To ensure that you provide effective and safe care for patients, colleagues and yourself whilst on placement at RCH, it is important that you understand expected professional behaviours, how to access available support services, and relevant RCH policies and procedures. Please read the following information thoroughly. 

Expectations of professional behaviour   

• Communicate openly and often with your Placement Supervisors – Placement Supervisors aim to offer you a range of different learning opportunities whilst providing guidance and support. Please speak with them if you have any questions or concerns.  

• Know your role - discuss your expected role and responsibilities with your Placement Supervisor prior to interacting with each patient. For example, you might clarify whether you are there to observe, partake in, or lead a consultation.  

• Know your patients - gather as much information about a patient and their circumstances before meeting them. Where appropriate, read their electronic medical record thoroughly and speak to other health professionals involved in their care.  

• Protect patient confidentiality and privacy – ensure that you close cubicle curtains or doors when discussing personal information with patients and carers and avoid discussing patients with other health professionals in public areas.  

• Be honest – always introduce yourself as a student and don't be offended if a patient or their carers would prefer to work with a qualified professional. Don't feel embarrassed if you can't answer specific questions – simply let the patient know you will find out more information from your Placement Supervisor.  

• Be respectful - demonstrate respect and give your full attention when meeting with patients, carers and staff. Be aware of how your presentation (including nonverbal behaviours such as body language, gestures, eye contact, facial expression, and tone of voice) may be perceived by others.  

• Manage your time – ensure that you arrive at RCH at least 10-15 minutes prior to commencing placement each day. Clarify expectations with your Placement Supervisor regarding when you are allowed to take breaks, and where you should be at various times throughout the day. 

• Prioritise placement – during placement, it is expected that you will attend for the times and days specified. Any outside obligations should be re-arranged, so that you may meet your attendance requirements and have enough time for rest.  Should you not be able to attend placement due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, please contact your Placement Supervisor and education provider as soon as practicably possible.   

• Be flexible – be open and tolerant of changes to your daily placement schedule. The healthcare environment is unpredictable, and staff need to meet daily work requirements in addition to meeting your placement objectives. At times, your Placement Supervisor may require that you work with or shadow other clinicians or undertake self-directed learning.  

Debriefing and psychological support 

During placement, you are likely to be involved in the care of acutely unwell children and young people and be exposed to upsetting circumstances – for instance, suspected non-accidental injury. If you are involved in an upsetting encounter or experience, please speak with your Placement Supervisor in the first instance for debriefing. Your RCH Placement Coordinator may also be able to assist.  

Should you need further mental health and well-being support during placement, you have access to the RCH Peer Support Program. The Peer Support Program is a free service which links staff, volunteers and students with trained RCH staff who provide confidential support and may assist in linking you to appropriate support services. The RCH Peer Support Program is accessible on-call 7 days per week between the hours of 7am – 11pm. You can contact a peer by calling the RCH switchboard on 9345 5522 (or by pressing 91 on internal phones) and ask them to contact the on-call peer for you. 

Most education providers also typically provide a student counseling service (face-to-face or via telehealth) as well as a 24/7 student assistance program. You will need to look on your education provider’s website to access relevant information. 

RCH policies and procedures 

Dress code 

• Dress in clean and neat clothing or uniform at all times. 
  

• Ensure that your clothing provides appropriate coverage and allows for the requirements of your role. 

• Infection control requires that you are bare below the elbows, meaning that sleeves should be short or be rolled up to expose your forearms.  

• Jewellery (other than simple earrings) should not be worn, whilst hair (including facial hair) should be neat, clean and tidy. 

• Nails should be short, clean and free of nail polish, whilst fake nails are not permitted. 

Professional boundaries 

Social relationship between students and patients / carers are inappropriate, including friendship, socialising, connections made via social networking sites or electronic means, or any other relationships apart from a professional one. Professional boundaries should be maintained at all times.  

Social media 

During your placement, you must not share the following to any form of social media: 

• confidential information received or otherwise obtained through the RCH 

• content created on RCH premises  

• photographs, images or videos of patients, families, visitors, staff or volunteers in their professional capacity 

• commentary portrayed as representative of RCH  

• anything with RCH branding  

Documentation: medical records                                                                                                                     

You can only make entries within Epic, the electronic medical record (EMR), when you are authorised to do so by your Placement Supervisor. Students should use the designated student EMR templates and entries must be dated, signed, include your full name, and state that you are a student and of what discipline. Ideally, each entry should be countersigned and amended (if required) by your RCH Placement Supervisor. You are not permitted to look at a medical record for a patient that you are not directly involved in caring for, including those of friends, family, or notable patients.  

Personal information: confidentiality 

RCH is committed to protecting the privacy of patient and staff information. The hospital is required by law to protect personal information and comply with the Health Records Act 2001 and other relevant legislation relating to confidentiality and privacy.  This legislation applies to all staff, contractors, volunteers and students. Prior to commencing placement at RCH, you will sign the Privacy, Confidentiality and Security agreement and in doing so, agree to your responsibilities in terms of patient and employee confidentiality. You should also be aware of instances when confidentiality can be broken (i.e. in the instance of required communication between health professionals) or must be broken (i.e. as required by mandatory child protection reporting or under the Child Information Sharing Scheme). Please discuss any instances where this may be required with your Placement Supervisor.  
 

IT systems – acceptable Use  

Use of computers and the internet at RCH should only be for activities directly related to your placement and patient care.  

Media protocol 

When on placement at RCH, you are not permitted to approach or speak to the media on behalf of the RCH. 

Mobile phones 

You may be required by a Placement Supervisor to carry your personal mobile phone during placement. When in clinical areas, mobiles should be switched to silent and not used for personal purposes at any time. 
 

Manual handling  

Manual handling of people and objects can result in injury, illness or disease if not undertaken in a safe way. It is important that you all manual handling risks are identified, assessed and controlled, and safe handling techniques are used. If you feel unsure of how to undertake safe manual handling whilst on placement, please speak with your Placement Supervisor.   
 

Workplace health, safety and well-being 

The RCH is committed to the provision of a safe and healthy work environment. Completion of the RCH ‘ Workplace Health and Safety Local Induction Checklist (Student Version)’ together with your Placement Supervisor may be required on the first day of placement. 

Emergency codes 

All RCH emergency codes are listed on the back of the access card that you will be provided with whilst on placement. You can read more about the emergency codes on the RCH Emergency Management intranet page. The number to call a code is 2222 (same as all Victorian hospitals).