Clinical placement

Within this course, students will be required to complete three Clinical Paramedic Practice units which amount to a minimum of 15 weeks of full-time work placement. Clinical placements are invaluable in developing professional capabilities, clinical skills, and workplace literacy within authentic clinical and operational environments and ensure graduate work readiness and employability.

The three clinical placement units include the following units:

• PMSC12002 Clinical Paramedic Practice 1 - 5 weeks in duration
• PMSC13002 Clinical Paramedic Practice 2 - 5 weeks in duration
• PMSC13004 Clinical Paramedic Practice 3 - 5 weeks in duration

The first placement is generally scheduled during the second year, with the second and third placements generally scheduled in the third year of the course.

Clinical placements are facilitated in Queensland. Queensland Ambulance Service is the primary placement provider for CQUniversity, and due to the very high demand for placement positions, students must be prepared to travel to any location within Queensland to attend clinical placements as a placement experience near their residence is highly unlikely.  Students from interstate are expected to travel to Queensland to attend clinical placements. Students who are employed by other state or territory ambulance services may be able to undertake placement outside of Queensland. These placements will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Students cannot request split blocks, custom dates, attend placement in a part-time capacity or only on specific days of the week. The dates for all clinical placements will be available once students are enrolled on the course.

Placement experiences are designed to provide an average of 40 hours per week, across various roster configurations covering 24 hours. Under direct supervision, students will engage in clinical and operational activities, with scopes of practice aligning with the academic unit of enrolment.

Placements in non-ambulance settings

From 2026, the first clinical placement will have a component of the placement hours facilitated in a non-ambulance setting, offering students the opportunity to engage in the profession of paramedicine from different perspectives.

Contacting placement providers

CQUniversity students are not permitted to initiate or make contact with any placement provider to discuss clinical placements unless directed by CQUniversity academics to do so. All placements must be coordinated centrally through the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team and/or academics associated with the course.

Mandatory requirements for clinical placement

Students will be required to purchase, from the CQUniversity Bookshop, the approved Paramedic Clinical Placement uniform for wearing during lab sessions, residential schools, and all clinical placements. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will also need to be purchased from the CQUniversity Bookshop as a Workplace Health and Safety requirement by all Ambulance Services when on clinical placement. The approximate cost of the full uniform set is $800. Non-adherence to uniform and PPE requirements will result in immediate removal from clinical placement.

CQUniversity and placement providers mandate certain vaccination and health standards before attendance to ensure student safety and readiness for practice. Information on these requirements and associated due dates is communicated before each placement and is available in the Handbook via the ‘Getting Started/Compulsory Requirements’ tab, or via the WIL team.

All requirements must be successfully achieved by specific timeframes, which are provided by the WIL team. Enrolment in a clinical placement unit does not guarantee facilitation of placement, particularly if mandatory checks are not met by the specified cut-off date. In this instance, enrolment will be cancelled, and the student will need to enrol in the next available offering of the unit.

The broad categories of mandatory requirements include, but are not limited to:

• Medical Assessment
• Immunisation/vaccination evidence
• Working With Children Check (also known as a Blue Card)
• National Criminal History Check (NCHC)
• Quantitative mask fit testing
• First Aid & CPR
• Placement provider hosted Orientation, Online Learning, and Declarations.

The above can change without notice by placement providers. For further information about the above requirements, please contact the WIL team.

Prospective students who have further enquiries should contact 13 27 86. 

Outbound Mobility (International)

CQUniversity offers opportunities for students to engage in International Outbound Mobility tours. Participation in CQUniversity-approved and supervised international engagements may support credit toward the student's clinical placement hours.

Student Conduct and the Ahpra Shared Code of Conduct

While on clinical placement, students will be expected to abide by the CQUniversity Student Conduct Policy and Procedure and the Ahpra Shared Code of Conduct https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Resources/Code-of-conduct/Shared-Code-of-conduct.aspx

Memberships

The Australian College of Paramedicine (ACP) is the peak professional body for paramedics in Australasia. The College has a range of memberships, including student memberships. Please see: https://paramedics.org/membership

Registration and Accreditation

As the Education Provider, CQUniversity will register students as a ‘student’ with Ahpra. Upon graduation, students will be eligible to apply to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) for registration as a Registered Paramedic.

To apply for registration, students will need to ensure they can demonstrate they are qualified and suitable for registration. This information is available on the Paramedicine Board of Australia website: https://www.paramedicineboard.gov.au/Registration.aspx