You are here More Pages

Health placements

Nursing

Nursing placements

All students completing the Bachelor of Nursing will be required to complete the NSW Health Placement verification process prior to commencing their placement.

As it can take up to five months to complete all of the requirements, it is your responsibility as a student to ensure that you have met these requirements.  Failure to do so may prevent you from attending your first health placement and therefore may hinder progress within your course.

This website takes you through the steps required to commence your placement.

Please contact the Nursing Placement Team or your Subject Coordinator if you have any questions about placement.

Preparing for placement

The Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) provides student compliance services for the University of Wollongong.  ISLHD have created a Student Compliance Web page that details the Forms and Documents required for Student Compliance.  Supplementary information can be found below.

It is recommended that you can start the verification process as soon as possible as it can take up to five months to complete all of the requirements. Do this by taking the following steps.

1. Obtain an Australian National Police Check (NPC). An Australian NPC can be purchased through all State or Territory Police Forces, the Australian Federal Police or a number of Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) accredited bodies. 

Before purchasing your NPC, please consider the following:

  • Most ACIC accredited bodies’ police checks need to be validated within three (3) months of purchase. Failure to do so will mean they are no longer valid and you will need to purchase a new check.
  • If you plan to attend a health placement in the ACT, it is recommended that you obtain your NPC through either NSW Police or Australian Federal Police (and not any of the other ACIC providers listed).
  • A valid NPC must be held for the duration of your placement/s.
  • If you have a charge or a conviction listed on your National Police Certificate, you must also apply for a Clinical Placement Clearance; the application process is detailed on the Student Compliance Web page.

International Students must also provide a National Police Check from their home country or any country they have resided in since turning 18 years of age.  If they cannot provide this police check, they can sign the Overseas Student Statutory Declaration as detailed on the Student Compliance Web page. Please note, this Statutory Declaration can only be completed after arriving in NSW.

2. Complete the NSW Health forms as included on the Student Compliance Web page, these include:

  • Student Undertaking / Declaration
  • Tuberculosis (TB) Assessment Tool
  • Code of Conduct Agreement

3. Download the Vaccination Record Card for Health Care Workers and Students and take it to your GP or NSW Health Staff Clinic for them to complete.

4. Collate evidence of your vaccinations, including any relevant serology reports (blood test results).

Review the tips and links on the Student Compliance website regarding “What evidence do I need?”, “What constitutes evidence?” and other hints on what is required.

Please note: For Hepatitis B vaccinations, the minimum requirement is for students to have documented evidence of receiving at least the first dose of Hepatitis B vaccine.  If you meet all other requirements, and have had your first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine, you will likely be given temporary verification approval by NSW Health.  If this is the case, please send your Vaccination Record Card and any other evidence to the UOW Verification Team for processing. 

If temporary verification status is approved it will last for 6 months and you will be able to commence placement during that time.  You will still need to complete the full series of Hepatitis B vaccinations within that 6 month period to gain full compliance.

5. Scan all of your documents, including a copy of your UOW Student ID Card, into a PDF format. Please ensure that your documents, in total, do not exceed 8MB in size.

6. Take the ‘Ready for Verification’ Quiz on the NSW Health Verification Readiness Moodle site.

7. Using your UOW email address, send all documents to the UOW Verification Team uow-verification@uow.edu.au.

Remember to: 

  • Keep the total size of your email below 8MB
  • Use your UOW email address to send your documentation to the UOW Verification team
  • Include your Full Name, Student Number and your Course Discipline in all correspondence with the UOW Verification Team.
  • Keep all of your original verification documentation in a safe place. You may be asked to produce certain documents prior to commencing placement, even after you have become fully verified by NSW Health, particularly if you are placed in a non-NSW Health facility.  You will also need to produce most of these documents to a future employer.  Your student compliance will not carry over into the work place.  It is your responsibility as a student to keep these documents and produce them when requested. 

Contact the UOW Verification Team uow-verification@uow.edu.au for any questions or further assistance.

NSW Health strongly recommends and prefers that all students attending or planning to attend a placement in NSW Health obtain their COVID-19 vaccination, in consultation with a General Practitioner if required.
 
Students can make a booking for vaccination by visiting the COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Checker, which gives them access to a number of COVID-19 vaccination clinics across NSW including GP and NSW Health clinics. When booking their appointment, students need to identify as a ‘health care worker’. All students will need to provide proof of occupation, which can be in the form of a university ID card or an enrolment confirmation letter from the University.

