Health and Safety Requirements

The Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet) is a computer system used by the Faculty of Nursing to arrange all clinical placements for our students.

Student Consent for Release of Personal Information
In general, personal information on students is collected, used, and disclosed via HSPnet for the purpose of identifying, coordinating, and evaluating appropriate placements for students. Students authorize their educational program to use HSPnet for this purpose by signing a consent form.

Please read the Identified Purposes and Handling of Personal Information document in HSPnet. 
Complete the Consent Form for Use and Disclose of Personal Information form in HSPnet and submit your signed form to the Clinical Requirements eClass site. Once we receive the form, the faculty may enter the student's information into HSPnet for use by authorized staff within the educational program. 

If you choose not to sign the consent form, it may significantly delay the arrangements for clinical placement as it will need to be done manually. If you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from signing the consent form, contact nursing.clinical@ualberta.ca.

Students in the Nursing program are strongly encouraged to be immunized against COVID-19. Clinical placements may happen with various clinical partners, who may require students to be fully immunized against COVID-19. Without this immunization and any other immunizations required by AHS or other third party sites, the University of Alberta cannot guarantee a student practicum placement. Without the practicum, completing the Nursing program may not be possible.

For more information please visit the COVID-19 Regulations published in the University Calendar.

If you have questions about the immunization regulations and the impact on your completion of the program please contact nursing.undergraduate@ualberta.ca

It is highly recommended that you have your immunization requirements completed by the University Health Centre (UHC). Once your form has been reviewed, the UHC will release a completed form to you to provide to the Faculty of Nursing with your documents. If it causes you undue hardship due to living outside of the province of Alberta or Canada, you may have the immunization records completed by a health care professional in your area. 

For information on completing your immunizations, please refer to the Welcome Letter provided to you at the time of your offer of admission. It is important that you start the process through the UHC's website as soon as possible, information on how to begin the process can be found in your Welcome Letter or on the UHC's webpage. 

According to the Public Health Act Communicable Disease Regulation (1985): "All staff of day care facilities and persons with face to face contact with patients in a health care facility shall ensure that they are immunized against Rubella."

If you are referred to TB services you must provide the Faculty with a letter stating is it safe for you to continue in the program.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all immunizations remain current while in the Nursing program. Clinical experiences may be delayed if requirements are not met. If you choose not to proceed with immunizations, you need to be aware that clinical agencies may decide that you cannot participate in clinical experiences at their site.

Students are responsible for ensuring that they keep a copy of their immunization documents. Should a clinical agency require these documents you will be required to provide them.

Evidence of annual re-certification must be submitted each year. Students who do not have a current Basic Life Support Provider CPR certification cannot participate in clinical courses.

A BLS CPR certificate is valid for one year from the date of the course. This course may also only be known as "BLS" without the CPR indicator on the Heart & Stroke Foundation website. 

Please note: Level C or HCP CPR certification will not be accepted.

Students must obtain a Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Clearance (PIC) to participate in clinical courses. Once you have uploaded a copy of your PIC with Vulnerable Sector Clearance to the eClass site (access to be provided upon registration), you must bring in your original to the Faculty of Nursing and have the original verified to the submitted version on eClass.

Police Information Checks can be obtained through the Edmonton Police Service, a community police station, or any RCMP detachment. Students from outside of the Edmonton area are advised to obtain this requirement prior to relocating to Edmonton if possible.

If your PIC is unclear, clinical agencies will review your documents to determine if you can participate in clinical experiences at their site. If your PIC is unclear, you must notify the Clinical Placement Coordinator immediately so that the review process can be started (780-492-8645). Refer to the AHS Student Placement Agreement Process and Procedure Outline for Alberta Health Services if your PIC is unclear. Covenant Health also has a review process. You will be required to have your documents reviewed according to their process as well.

After Degree Program and RPN students entering the program in the September 2022 term must submit a Police Information Check dated after June 1, 2022.

Collaborative and Bilingual students entering the program in the September 2022 term must submit a Police Information Check dated after June 1, 2022.

