Rethinking clinical placements: A response to changing healthcare demands
Clinical placements allow students the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge and become workforce ready. Demand for clinical placements from education providers already exceeds supply. As healthcare workforce shortages continue, the need for increasing numbers of graduates will generate additional strain, and policymakers targeting health workforce shortages must be cognisant of their impact on the education and health sectors. At the same time, clinical placements must be fit for purpose and meet the learning needs of students. The diverse array of placement models has been compounded by rapid developments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges and considerations include labour intensity, need for capacity building, importance of engagement at institutional and local supervisor levels, cost (including that to students), planetary impact, availability and equity. The future of high-quality clinical placements needs to be secured and built on a sustainable framework to support future clinical placement capacity.
Authors
- Belinda Judd (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6640-269X)
- Phillippa Poole (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9808-4238)
- Clare McNally (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4146-4878)
- Mary Butler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3365-8995)
- Priya Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2092-6551)
- Rachel Macdiarmid (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4791-7417)
- Penelope Fotheringham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1853-8194)
- Anna Chur‐Hansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2935-2689)
- Danielle Ní Chróinín (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7711-9718)
- Fiona Bogossian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9909-5852)
- Amanda Edgar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2931-5052)
- Richard Hays (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3875-3134)
- Debra Virtue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4093-2163)
- Roma Forbes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9959-3875)
- Joy Rudland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7516-1728)
- Liz McNeill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3640-6494)
- Kerry Byrne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5611-0620)
- Scott Clark
- Navine Haworth
- Jacqueline G. Bloomfield (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4376-0742)
- Julie Ash (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1569-6464)
- TIM J. WILKINSON (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4080-4164)
- Elyce Green (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7291-6419)
- Judith Needham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5134-2842)
- Michael Tran
- Richard K. McGee
- John Wright
- Melissa Ridd
- Adrian Schoo
- L. R. C. Barclay
- Jacqueline Raymond
Institutions
- Griffith University (AU)
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Deakin University (AU)
- Charles Sturt University (AU)
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Flinders University (AU)
- University of South Australia (AU)
- University of the Sunshine Coast (AU)
- University of Canberra (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Auckland University of Technology (NZ)
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
- University of Newcastle Australia (AU)
- New York Chiropractic College (US)
- University of Otago (NZ)
- James Cook University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Focus on Health Professional Education A Multi-Professional Journal
- Published
- 2025-03-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.11157/fohpe-vol26iss1id782
- Citations
- 8
- Primary Topic
- Primary Care and Health Outcomes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 22.52