Preregistration - nursing and paramedicine student placements
Alfred Health is a leading provider of preregistration nursing and paramedicine placements in Melbourne. With placements offered in a diverse range of clinical areas, we offer an extraordinary opportunity to learn new skills, be inspired by leaders in healthcare and gain exposure to a wide range of career options.
Each year, Alfred Health supports over 2,500 nursing students to undertake their clinical placements. Student placements are allocated to all acute and subacute inpatient areas, both Emergency Departments, the ICU, all operating theatres and most community services. Read about our services, specialties and statewide services.
Pre-placement requirements
- Ensure your university has your current mobile phone number on record
- Check your university email account daily in the lead up to placement to ensure you don’t miss important communication from us
- Understand your placement outcomes, assessments and scope of practice
- Set achievable learning objectives aligned to your placement venue
- Formulate a safe travel / parking plan to ensure you are on time to all shifts
- Read the orientation guide on the right and watch our welcome video. This is your organisational orientation.
Allocations and placement roster at Alfred Health
- Clinical placements are undertaken in blocks that are a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of six weeks in length. At Alfred Health, placements can occur in medical, surgical, mental health, community or specialist care environments. Placement allocations are governed by your scope of practice and subject intended learning outcomes which will develop as you progress through your preregistration program.
- Alfred Health placements are allocated to 3 sites: The Alfred, Sandringham Hospital & Caulfield Hospital.
Alfred Health nursing and paramedicine placement welcome video
Ongoing opportunities
Alfred Health Fellowship Program
If you have a strong motivation to learn and have a desire for a wide range of clinical opportunities, apply for a Fellowship Program with Alfred Health. The Fellowship program is a stepping stone to future employment, with guaranteed interview for the Graduate Nurse Program. Alfred Health offers a fellowship program to pre-registration nursing students from Deakin, La Trobe & Monash University. A fellowship program enables students from first year through to third year to complete all clinical placements at Alfred Health. Each time you return to Alfred Health, you will be mentored and by highly skilled registered nurses and clinical educators. Completing all of your placements at Alfred Health will enable you to grow your confidence; you will become familiar with the working environment at Alfred Heath and the clinical staff will get to know your capabilities. By socialising to the Alfred Heath clinical environment, you will enhance your clinical learning experience and employment prospects at the end of your education program.
Advantages of a Fellowship with Alfred Heath
- Great opportunity to learn in one of Victoria’s leading teaching health services.
- Placements in a variety of clinical environments that will meet your individual learning objectives and needs.
- Opportunity for placements within selected specialty areas such as Emergency & Trauma, Intensive Care, Cardiology, Cancer Services, Victorian Adult Burns Service, Heart and Lung Transplant Service
- Support and guidance by Alfred Health Clinical Nurse Educators.
- Committed friendly nursing staff as your preceptors to guide you through your clinical placements
Download the Preregistration Fellowship Program
RUSON opportunities
Opportunities for paid employment in a RUSON (Registered undergraduate student of nursing) position are available to our undergraduates, please search our current vacancies.
Our services, clinics and wards
Undertaking a placement with us is a great opportunity to begin building a relationship with Alfred Health and our staff. A significant stepping stone to securing a graduate year (and beyond) with us.
You can find a full list of our services and clinics here.
The following links show the specialisations of each of our wards across the three campuses. Get to know your placement patient cohort and clinical service before your placement starts.
Our wards - The Alfred
Our wards - Caulfield Hospital
Our wards - Sandringham Hospital
Our campuses
Alfred Health's main campuses include:
With several statewide services, two busy emergency departments, an expanding Intensive Care Unit and diverse community services, Alfred Health has a wealth of clinical placement experiences available to offer students for placements.
Resources
Our partners
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Parking on site is very limited and charged at a daily fee dependant on which site. There is no allocated or discounted parking for students. All 3 sites are well served by public transport. For more information please the orientation resource.
Your placement allocation is communicated to you by your university. If you are unhappy with your allocation or feel you are unable to attend the site please discuss with your university placement team at the time of allocation.
