96710 Professional Placement in Health Services Management and Public Health

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Health
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level: Postgraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 24 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04246 Master of Advanced Health Services Management OR 24 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04140 Master of Health Services Management OR 24 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04303 Master of Public Health (Advanced) OR 24 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04302 Master of Public Health

Description

This subject offers students the opportunity to apply, synthesise and consolidate skills acquired during the existing suite of Master of Health Services Management or Master of Public Health courses, through a supervised professional placement within an appropriate organisation.

The professional placement subject assists students in developing and demonstrating their knowledge, skills, professional experience and contacts identified as essential to their professional development. Through the professional placement, students engage with the functions and practical activities of their chosen industry, allowing them to bridge the gaps between their professional experiences, the classroom and their professional aspirations.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

A.	Examine and reflect on their professional experiences, skills and attributes, and develop a plan to achieve their professional interests and goals.
B.	Analyse and demonstrate the key professional attributes sought by employers in the industry of choice.
C.	Demonstrate developing professional skills, including communication, leadership and accountability, for engagement and networking with the industry of choice.
D.	Apply, integrate and develop skills and knowledge acquired during Master of Health Services Management or Master of Public Health courses in an industry-specific context.
E.	Reflect, evaluate and report on the learning outcomes and experiences of the professional placement.

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

This subject contributes specifically to the following graduate attributes:

1. Critical Thinking: Reflective, critical thinker who influences practice, policy and research to achieve clinical excellence and transform healthcare services. (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3)

2. Leadership: Effective, collaborative and responsive leader who considers health care in a global context (2.0, 2.1, 2.2)

3. Accountability: Socially, culturally and ethically accountable when engaging with individuals, families, interdisciplinary teams, communities, organisations and jurisdictions. (3.0, 3.1, 3.2)

4. Communication: Communicates effectively and appropriately in challenging, complex and diverse situations. (4.0, 4.1, 4.2)

Teaching and learning strategies

Before placement
In week 1 of each session, a compulsory pre-placement workshop will be held in conjunction with UTS Careers to support students in articulating and developing their professional development objectives, and to prepare them for their professional placement. The workshop will include interactive and collaborative activities and instructive lectures focused on career development, and the processes and expectations of undertaking a professional placement.

Students must prepare for the pre-placement workshop by searching for and identifying a recent job advertisement that is relevant to their industry and profession of choice. In other words, a job that they would like to apply for at some stage in the following year. Students will need to bring a copy of the job advertisement, any application instructions and selection criteria, as well as a current curriculum vitae. Learning will be reinforced through peer and facilitator feedback, as students work on these materials during guided workshop sessions to: identify their professional aspirations; analyse the attributes and skills sought by employers in their industry of choice; identify personal areas of improvement that they would like to address during their placement; and practice articulating their skills and experience in a professional manner. Students will also be guided through the task of developing a learning plan for their placement, which they will submit as a non-assessable task one week after the workshop.

Following the workshop, students will complete and submit Assessment task 1, which asks students to articulate examples of how they have demonstrated key professional competencies, using a template shown to them during the workshop. This task will prepare students to respond to questions and selection criteria with confidence in their placement interviews as well as future recruitment opportunities.

Students will next proceed to formally apply for their professional placement through MyPlacement, which is the online portal through which their professional placements will be administered. This will involve providing a curriculum vitae and a cover letter, as well as attending an interview with a suitable placement organisation. Instructions on using MyPlacement will be emailed to all enrolled students prior to the start of the session. The subject coordinator and placement officer will be responsible for identifying suitable placements for students, based on students’ expressed learning interests, career goals and available placement opportunities. Students will be supported in this process by the subject coordinator, the placement officer and UTS Careers.

During placement
Following the pre-placement workshop, consultation and application process, students will undertake supervised work within a relevant organisation for a minimum of 140 hours. The staging of this engagement is to be negotiated with the participating organisation and may be conducted as a block or by regular hours throughout the session. Onsite guidance will be provided by the host organisation and supported by the subject coordinator. Students will work with their placement organisation and supervisor to develop a professional placement proposal. This must be submitted as Assessment Task 2 after the student has completed between 20 and 35 hours of placement.

Students’ learning will be reinforced and documented through completion of an ongoing private reflective journal throughout the placement period. The journal should contain a daily log of hours, activities and personal reflections. When 70 hours of placement have been completed, students will complete and submit a reflective report as Assessment Task 3, to account for their placement experience at the halfway mark, and to adapt and adjust their plans and expectations where necessary.

At this same milestone (70 hours), students will also complete and submit the Placement Progression Form (not-assessed) available through MyPlacement. Feedback obtained from the reflective report and the Placement Progression Form will enable the subject coordinator to ensure that the student is on-track to meeting both their learning and development goals and the required number of hours.

