing and safety in the clinical setting.

Students enrolled in entry-to-practice programs (C33, Y76, J46, I80, L88) will be required to travel to clinical placements in a variety of health services within the region of the campus they are enrolled. Students enrolled in Bunbury campus may be required to travel to Perth for some clinical placements. Students are responsible for any travel and accommodation related costs.

Students must meet the Inherent Requirements for Nursing and Midwifery in order to be able to undertake clinical placement. Review these inherent requirements in detail prior to applying to a nursing or midwifery course. Students must advise the School of Nursing and Midwifery if they can no longer meet the inherent requirements at any stage of their course.

Reasonable adjustments required by students, as determined by ECU Access and Inclusion, may be made subject to agreement of clinical placement providers. Students should be aware that not all adjustments are able to be supported by the clinical placement provider.

Enrolled students are required to obtain a series of clearances, vaccinations and screening prior to commencing clinical placement. Specific instructions on how to apply for these requirements will be accessible to enrolled students on the Clinical Placements learning management system. Students are encouraged to be proactive in obtaining all requirements as soon as possible. View the clinical placement requirements lists for courses:

Documents

• C33, Y76, J46 Clinical Placement Requirements - PDF File, 226.9 KB
• L88 Clinical Placement Requirements - PDF File, 245.8 KB
• T91, I80 Clinical Placement Requirements - PDF File, 222.3 KB

If a student has a criminal conviction listed on their WA National Police Certificate, is unable to demonstrate the required immunity to a specified virus or vaccination, or has been diagnosed with a blood borne virus, they will be referred to school staff to discuss further. Students should be aware these circumstances may impact their ability to undertake clinical placements and therefore may impact their ability to complete the course.

Vaccination or other similar requirements

There may be vaccination or other similar requirements, including those imposed by government or third-party placement hosts, that apply to placements which form part of your Course. Please consider this requirement before enrolling in this Course and speak with the Course coordinator if this raises any concerns. You may not be able to complete placement units if you are unable to meet the placement requirements, which may impact your ability to complete this course.

Enrolled students will be required to purchase uniforms to be worn in simulation workshops and during clinical placements. It is expected students have at least two sets of uniform to maintain infection control requirements (i.e. one set to wear, one set to wash). Download the uniform policy:

Uniform

• Uniform Guidelines - PDF File, 221.1 KB

Sleeves below the elbow are not permitted in ECU simulation workshops or clinical placement. This is consistent with World Health Organisation and Australian healthcare infection control standards and practice guidelines.

The school offers students the opportunity to undertake clinical placements in rural and remote areas across Western Australia and also various international locations. Some financial assistance is provided by the school to support students undertaking these valuable learning experiences. More information is provided to enrolled students on the Clinical Placements learning management system.

Incidental fees are charged separately to tuition fees. They are payable in connection with a unit or a course. In nursing and midwifery, many of the clinical placement requirements incur costs. The clinical placement requirements list will outline the frequency of many of these requirements.

Where a student fails to attend an allocated clinical placement without valid reason or notice, ECU may charge the student a non-attendance fee. Please refer to the Clinical Placement Fee Guidelines. The full list of incidental fees can be viewed below:

Incidental fees

• 2023 Incidental Fee Register - PDF File, 830.4 KB
• Clinical Placement Fee Guidelines - PDF File, 172.5 KB

Midwifery students will undertake continuity of care experiences (CCE) throughout their course. The CCE provides opportunity for students to follow a woman through her pregnancy, birth and postnatal journey. Students are required to follow 10 women during their course, attending a minimum of 4 antenatal appointments, the birth (requiring the student to be 'on call'), and 2 postnatal appointments. For each CCE, students will accumulate on average a total of 20 hours of clinical experience. Continuity of Care Experience (CCE) is an Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) requirement for all Australian midwifery courses. Students must engage in active clinical participation at the level relevant to the experience of the student at that time, and in accordance with the guidance of the midwife or other health professional who is supervising at the time.