Student Placement Data Collection

In line with the commitment to provide a more cohesive and sustainable approach to clinical placements Department of Human Services has developed a Clinical Placements Strategy with the aim of ensuring sufficient university clinical training capacity within Victoria over the long term.

A range of initiatives are part of this strategy and improving the quality and scope of data to assist  in an effective, state wide approach to planning clinical placements is critical. In addition DHS is establishing a web based information technology system to streamline the collection, storage, reporting and analysis of clinical placement data. The aim of this resource is to minimise the administrative responsibility of organisations; providing data facilitates, prompt analysis and report generation. The capacity and flexibility of the system to respond to changes in training models and providers will assist with strategic workforce planning for the sector.

To date the system has been piloted and is expected to be fully functional for the collection of data for the 2008 educational year.

As there is currently no centralised database to record student placement information within Community Health Services, it is recommended that individual agencies record information relevant to their own service using an Excel spreadsheet. A data collection checklist could be useful. Although this might not be a universal system it can provide a simple measure to assist community health agencies to manage information on student placements within their services.