Covid-19 Updates
Find all the latest COVID-19 updates from the School of Medicine weekly meetings, along with links and resources.
Last updated 29/09/21
Weekly meetings with the Dean, various executive academic staff and WSMS representatives are held on Wednesdays at 5pm via the Zoom link provided on your Facebook cohort groups & student emails.
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MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING
Alicia McIntyre is our Head of Student Affairs at SoM. Please contact her via email or phone if you have concerns about student wellbeing and wish to have a chat anytime. The WSMS President Tiffany Tan is also happy to have a chat with you and alleviate/escalate to the SoM any concerns you may have.
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September is Self-Care September! An initiative run by WSMS x PAWS x RHUWS. Be sure to get involved in the many activities the teams have organised.
COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
WSMS and the School of Medicine advise that our students must obtain a COVID-19 vaccination where possible. Please provide documentation of your vaccination via this hyperlink to be allowed onto placements. This can be done by connecting the Medicare service to your myGov account. Please save your proof of vaccination to your phone as well for convenience.
Medical students are able to utilise vaccination hubs in Sydney to obtain a Pfizer vaccine. Please make a booking via here: https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility
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COVID-19 TRAVEL PERMITS
Students on placement are required to obtain a Service NSW travel permit. Please select "other authorised worker" as your category. To obtain a letter stating your authorisation to travel, please contact the respective clinical dean administrative staff (i.e., Kathy - BCS, Suzie - MCS).
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MASK FITTINGS
Students on hospital placements are being mask fitted where NSW Health staff have the capacity to undertake this and ensure you are clean shaven to ensure the mask fittings are appropriate. Please continue to keep the mask fitting card on you at all times.
COVID-19 HYGIENE & CLOSE CONTACTS
Please practise good standards of hygiene everywhere you go. It is mandatory for masks to be worn and students need to obey the social distancing rules whilst in the hospital on placement. Please do not be difficult with NSW Health staff if they request for you to stop congregating in common areas.
Do not embark on non-essential travel and sign in to any locations you visit via the provided QR codes.
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For those living with vulnerable individuals, please ensure they are vaccinated. As medical students you are classified as Healthcare Workers, and those living with you should have priority access to a COVID-19 vaccine. However, should students wish to step away from their placements (if they have not been deemed cancelled), these absences need to be submitted to the School of Medicine via the appropriate documentation. For assistance with this, please contact your Year Coordinator.
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Should you be worried that you are a close contact due to your placement, please directly contact the NUM of the ward you were on via phone to confirm if this is the case or not.
Please continue to monitor announcements from NSW Health for the most accurate updates.
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PAID VACCINATOR ROLES
These roles are fully supported by qualified medical professionals who will ensure they are a safe and fulfilling experience, and payment is up to $937 per week (including 10% weekend loading).
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There are a few different options you can apply for depending on where you live, where you are on placement and what would be most convenient for you. Here are the links to the job descriptions with the application forms:
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YEAR 1 AND 2 CURRICULUM
Clinical placements have been suspended for the time being due to the current changing circumstances.
For Year 2 students, given the significant disruption to your clinical learning accumulating from the previous year, staff are working on a plan to get your clinical training up to speed in the beginning of the Year 3 rotations.
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Exams are scheduled to run online in November as per the finalised timetables.
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YEAR 3, 4 AND 5 CURRICULUM
If clarification is required regarding examinations for your year, please contact your Year Coordinator to obtain this information promptly.
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Students allocated placements at SWSLHD hospitals have had their placements put on hold. Online learning and paid vaccinator roles have been arranged by the School of Medicine staff as a substitution. However, due to the high volume of administrative tasks put onto the university staff, we strongly encourage our students to form study groups and continue their self-directed learning, and meaningfully track their learning as evidence to discuss with their placement supervisors to verify your competency in the course.
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If the supplementary online learning is not sufficient, please provide feedback directly to your Year Coordinators or student Year Representatives for escalation. These are new initiatives and ongoing, active feedback is required to provide you with the teaching you wish to receive.
We ask that students minimise movement across teams (among all placements) to reduce the potential transmission risk of the COVID-19 virus.
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Electives are not being supported by the School of Medicine given the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The AiMs program for Year 5 students is running again this year. Year 5 students are to please refer to email correspondence from NSW Health for future updates on the recruitment process if they have applied and still not received an AiMs position. Please note that not everyone who has applied will receive an offer due to varying working capacities of our NSW hospitals.
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Year 5 Indigenous Health attachments have been cancelled to minimise health risks to vulnerable communities. Online arrangements have been made for students.
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All other placements are continuing unless the university is advised otherwise by the NSW Health Department.
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If you are having difficulties obtaining adequate clinical opportunities whilst on placement, please reach out to your clinical school staff for assistance. They are the first point of contact for these matters.
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All of the above arrangements are being regularly reviewed by the SoM, and they are advocating for the best course of action to minimise the impact on student learning and graduation requirements.
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The university has made the decision to reinstate the GPA neutral scheme. Therefore, non-graded marks are being provided for the second semester (i.e. pass / fail grade).