Clinical placement sites that are a part of Alberta Health Services/Covenant Health will honour a student's initial Police Information Check for the duration of your program. Clinical placements with other organizations may require a new PIC within a certain timeframe, students will be alerted of this requirement by their course lead or clinical placement team. 

If a student is not continuous in their nursing program, they will need to submit a new Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Clearance prior to restarting your nursing program.

Students living in Alberta under the age of 18 are not able to obtain the VSC and should wait until they turn 18 to complete this requirement. Students out of province and unable to obtain a VSC due to the age of majority in place of residence are to obtain a PIC upon turning the required age or use the 6 month timeframe for "place of residence" and obtain a PIC at 18 if living in Alberta more than 6 months during year 1 of the program.

Students are responsible for finding their own mask fit testing company. You can view a list of providers on the Health and Safety eClass page (access to be provided upon commencement of term). You do not need to complete this requirement by the Health and Safety Requirements deadline.

Prior to acute care clinical practice courses, all students must be fitted for N95 Respiratory Masks in accordance with the contractual agreement with Alberta Health Services. These masks are worn when caring for patients with highly infectious diseases. 

Mask fit testing is valid for two years. If you lose or gain a significant amount of weight or have dental/facial surgery, you will need to have your mask fit test redone. The mask fit testing is done only in the fall and spring; if you require mask fit testing outside of this timeframe, it is your responsibility to independently obtain mask fit testing. If you had mask fit testing done at your place of work, it will only be accepted if it was for a 3M mask - contact the Faculty of Nursing for more information.

Confidentiality is very important in health care. Alberta Health Services Student Orientation is designed to provide further information for associated standards, policy or guidelines. The online course will take 20-30 minutes to complete. Alberta Health Services requires that ALL students complete the AHS Secure - Collect It, Protect It module and sign a Confidentiality and User Agreement prior to participating in a placement. Please submit your signed agreement to the Clinical Requirements eClass submission page. Students are expected to complete this process annually.

As a nursing student, you will be privy to healthcare information and are bound by legislation to keep the information that you access confidential.

In order to be able to access this privileged information, you will need to complete the following quizzes on the Clinical Requirements eClass site at the start of your program: Clinical Placement Consent, Covenant Care Confidentiality Agreement, Informed Consent, and Personal declaration. 

These are only completed in the first year of all programs. 

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) is Canada's hazard communication system. This is a safety course for University staff and students who work with controlled products and chemicals.

WHMIS training must be completed once a year.

Please follow the below steps:

1. Go to the WHMIS Training webpage, log in using your CCID and password, and complete the student self-enrollment to begin the training. As a student, you will not need to enroll.
2. When you've completed the training, download or print your certificate, then upload it to the Clinical Requirements eClass Submission page to complete the requirements.
3. Make a note of the date you completed your certification so you know when to recertify next year.

The Alberta Government has mandated that all Faculty of Nursing students must successfully complete "It's Your Move (IYM) - Safe Patient Handling" prior to the start of their first acute clinical course. This is to increase safety in moving clients in the health care system. The It's Your Move Certification will be delivered at the University of Alberta in three parts - online modules (found on eClass), Zoom session, and hands-on training. It's Your Move Certification is required for students taking NURS 221, SC INF 221, and N335 at the cost of $50 + tax. Once initial certification is taken, students are recertified annually in clinical courses at no charge.

Visit It's Your Move [Initial Certification and Re-Certification] eClass website

These documents are intended to assist individuals considering entry into a Nursing Program at the University of Alberta as well as to determine if they have the physical and mental health attributes that will support success in a nursing education program. During the nursing program, students must participate in clinical practice courses which require performance of physically and mentally challenging activities similar to those skills required of a practicing Registered Nurse (RN).

• Students are required to read the document Fitness to Practice: Implications for Undergraduate Nursing Students.
• Then go to the Clinical Requirements eClass site to review, sign and return the Personal Declarations for Undergraduate Nursing Students to the Faculty of Nursing.