Placement locations

The first part of my work as an occupational therapist was in large tertiary hospitals within Brisbane, and I was looking for a change and a more generalist type of work. So, I decided to move to the Northern Territory to experience more rural and remote healthcare and then, out here in the South West. I observed that a lot of the students that came out to the South West really made a significant contribution to the services in Allied Health and I think that staying longer and being part of a community is definitely a way that we can ensure there is interest and a sustainable Allied Health workforce going forward in the future.

Being a rural health clinician is really rewarding. There is such a variety of cases that we see and such a breadth of practice that we get to experience out here in the bush. I was drawn to rural health being a bush kid myself, coming back to Roma is coming home, my parents have a property near here. Knowing what needs the bush has as well, growing up here and knowing how limited some of the services can be and how much of an impact that makes.

A RIPPAH placement, our Rural Immersion Placement Program for Allied Health, is making a change for placements where students can apply to come to the region. We offer a bursary for the entirety of the placement program, which are usually ten weeks or longer in our region.

Secondly, we offer free accommodation for students, so they can plan ahead for a longer placement as part of their student placement experience. Thirdly, we offer to support students to find paid work and link with other social activities while they are in the region because being part of a rural community is what makes it great.

The final part that is really different about our RIPPAH placements is that we’re matching the evidence, which is where students who have a longer placement experience actually are more likely to work in rural, because they’ve had a great experience and they understand why we’re all here. It’s a great place to be and we have a great clinical experience while we’re here.

The best part of having a RIPPAH model here, based in Roma, is that we actually get our students to be immersed in the community. Definitely get to be part of not just your own little hospital community, but you get to know everybody else who is in town. There’s sport, there’s races, but probably my favourite stuff is going out and helping mum and dad on the farm and just getting back into that bush lifestyle.

Rural health services are really key and integral to a rural community, so we want to make sure with RIPPAH that we’re bringing the students that want to be here, to have a great experience and really showcasing that what we do here is cutting edge in terms of research and innovation and providing fabulous services for our community.

I’d say those going to apply for a RIPPAH experience, sign up, I think it will truly be an experience of a life time and there’s so much to learn about rural and remote communities, and learn things about yourself, and will make such a difference in terms of your contribution as an Allied Health Professional.