Hundreds of Victorian university students are helping deliver more jabs in arms, joining the frontline workforce administering lifesaving coronavirus vaccinations.
More than 580 undergraduate and postgraduate university students have been hired as part of the vaccination workforce, administering jabs at state run centres while also gaining valuable real-life work experience.
The program will also allow some students to reach their qualification sooner, with shifts contributing to placement hour requirements for some courses at some universities.
The students are registered with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and come from a variety of courses including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, midwifery and paramedicine at universities across the state.
They have been predominantly deployed at metropolitan vaccination centres, with even more directly recruited by health services.
Universities have played a vital role in the Victorian vaccination effort, including a pop-up clinic hosted by Victoria University at Whitten Oval where 2,000 people were vaccinated in two days and a pop-up testing site at Federation University's Mount Helen campus where 12 of its students worked.
Graduates of Victoria University's Certificate III in Health Services Assistance course are now working on the frontline as Patient Service Assistants and the University of Melbourne has developed the VaxFACTS webpage to answer questions about COVID-19 vaccination.
Victorian university students can join the program at torrenshealth.com.au.
As stated by Minister for Higher Education Gayle Tierney
"This is a fantastic opportunity for university students to get vital hands-on experience to enhance their regular learning - while also boosting our vaccine roll-out and strengthening Victoria's pipeline of local healthcare workers."
As stated by Minister for Health Martin Foley
"Students are in a great position to contribute to our frontline workforce - this program is making a huge difference getting vaccinations into arms and freeing up our dedicated nurses to return to their usual shifts in our hospitals."
