Placement Information

The clinical placement component of the Bachelor of Health Science in Perioperative Practice includes on-campus experiences and a series of block placements. During the block placements, the supervisor or preceptor uses suitable practice situations to facilitate student learning at the appropriate level.

Over the course of the three-year degree, students must complete:

  • 1200 hours of clinical learning (approximately 100 are recognised as simulation).

As part of this programme, students complete a number of clinical placements in designated services. Clinical placement opportunities exist throughout New Zealand, and students are allocated to placement providers as close to their preferred provider as possible.

Clinical placement education reinforces and extends the theoretical knowledge and skills developed in the classroom.

Te Kaunihera Pūtaiao Hauora Aotearoa, Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand, is responsible for setting the standards of competence for Anaesthetic Technicians in Aotearoa New Zealand. Students must complete 1200 hours of clinical learning to meet the requirements of the degree.

General information

We are currently updating this document

We are working through this at the moment.

  • Absence from clinical practice should be for health or close family bereavement reasons only.
  • In the event of sickness students must phone their Clinical Centre Leader (CCL) at the time agreed during orientation. It is important that the student personally makes the phone call and does not ask other students, family or parents to give messages regarding sick leave; unless they are unable to, due to significant injury, illness or bereavement.
  • The student, in addition to the above, must also email peripracplacement@aut.ac.nz to confirm their absence immediately. Please include your full name, student ID number, course code, and placement hospital in the subject line (e.g. Absence- Jack Jones 1234567 ANAE602 Auckland City).
  • All absences must be recorded by the CCL in the Absence Record (blue pages) for the relevant course in the Placement Record section (page 31 onwards).
  • An absence of three consecutive days/shifts requires a Medical Certificate as documentary evidence –and needs to be supplied to the CCL, and peripracplacement@aut.ac.nz. If the student needs to isolate due to Covid-19 then a Medical Certificate is not warranted. The student must follow the service protocols and Ministry of Health guidelines.
  • In the event of an absence, the student may be required to apply for an extension or undertake additional placements (due to not attending scheduled placements), therefore the AUT Practicum Leader must be contacted as soon as possible by the student and / or the CCL to facilitate this. Email peripracplacement@aut.ac.nz
  • Any medical/dental appointments must be scheduled so as not to interfere with the placement day or outside of normal working hours where possible. If this is totally unavoidable, students are required to discuss the problem with their supervisor IN ADVANCE of any appointment being made.

The safety of service users is paramount at all times. Should a student repeatedly not respond to feedback and by doing so put a service user at risk, there may be grounds for withdrawing the student from the placement.

Student and staff safety is also important. Should a student or staff member feel psychologically or physically unsafe during the placement, there may be grounds for ending the placement.

Withdrawal from a placement is an outcome of last resort. In order to minimise the likelihood of this occurring, all parties involved will be encouraged to engage in the problem-solving process supported by AUT.

Urgent, Critically Unsafe, Unlawful Practice, Inappropriate Clinical Practice, Matters of student wellbeing

Please contact the on-duty AUT staff member on 021 988 738. This number is monitored during normal business hours, Monday – Friday, 8am - 5pm.

Please email the Programme Leader in communication pertaining to clinical competency matters. Include student name and ID in the subject line.

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