Meet Andrew

Andrew O’Connor, an Allied Health Educator and Physiotherapist at Kyabram District Health Service has been with Going Rural Health as a Supervisor for four years.  

Going Rural Health, a government funded student placement and support program of the University of Melbourne’s Department of Rural Health, are a positive driving force behind student placements in rural health services. 

Clinical supervisors play an integral role in the development of students’ knowledge and learning experiences. 

Andrew is the primary contact for students on placement, coordinating their preparation and orientation. He also directly supervises Allied Health Assistants, Exercise Physiologists and Physiotherapy students. 

“My role is to introduce students to the realities of working in a rural hospital. A rural health setting gives students the chance to develop and apply a broad range of skills, often allowing them to consolidate their learning quickly and grow into well rounded clinicians.” 

Andrew notes that one of the challenges in rural settings is the limited number of discipline specific staff available to support junior clinicians. 

“In addressing these challenges, rural clinicians are highly skilled in supporting one another. This creates strong connections across multiple disciplines and enables networking with colleagues from the same discipline across different health organisations.”

The most valuable part of having students on placement, in Andrew’s view, is supporting the next generation of Allied Health professionals as they develop and refine their clinical skills. 

“Completing a placement and working in a rural setting offers a more holistic perspective on patient care. In a rural hospital, it’s common to work across both inpatient and outpatient or community health settings.  

This experience encourages students to think about the patient as a whole, considering long term outcomes, discharge planning, access to services and more. Developing these skills helps shape students into more rounded clinicians.” 

Andrew believes the future of rural health placements should include easier access for students, giving them broader clinical exposure and strengthening their development as clinicians. 

“I’d like to see rural health placements become more accessible for students, because experiencing rural communities and learning from a variety of clinicians gives you a broader perspective and ultimately makes you a better clinician. 

Learn more about Going Rural Health here.