Abstract
Primary mental health – a rural student placement model
Within the Three Rivers Department of Rural Health (TRDRH) footprint, access to community based rural mental health placements is limited and typically offered as traditional clinical placements situated in higher acuity settings.
This creates limited exposure and the types of interprofessional learning experiences that students have available to them within mental health and wellness. Within the TRDRH footprint, we are seeing higher reported levels of psychological distress and reduced access to mental health services and general poorer health outcomes.
In partnership with an established regional primary mental health service, a student placement model has been designed to provide undergraduate paramedicine, nursing, and social work students with an ongoing service-learning placement. A key component of the placement is the delivery of a student led program whereby consumers are provided with an opportunity to strengthen their digital health literacy skills. Student also take part in essential components of the service activity supported by a dedicated student educator. This pilot placement model aims to deliver a high-quality experience that provides students with essential practice mental health practice skills that are necessary upon graduation.
The project has taken a participatory evaluation approach to measure the impact of the student placement model on community and the host organisation. This paper will reveal the essential components for success, lessons learnt which is driving ongoing development of this project and outline the transferability to a wide range of practice settings.
Within the Three Rivers Department of Rural Health (TRDRH) footprint, access to community based rural mental health placements is limited and typically offered as traditional clinical placements situated in higher acuity settings.
This creates limited exposure and the types of interprofessional learning experiences that students have available to them within mental health and wellness. Within the TRDRH footprint, we are seeing higher reported levels of psychological distress and reduced access to mental health services and general poorer health outcomes.
In partnership with an established regional primary mental health service, a student placement model has been designed to provide undergraduate paramedicine, nursing, and social work students with an ongoing service-learning placement. A key component of the placement is the delivery of a student led program whereby consumers are provided with an opportunity to strengthen their digital health literacy skills. Student also take part in essential components of the service activity supported by a dedicated student educator. This pilot placement model aims to deliver a high-quality experience that provides students with essential practice mental health practice skills that are necessary upon graduation.
The project has taken a participatory evaluation approach to measure the impact of the student placement model on community and the host organisation. This paper will reveal the essential components for success, lessons learnt which is driving ongoing development of this project and outline the transferability to a wide range of practice settings.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 20 Jun 2023 |
| Event | 9th Rural & Remote Health Scientific Symposium - Hotel Realm, Canberra, Australia Duration: 20 Jun 2023 → 21 Jun 2023 https://www.ruralhealth.org.au/9rrhss/ (Symposium website) |
Conference
| Conference | 9th Rural & Remote Health Scientific Symposium |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | Connecting research, practice and communities |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Canberra |
| Period | 20/06/23 → 21/06/23 |
| Other | The 9th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium is brought to you by the Australian Rural Health Education Network (ARHEN), the Federation of Rural Australian Medical Educators (FRAME), the Lowitja Institute and the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA). It will bring together the rural and remote health research sector with policymakers and others in the government and non-government sectors to shape the future of rural and remote health research. The theme of the symposium is ‘Connecting research, practice and communities’ The Symposium is being held in Canberra, ACT and will offer the opportunity for general presentations; high quality keynote speakers; concurrent and poster sessions. |
| Internet address |
|