Outreach Student Placement Program

About the program 

The Outreach Student Placement Program provides up to 100 selected medical, nursing and allied health students in NSW/ACT with the opportunity to shadow an Outreach provider in a rural or remote community. Available Outreach providers include GPs, physiotherapists, nurses, optometrists and many more across other disciplines. All travel, accommodation and subsistence costs will be covered for these placements.

Placement locations and durations may differ each year due to the involvement of different Outreach providers. 

Applicants must demonstrate:

• an interest in rural practice and lifestyle;
• an understanding of the realities of rural health; and
• the motivation to undertake a placement in a rural area as part of the scheme.

Students not honouring their commitment to undertake a rural placement are required to pay back all money granted for the placement.

Who is eligible?

Rural and urban students are eligible to apply for the program.

Applicants must:

• be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent or temporary residents of Australia
• have completed all university study requirements at the time of application and demonstrate this by provision of proof of enrolment
• be a medical, nursing or allied health student studying in NSW/ACT or have completed Year 12 in a NSW/ACT high school
• be able to complete the placement before 30 December 2023

How do I apply?

Applications are currently closed and will be reopening later on in the year.

TESTIMONIAL

“I completed my Outreach student placement with a multidisciplinary team consisting of a dietitian, diabetes educator and endocrinologist within Marathon Health in Bathurst.

“The best part of my Outreach student placement was spending up to an hour with each client, shadowing the diabetes educator, which allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the patients views on their disease management.

“A part of the placement that surprised me was being involved in cooking classes as a service to patients with diabetes. It was great to see how these classes flowed through to consultations and provided practical advice on disease management in a positive and social way.

“The placement opened my eyes to the way a multidisciplinary team can come together to deliver services, particularly by utilising telehealth as a delivery tool to link patients in a rural community with specialist medical advice.

“I learnt a great deal from this opportunity and I would definitely recommend the Outreach placement program to my fellow students.”

Christina Goodman I Medical student, University of Sydney I 2019 scholarship recipient

Find out more 

Email students@nswrdn.com.au if you would like any more help learning about the exciting opportunities of a rural health career.

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