Undergraduate student clinical placements - costs and benefits

According to this review from the Sax Institute, there has been a 25.4% increase in the number of fulltime equivalent students in health related courses in Australian universities from 2009 to 2013. This has led to an increase in the need for more clinical placements, "placing additional strain on both the education provider and the health service providers where the placements may occur."

The review examined the costs and benefits of clinical placements and found only limited evidence. The obvious conclusion is that more comprehensive data collection is required and suggestions for this and further research are made.

Evidence check: the costs and benefits of providing undergraduate student clinical placements by Kelly-Ann Bowles, Terry Haines, Elizabeth Molloy, Stephen Maloney, Fiona Kent, Samantha Sevenhuysen, Joanna Tai.