Student placements:
Why go rural?

With the Department of Rural Health, you’ll have opportunities to get involved in community activities, network with potential employers and future colleagues, and get greater patient access than in busier urban settings.

You will also work in smaller teams, with an emphasis on interprofessional learning. Our community engagement activities let you experience rural life for yourself and be part of fostering better health and wellbeing in rural regions.

There are lots of reasons to go rural with us. Select an option below to read more, or find out where you could go.

Students may be able to access subsidised accommodation, or an accommodation subsidy, through the Department of Rural Health. This may help to keep your accommodation costs low and make your rural placement an affordable way to experience life away from home while studying.

Once you have secured your rural placement, you will need to register with our placement portal to apply for access to subsidised accommodation.

You will be encouraged to participate and learn alongside students from other disciplines. We support students studying medicine, medical radiation science, nursing, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, social work and speech pathology.

Learn more about interprofessional learning with the Department of Rural Health.

In Tamworth and Taree, you will have access to state-of-the-art facilities located on-site during your placement, such as our clinical skills laboratories and simulation facilities. Simulation technology has been shown to positively impact patient safety and improve health care quality and outcomes. Our other major sites also provide students with learning facilities and support.

Learn more about our facilities.

Our community engagement activities let you experience rural life for yourself and be part of fostering better health and wellbeing in rural regions. Some of our community engagement activities include Parkinson’s support groups, Ironman, after-school learning activities and teddy bear hospitals for children.

Learn more about our community engagement opportunities.

A rural placement is a great opportunity to experience life and work away from home while also learning about unique health-related issues. The rural lifestyle is relaxed and friendly, making it a supportive environment for learning and preparing for your career.

Find out where you could go with the Department of Rural Health.

You will have close contact with on-site academic and clinical teaching staff from your discipline during your placement and rurally based studies. Our academics are always happy to provide support, a listening ear, and advice for your career. You can also attend additional learning activities, such as job webinars.

Read more about rural placements for your discipline.

You will benefit from smaller student numbers compared with metro teaching hospital, which means more opportunities to work with a wide variety of patient presentations. Our students consistently share that the patient cases they experienced were interesting and diverse.

Read more about rural placements for your discipline.