Your roster will tell you the site (The Alfred, Caulfield or Sandringham) and the venue eg. ward. Present to the venue at least 10 minutes before your first rostered shift to allow for staff to welcome you.
Please let us know in advance of the shift start time to ensure staff resources aren’t utilised following up your absence. The absence reporting process is detailed in the orientation resource.
Students are expected to have an awareness of their assessment needs and to drive the completion of these by clinical staff. Please discuss your assessment needs with your preceptor or buddy nurse at regular intervals. More information can be found in the welcome video and in the orientation resource.
No. To ensure the health of patients, staff and yourself please do not attend when unwell. This includes cold symptoms, Covid, gastro and ongoing injuries. More information on infection prevention requirements can be found in the orientation resource. Please ensure you follow the absence reporting procedure for every shift you will miss.
If you miss a shift due to illness, speak to your CSN when you return, they can help you to navigate a make up shift. Not all venues or rosters can support make up shifts. If you are carrying a shift deficit from a previous placement your university need to request additional hours with us.
No. Your roster is built to ensure you work closely with your preceptor and receive adequate education supervision. Consideration is also given to the number of students in an area on any given shift. We expect students are available to undertake any shift within the placement block unless there are pre agreed rostering requirements.
Unfortunately not. Your roster is built to ensure you work closely with your preceptor and receive adequate education supervision. Consideration is also given to the number of students in an area on any given shift. We expect students are available to undertake any shift within the placement block unless there are pre agreed rostering requirements. If you have responsibilities outside of nursing please discuss with your university placement team in advance of your placement allocation.
Alfred Health welcomes feedback from all students. This allows us to monitor the learning environments and make service improvements as needed. You will be invited to complete a very short placement evaluation following the completion of your placement. You can also access the evaluation from the orientation resource. If you have feedback during your placement, please speak to your CSN or email undergraduate@alfred.org.au.
Students are expected to understand their scope of practice and act within this at all times. Discuss your practice with the RN that is supervising you to ensure they are also happy you are practicing within your scope of practice. If you are unsure seek further clarification. Students acting outside of their scope will meed with an educator and may be removed from placement. IV infusion pumps are not within the scope of any student nurse.
Yes, most placement venues will roster students across all shifts. Some community venues do not operate on public holidays and you will be rostered off. Some venues only roster students on day shifts. Review your roster carefully when you are provided with it.
Your university will have stipulated your uniform. Ensure you adhere to the dress code provided to you by your university to promote a professional image. If your placement is in theatres, wear your uniform to placement & hospital scrubs will be provided for you to wear as needed.
This is a placeholder shift often following night shifts where 40 hours are accumulated in only 4 shifts. The rostering software counts shifts not hours and this is needed to tell the software you have been fully rostered. You do not attend this shift.
Yes. Students are provided with the ITS code of conduct to review prior to creating an IT account. This code of conduct stipulates that you can only access the medical records of patients in your direct care for the purpose of care delivery. Breaches in IT access are taken very seriously. They will result in cancellation of placement & may result in reporting to AHPRA.
To make the most of your placement hours it’s important to have clear goals identified. As you will know your allocated clinical area in advance of your placement it is expected that you understand the patient cohort you will be caring for and that this will drive your learning goals. By defining your learning objectives, you are demonstrating your professionalism and commitment to learning.
There are various ways to seek support & report bullying or harassment. If you witness bullying or harassment please escalate to your preceptor, the nurse in charge, your CSN or to undergraduate@alfred.org.au.
If your CSN or preceptor have provided you with feedback that you are at risk or failing placement or if your university have initiated a learning contract, LAMP or clinical review this indicates your practice is at risk of not meeting the university set minimum standard for the placement. These processes are supportive and aim to provide you with a structure to develop and improve your practice to ultimately be successful on placement. If you are unsure how you are progressing ask your preceptor for specific feedback.
While we have safeguards in place, sometimes adverse incidents do occasionally occur. If you are involved please let your preceptor or the nurse in charge know, they will support you with debrief and any referral needed. You will need to complete a Risk Man form online and your university may require you to complete incident reporting in their system too.