The John Flynn Placement Program (JFPP)

Overview
Financial Assistance
What People Say about the Program
Contact Information

Overview

The JFPP was established in 1997. Funded by the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), the JFPP is an important part of the Australian Government’s strategy to attract more doctors to rural and remote areas to address areas of workforce shortage and improve the quality of health care for local communities. The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) administers the program on behalf of the Government. Medical students enrolled in accredited medical courses at one of 20 participating Australian universities can apply for a place in the program. Each year, 300 Students are selected to join the program.

There is one application intake each year, which is generally between February and April. Once accepted in the JFPP, Students are placed with a rural doctor and a local contact person for a minimum of two full weeks per year, normally over a four year period. Students are placed in the same community each year and are expected to complete the entire eight weeks of placements by the last holiday period following completion of their medical course. Before applying to the JFPP, Students need to consider whether they have enough time with studies and current commitments to complete the program.

Placements in the Northern Territory will be for 3 weeks for the first placement to include a two day orientation with the remaining 5 weeks to be made up over the following 2 years. NTGPE endeavours to place John Flynn Scholars at the same location for each placement throughout their degree, however sometimes on rare occasions this is not possible due to the ever-changing nature of Northern Territory communities. Placement locations will not be changed to another community unless their original community cannot take the John Flynn Scholar for some reason. This is not negotiable under any circumstances.

Students will also be required to obtain a Working with Children (Ochre) card and a NT Police Check, which will need to be provided prior to your placement commencement. Failure to do so will mean the cancellation of your placement or having to wait in Darwin or Alice Springs until it has been approved.

Students work closely with a rural doctor, remote area nurse or Aboriginal health worker in a wide variety of health settings and experience one-on-one mentoring. This type and level of mentoring for Students is unique and will supplement the experience of a University clinical rotation in a hospital or general practice. It is not unusual for the clinic to not have a full time doctor in the community.

Students are encouraged to get involved with the local community, which is a vital part of this program. Interacting socially with local people will help students develop friendships and a strong bond with their placement community.

ACRRM and NTGPE aim to link Students to a local person or organisation in their community to assist with social and cultural experiences. This is especially important when students first arrive and are unfamiliar with the local area as it helps them to feel part of the community.

Accommodation in the NT is ever changing and in some instances will be shared with other NT placed program participants or other health professionals in the community.

The combination of a clinical and social experience that Students, mentors and communities encounter on the program make the JFPP successful and results in some Students returning to the community post-program to work in the region.

Financial Assistance

The JFPP covers the cost of travel and accommodation for students to go on placement and ACRRM provides assistance with these arrangements. In addition to this students are paid $500 per week to cover food and living expenses during the placement. NTGPE is responsible for the organisation of all travel and accommodation within the NT.

Mentors, community contacts and community hosts receive an honorary payment as acknowledgement of their important contribution to the program.

What People Say About the Program

The JFPP is so successful because of the fantastic network of people who are involved in it and the amazing communities that students visit while on their placement. It truly is a unique experience and one that everyone involved has found to be life changing. Students who never had an interest in living and working in the country before and haven’t even been to ‘the bush’ often make the ‘tree-change’ and become rural doctors.

Through their placements, Students have the opportunity to experience rural and remote life in communities all over Australia from places as diverse as Carnarvon in Western Australia to Huonville in Tasmania.

Students involved in the program say the one-on-one mentoring and community experience is one of the greatest advantages of the JFPP. It provides them with first-hand experience of the challenges and rewards associated with working in a rural or remote medical practice and health care services. Doctors also find it a rewarding experience to mentor Students and see their knowledge and confidence grow.

The program lives up to its philosophy of ‘remarkable places and extraordinary people’.

If this sounds like something that you would like to be involved in and you want to make a difference, please refer to ‘how to apply’.

Contact Information

ACRRM administers the JFPP on behalf of the DoHA. For all ACRRM enquiries contact the JFPP Coordinator or Support Officer:

Email: [email protected]
Freecall: 1800 231 231
Phone: 07 3105 8200
Fax: 07 3105 8299
Mail: GPO Box 2507Brisbane QLD 4001

For all NTGPE enquiries:

Education Coordination Assistant
NTGPE
Ph: (08) 8946 7015
Email: [email protected]

Published on Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (https://www.acrrm.org.au)