MEDI007 Professional Health Placement Report
Student number and name:
Presentation link:
Project:
Introduction and Background
Human health is delicate, which necessitates the availability and accessibility of quality
healthcare services, in consistent with the Section 37 of the Human Rights Act 2019. The
Australian healthcare system has therefore, sought to integrate professionals acquainted with
necessary skills required to provide top notch care, consistent with human dignity. I was
attached at BANC organization, located within Blackheath Community. The organization
especially to people with disabilities, providing essential interventions to lead comfortable
lives they want in the upper Blue Mountains (BANC, n.d.). The organization champions the
rights of vulnerable people to lead a dignified lifestyle, by aiding with daily living activities,
skills development and social/community participation just like other people, stretching the
reach of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Provider in delivering noble interventions
for vulnerable populations. The attachment was 11 weeks long, dated between December
12th 2023 to 21st February 2024.
The primary aim of this placement/project was to provide students with the opportunity
to explore the industrial world relevant to their future career. The program offered to help us
put into practice the theoretical knowledge and skills acquired through classwork in the actual
areas of application. This placement was meant to provide an opportunity for acquiring
hands-on knowledge and acquire real skills, expertise and work ethics that’s expected of us in
our career paths. The placement was also to provide opportunity for participating through
doing, allowing students to contextualize and integrate learning through a direct interaction
with ground/environment of realities. It also was meant to enhance and inculcate in us critical
skills of research, fieldwork, documentation of findings, presentation and advocacy.
Method / Tasks
Duties or activities were mainly assigned (by the placement officer) in groups. Our
group composed of five members: Filip Stefanovic, Daniel Robinson, Nancy Yong Shi,
Gabriel Legrand and me- Christine Jeyarajah. He (the assignment officer) would on a daily
, 2
basis follow up on assigned duties, and provided feedback for work done. Once a week, we
had zoom meetings to discuss various items. He would use this opportunity to guide and
prepare us about the coming week’s activities and expectations.
We undertook several activities in various sections of the organization. Week 1 was
basically introduction and laid a foundation for what was to be done over the rest of the
placement period. Among precise activities undertaken included organizing weekly action
plan, preparing time budgeting schedule for each member, reviewing background information
on Blackheath, OHS (Organization Health Safety) and risk management in post COVID
environment and developing a shared Google document and Gantt chart. Also, during the
week, I was charged with the responsibility of designing a Google document to aid in
forthcoming research activities.
Week 2 was rather busy. We conducted a lot of research about determinants of health
in the Blackheath Community. We also compiled literature review on the issue, after
soliciting approval of literature from Andrey (placement supervisor). Our primary sources
included epidemiological government reports, journal articles and Australian Bureau of
Statistics’ reports and publications. I created tables and graphs to summarize the social
determinants of health report.
Week 3-5 activities were external. We took a field trip to Blackheath’s Blue Mountains,
with a primary objective of mobilizing funding for affirmative action in support for better
health outcomes of vulnerable populations, such as indigenous families, young families,
seniors, individuals with mental health issues and other socially isolated groups. I took part in
registering these persons, which was used in the disbursing of resources towards promoting
the wellbeing of these individuals. Key outcomes included garnering infrastructure data,
demographics of people of interest (vulnerable persons), social structure and their dominant
values and attitudes. I was involved in was occupation health assessment, which entailed
conducting scrutiny of occupation hygiene in homes, apartments and workplaces. Core
activities also included connecting seniors with grants. I documented common challenges
affecting this community, which included mobility difficulties, unthriving business ventures,
social isolation (poor access to basic amenities), and predominance of older persons, majority
of whom were women.
In week 6, activities included calling seniors to show compassion, holding yoga
activities and dancing for senior, educating them on importance of regular involvement in