Get ready for your placement

You will need to get the same vaccines as healthcare workers and may be refused a placement if you do not follow Alberta Health Services' public health requirements. Your vaccine records need to be in writing, readable and complete.

Finding vaccination records

Students and instructors may contact their local public health centre for vaccination records. Alberta residents can request their records through MyHealth.Alberta.ca.

International vaccination records

Students need written records from their country of origin. If you do not have these, contact your local public health centre or doctor.

Required vaccines

Under the Alberta communicable diseases regulation and the Alberta Public Health Act, all healthcare students and instructors must be immunized against rubella (MMR).

Strongly recommended vaccines

• tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Td, dTap)
• measles, mumps (MMR)
• varicella (chicken pox) (Vz)
• influenza (annual) (FLU)
• tuberculosis (TST baseline) (PPD)

We also recommend that some health disciplines get vaccinated against:

• hepatitis B (Hep B) (HBV)
• polio (IPV)
• tuberculosis (TB) (PPD)
• meningococcal (Men-B Men-C)
• typhoid (salmonella) (TYVI)

Verifying vaccination records

The school will collect and verify student or instructor vaccination records. Our student placement team will collect and verify vaccination records for international students or clinicians completing post-specialty education.

Translations

If records are in a language other than English, the student, instructor or school must have the documents translated into English by an accredited translation service. We will also need confirmation from the translation service provider.

Students and instructors must provide a police information check with a vulnerable sector search. You must complete the check within 90 days of your first placement start date.

Original documents will be collected and verified by the school or by our student placement team for international students or clinicians completing post-specialty education.

How to complete a police information check

To request a police information check, go to your local police station and ask for a police check with a vulnerable sector search.

If you have only lived in the community for a short time, the local police may ask you to have the check done in the last community you lived in.

Translation

If the police check is in a language other than English, the student, instructor or school must have the documents translated into English by an accredited translation service. We will need confirmation from the translation service.

Non-clear results

If a student’s police check or vulnerable sector search is not clear, we will do a risk assessment to see if the placement can go ahead. The student will need to report to their school, and the school can email students@covenanthealth.ca to request an assessment.

Students and instructors must maintain their fitness to practice (physical, mental and emotional capacity) throughout the placement. This includes meeting vaccination requirements.

Students also need the required education, theory and preparation before starting their placement.

Accommodations

Tell your school if you have a condition that affects your fitness to practice. The school will complete an occupational health assessment and submit a written accommodation request to us.

We will make every effort to accommodate students. Depending on the case, we may complete an internal occupational health risk assessment. If your condition causes undue hardship or poses a high risk to patients, staff or property, we may decline the placement.

Students and instructors need to comply with legislation, policies and procedures. These take precedence over educational preparedness in guiding student practice.

Students must also have completed enough of the curriculum to perform the skills and duties in the placement.

Instructors who provide direct care must work within their competency and teaching context. The care an instructor provides will not replace the care given by our staff.

Schools need to have insurance for their students and instructors according to placement agreements.

Clinicians completing post-specialty education and students who are not covered under the school’s student placement agreement must have $5 million in professional and general liability insurance. Ask your discipline’s college or regulatory body for provider suggestions.

General liability insurance covers:

• bodily injury and property damage
• personal and advertising injury
• medical payments or tenants’ legal liability

General liability insurance does not cover the above items if they are caused by negligence while providing or failing to provide a professional service.

Professional liability insurance covers bodily injury, except for:

• incidental medical malpractice injury
• property damage or personal injury specifically due to negligence while providing or failing to provide a professional service

Professional liability coverage is also called errors and omissions liability or malpractice liability.

Students and instructors in Alberta

Students and instructors are covered by the Alberta government’s Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) policy.

Students outside Alberta

Students from a school outside Alberta but within Canada are covered under Covenant Health’s WCB policy.

International students

International students and clinicians completing post-specialty education are considered on a case-by-case basis. Email students@covenanthealth.ca for questions about WCB coverage for international students.

Students and instructors must keep all health information confidential, following laws and policies. Both must complete confidentiality training and sign a confidentiality agreement.

Our Basic Life Support (BLS) requirements are dictated by union contracts, position descriptions and program requirements. Email students@covenanthealth.ca if you are not sure if you need BLS training.

BLS for Healthcare Providers — Level C (BLS-HCP(C))

We recommend that students and instructors who provide direct care refresh their BLS for Healthcare Providers — Level C (BLS-HCP(C)) registration every 12 months.

This registration, provided by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, is the standard BLS certification adopted by Covenant Health. A Health Care Provider Level “C” BLS certification from another provider will also meet our BLS requirements.

Students who provide direct care must complete mask fit testing every two years. If you have not completed mask fit testing, you could be limited in working with patients and may not be able to finish your placement if there is an outbreak.

For Canadian students, mask fit testing is facilitated by the school before your placement begins. Mask fit testing is not provided by Covenant Health Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness.

Email students@covenanthealth.ca if you are not sure if you need to have current mask fit testing,

Students are responsible for any housing and travel needed for their placement. Some of our rural sites may have housing available. Email students@covenanthealth.ca for more information.

Parking may be available for students in some locations. Our large urban sites have staff waiting lists, but public transit is available. Students are responsible for parking and transportation expenses.

The use of identification (ID) badges helps keep our sites safe and secure. Students must show valid school photo ID at all times while on site.

Swipe cards

Some students will need swipe card access to enter the site and locked areas. In these situations, they will need to visit the parking or access office. They will need to show a valid driver’s license and school photo ID to receive the swipe card.

Covenant Health swipe cards must be returned to the site’s parking office at the end of the placement. A $20 fee will apply for lost cards.