At the completion of the professional placement, students will critically evaluate their personal learning and skill development through a formal report. They will also be provided with feedback on their professional development and skill learning through a workplace evaluation report provided by the workplace supervisor. Placements must be completed with sufficient time for final assessment documents to be received by the census date of the following session.

Content (topics)

Professional development skills and guidance on professional engagement
Professional responsibilities and expectations
Experiential learning and reflection
Industry-specific workplace functioning and structures
Effective communication and networking in relevant industry contexts
Reporting and receiving feedback of professional development

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Communicating professional competencies

Intent:	In the recruitment process, employers will often ask applicants to demonstrate that they possess certain desired professional competencies, attributes and skills. This may be in the form of responding to selection criteria, or as questions during job interviews. This task allows students to articulate examples of how they have demonstrated key professional competencies, using a template shown to them during their workshop. This will encourage students to reflect on the value and transferability of their professional and educational experiences and achievements. This task will also prepare students to respond to similar questions and criteria with confidence in future recruitment opportunities.
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	20%
Length:	750 words in total
Criteria:	20% Describes recent, relevant and specific examples for each chosen competency. Examples must be real (i.e. not hypothetical). 30% Examples include sufficient detail and complexity to demonstrate the competency 30% Examples are written following the STAR format (situation, task, action, results) 20% Examples are written using clear and concise language, with correct spelling and grammar.

Assessment task 2: Professional Placement Workplan

Intent:	The professional placement workplan gives students the opportunity to plan the tasks, milestones and goals that they will accomplish during their placement, in a way that accounts for: their personal learning objectives; the placement organisation’s expectations; and the key graduate attributes identified for this subject (critical thinking, leadership, accountability and communication). Students must discuss this plan with their placement supervisor prior to submission, particularly to clarify expectations, manage their time, and to identify relevant key performance indicators, which are activities that are necessary and common to managing work and career development in professional organisations.
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	10%
Length:	Maximum of 4 pages (using a template provided on Canvas)
Criteria:	25% Explains the purpose of professional placement with this organisation in relation to professional development goals. 25% Details the proposed work program with the placement organisation 25% Identifies the relevant key skills and competencies associated with each task 25% Identifies appropriate methods to record and demonstrate evidence of achievement for each task.

Assessment task 3: Mid-placement Reflective Report

Intent:	The reflective report invites students to critically review, and adapt, the professional placement experience and their progress toward meeting the expectations outlined in their placement workplans. This reflection asks students to account for their placement experience at the half-way mark, and to adapt and adjust their plans and expectations where necessary. Producing the reflection as a video report allows students to practice and receive feedback on their professional verbal communication.
Type:	Reflection
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	30%
Length:	5-7 minute video
Criteria:	15% Describes expectations and experiences relating to the placement so far. 15% Critically questions own assumptions, knowledge, action, and expectations 15% Considers alternative perspectives and explanations for events described 20% Explains how the placement experience has informed a better understanding of self, others, the placement organisation or profession of interest. 20% Connects aspects of the placement experience to aspects of prior and/or future professional, educational or personal experiences. 15% Describes experiences and thoughts clearly and succinctly, using formal language, but from a personal perspective.

Assessment task 4: Professional Placement Report

Intent:	The report writing process asks students to critically reflect on their placement experience, by drawing on their workplan and reflective journal entries, to evaluate their overall progress towards achieving their professional development objectives.
Type:	Report
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	40%
Length:	2000 words
Criteria:	10% Describes the organisation, scope of work, and rationale for placement. 25% Analyses the extent to which learning objectives and expectations were met, adjusted, or otherwise changed during placement 10% Explains how knowledge, concepts or skills acquired during their Master of Health Service Management or Master of Public Health course were applied during placement 25% Critically reflects on their performance during placement, and on the skills and knowledge developed during placement 20% Explains the impact of the placement experience on their professional development goals and intended careers. 10% Produces correct grammar, spelling, formatting, style and referencing in the report.

Assessment task 5: Evaluation by workplace supervisor

Intent:	The workplace supervisor’s report will provide valuable feedback to the student on the extent to which they have met professional expectations and the requirements of the work program detailed in their professional placement proposal.
Length:	To be determined by workplace supervisor.

Other resources

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Improve your academic and English language skills
Marks for all assessment tasks such as assignments and examinations are given not only for what you write but also for how you write. If you would like the opportunity to improve your academic and English language skills, make an appointment with the HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support) Service in Student Services.

HELPS (Higher Education Language & Presentation Support)
HELPS provides assistance with English language proficiency and academic language. Students who need to develop their written and/or spoken English should make use of the free services offered by HELPS, including academic language workshops, vacation intensive courses, drop-in consultations, individual appointments and Conversations@UTS (www.ssu.uts.edu.au/helps). HELPS staff are also available for drop-in consultations at the UTS Library. Phone (02) 9514 9733.

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