Information for new students

The Community-Based Placement (CBP) program is an exciting and innovative educational activity incorporated in medical education at Monash University. The CBP program offers students an opportunity to understand issues of social justice and equity and to relate these to the study of medicine. Through the completion of a community based placement, students have the opportunity to observe the outstanding human skills of multi-disciplinary teams in a community setting and, through their placement, contribute to the work of the agency.  Please note that unfortunately due to COVID, the CBP program has not been possible in 2020 or 2021, and due to ongoing Covid uncertainties, may not be possible in 2022.

Year A students commence clinical placements early in Semester 1 and will be allocated to one of six hospitals across the Gippsland region. These sites include:

• Bass Coast Health (Wonthaggi)
• Gippsland Health Service (Sale)
• Gippsland Southern Health Service (Leongatha)
• Latrobe Regional Hospital (Traralgon)
• West Gippsland Healthcare Group (Warragul)
• St John of God Hospital (Berwick)

Students undertake clinical placements in Year 3B, 4C and 5D of the Monash medical course. In Year 3B about 80% of students are placed in metropolitan clinical schools and their associated clinical sites.
The remaining students are placed at one of the following Monash Rural Health sites:

North West

• Bendigo Base Hospital
• Mildura Base Hospital

South East

• Latrobe Regional Hospital (Traralgon)
• West Gippsland Health Service (Warragul)
• Gippsland Health Service (Sale)
• Bairnsdale Hospital
• South Gippsland Health Service (Leongatha) and their associated clinical sites which span rural areas in the north west and south east.

Placement durations vary from 1 month to full year. Students in the Extended Rural Cohort (ERC) are placed at a School of Rural Health North West (Mildura or Bendigo) site in Year 3B. ERC students are contracted to spend 2 and a half years in rural North West Victoria throughout their medical course.

Monash is bound by a Federal government requirement that all students in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) must undertake at least 4 weeks structured residential rural clinical placement. In addition, at least 25% of the Monash CSP medical student allocation must undertake a minimum of one year of clinical training in a rural area, as defined by the Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remote Areas (ASGC-RA) 2-5.

Applicants should note that acceptance of the offer of a place in the Monash medical course indicates acceptance of the subsequent clinical placement allocation.