Date: April 2026
Location: Chinchilla Hospital (3 days/wk) & Illoura Residential Aged Care (1 day/wk)
University: The University of Queensland
Field of Study: Speech Pathology

What did you enjoy most about your rural placement?

Being able to experience the difference in a country town compared to the big city. From clients and caseloads at the hospital and aged care. To the different personalities and cultures of people in a small town.

Would you recommend a rural placement to other students? Why?

Really great experience from the different people you meet. How the community supports each other and are welcoming of students. Also, not having traffic and long commutes! The country life has its on timetable. It's nice to be able to experience the lifestyle.

What are your top tips for students considering a rural placement?

Having proper supports both external and internal. There are times placement can become really busy and challenging. Taking care of yourself outside of the workday is very important. Keep up to social connections whether back at home or making new friends here.

Did you stay in SQRH accommodation or have interaction with SQRH staff?

Yes, I stayed in the house and also the nursing quarters at the hospital.

Any other information or notes you'd like to share?

Claire and I have spent the past 7-8 weeks in Chinchilla for our rural placement experience. We found the town to be small compared to the great city of Brisbane. But the community here had big hearts. We found it easy to join in to social events around town. There was something happening on most of the evenings - from trivia nights and music bingo to social tennis - making it easy to feel part of the community itself. 

What stood out most was how easy it was for us to build connections. Everything you needed was just around the corner. It definitely beats the commute time and hustle and bustle of Brisbane. We felt that if you know one person, you quickly feel like you know everyone. 

These connections open the door to local events for us to attend and also get involved in opportunities you might not otherwise hear about. Rural placement has been an amazing learning opportunity for Claire and I. As rural generalists, we had the chance to work across the lifespan, seeing clients from as young as two years old to as old as 95. 

I think we need to talk to the 95-year-old more to learn their secret to their longevity! The variety in caseload has been incredible, including fluency, speech, language delay, dysarthria, aphasia, voice, and even palliative care. Claire and I have had amazing support throughout the placement, with a team of supervisors who look out not only for our clinical learning but also for our safety, well-being, and adjustment to rural life.

I worked at Illoura and had three wonderful CEs to help supervise and support us in our projects. The CEs were really great at taking care of us. Especially when we had the flooding, they made sure to contact us to make sure that we were ok.

There have also been many opportunities to observe and work alongside the multidisciplinary team, gaining a deeper understanding of how different disciplines complement and support one another. This has been especially valuable to us in areas such as paediatrics, where collaboration between speech pathology and occupational therapy can enhance outcomes for children.

These experiences have highlighted the importance of teamwork and holistic care in a rural setting. Rural placements offer such a unique and rewarding experience, both professionally and personally and Chinchilla has made it memorable for us! We hope you get a chance to see Chinchilla and experience allied health in the rural setting!