Going Rural Health is conducting a number of research projects relating to rural health and rural clinical placements. More information about each project is below:

A pilot program seeking to address the speech, language and literacy needs of students within a Victorian Primary School was established in January 2019. The program involved the employment of a full-time speech pathologist and the rotation of final year university students studying speech pathology throughout the school year (approximately 8 weeks for each placement). As a partner involved in the speech pathology program, The University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health was interested in conducting an evaluation of the first year of the pilot program to determine the impact it was having on both staff and university students. This interim report provides an overview of the initial findings:

Interim report 19.03.20

This project aims to collect information on the experiences of students who have undertaken a rural health placement which has been supported by Going Rural Health. The project is funded by the University of Melbourne and has been approved by The University of Melbourne’s Human Research Ethics Committee. 

The questionnaire asks about student experiences on their rural placement, including support, education, accommodation and other aspects. All responses are confidential.

A report of student responses in the 5 years from 2014-2018 is below:

Student Survey Data Analysis 2014-2018

More information, and link to complete the survey, is below:

Student Placement Survey

 

This research project aims to explore the rewards, challenges and enablers of university student rural clinical placements, from the perspective of student supervisors and placement support staff working in health and human services in certain regions of rural Victoria.

The data from the first round of data collection is currently being analysed. An interim report will be available shortly.

More information, and link to complete the survey, is available on this page:

Supervisor and Placement Support Staff Survey

Details coming soon!

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) signifies a major change to the way rural health and human service
organisations receive funds and provide services to people with disability. These changes may impact on the way
these organisations carry out other activities, such as building inclusive communities or supporting students on
placement. Given the substantive role of nursing and allied health student placements in securing the future rural
disability workforce in Australia, the aim of this study was to explore the perceived impacts of the NDIS on nursing
and allied health student placements among staff in organisations funded at least partly by the NDIS and located in
rural areas of Victoria.

 

The full and summary reports are available below:

NDIS full report 11 March 2019

NDIS summary report 11 March 2019

SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES OF QUALITY CLINICAL SUPERVISION IN A RURAL CONTEXT: ALLIED HEALTH STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES

This Executive Report was produced by Going Rural Health’s Rebecca Oates, with assistance from Department of Rural Health academic Associate Professor Jennifer Weller-Newton.

Executive report – Clinical supervision in a rural context