Health placements provide students with an opportunity to work in clinical practice in a variety of settings across the three years of the degree and gain real-world experience in preparation for registration as a nurse. All information regarding the Workplace Experience (WPE) placement component of your program can be found on the Sonia Placement System and further information regarding this will be explained within your WPE subjects.

To understand when you will be attending workplace experience, please consult the School of Nursing WPE Calendar (2021 Calendar). This highlights for each year the learning and teaching blocks and the dates for WPE. Please note where there are pattern allocations for WPE placement, this will be allocated by the school of nursing and you will receive information regarding this via SOLS and emails.

Detailed placement information will be provided at your orientation. 

Once you have enrolled in your placement subject, instructions on how to use the placement system (SONIA) and what to expect from placement will be discussed in your subject lectures. 

All information regarding the Workplace Experience (WPE) placement component of your program can be found on the Sonia Placement System and further information regarding this will be explained within your WPE subjects. 

2021 UNIFORM FITTING AND ORDERING PROCESS

To try on your new scrubs, you can either go to your Campus on the following dates or go directly to the Uniform Specialists shop located at 323A Keira Street, Wollongong.

“Scrubs” will be available as follows for you to try on:

CAMPUS

DATE

TIME

Bateman’s Bay

Call Campus on 4472 2125

To be announced

Bega
Call Campus on 6494 7035

Thursday 25th February

12:30pm – 4:00pm

Friday 26th February

9:30am – 2:30pm

Shoalhaven
Call Campus on 4448 0888

Tuesday 23rd February

8:30 – 12:00noon

South Western Sydney
Call Meaghan – 8763 6498

Monday to Friday

APPOINTMENT ONLY

10:00am – 2:00pm

Southern Sydney
Call Campus on 8536 2000

22nd and 23rd – February (2ndYr EN’s)

8:30am – 4:00pm

24th, 25th & 26th February – 1st year

APPOINTMENT ONLY

Wollongong

Call Campus on 4221 3329

Monday to Friday in Building 41.113 Call Campus on 4221 3329

10:00am – 2:30pm

 

All 1st Year students are required to wear Scrubs from 2021 onwards.  Diploma (EN) Students who have joined our program in 2nd year this year are also required to wear Scrubs.

Continuing 2nd and 3rd year students wearing the Blue Shirt with pants, etc. are still able to wear this uniform.  You can purchase the scrubs if you choose to but scrubs are not a mandatory uniform for continuing 2nd and 3rd year students.

 

POSTAGE:

Cost is $12.00 to be paid by each student at time of ordering online.

Discounted Postage (Bulk Delivery) is $2.50 and is paid at time of ordering.

The Uniform Specialists will provide a “one time only bulk delivery” service at a reduced postage cost of $2.50 (each order) to all Campuses where you can collect your purchase after May 10, 2021.

Orders for this one-time bulk campus delivery must be placed by 5:00pm Wednesday, May 5, 2021.

The bulk delivery orders will be sent via courier on Monday May 10, 2021 to each campus only.  Not your home!

Additional Information

Inherent requirements are the essential components of a course or unit that demonstrate the abilities, knowledge and skills to achieve the core learning outcomes of the course or unit while preserving the academic integrity of the university's learning, assessment and accreditation processes. The inherent requirements are the abilities, knowledge and skills needed to complete the course that must be met by all students. Please review the inherent requirements.

All students and clinical supervisors need to read the WPE Handbook as this outlines the requirements for WPE placements and has information on how to manage many issues and challenges as they arise.

Other useful resources include:

The University has in place policies and practices which outline what is expected of you whilst you are on your placement.

If you have any difficulties whilst on your placement, please contact your relevant placement coordinator for assistance.

Please view the policies and practices which apply to students when on placement.

  • Placement allocation, pattern allocation, placement preferences, unexpected absence from placement, and other administrative matters, contact:

SMAH Student Placement Team (SPT)
Phone: (02) 4221 3338 
Email: smah-placements@uow.edu.au

  • Requesting a change to placement, advance knowledge of inability to attend placement, requirements for placement such as learning outcomes, contact:

Subject coordinator of the relevant subject 
Refer to the Subject Outline for contact details

  • Support while out on placement, including after-hours support, contact:

Nursing WPE Support Line
Phone: 4221 3338

Online ANSAT Resources for Clinical Supervisors

Online ANSAT Instructions