Fall 2021

U of A President Bill Flanagan confirms that the University will welcome back many students to campus for the Fall 2021 semester. Learn more about Preparing for Fall 2021.

NOTE: Updates for Fall 2021 semester will be posted on this site as they become available, be sure to check back regularly. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during these extraordinary times.

Do I need to relocate to Edmonton for the Fall 2021 semester?

At this time, the Faculty of Nursing undergraduate programs have scheduled all in person classes for students in Fall 2021 and Winter 2022. Students will be required to attend all lab and clinical course components in person unless specified otherwise with capacity for some lecture based classes to record and use cameras in their classrooms.

If you are unable to attend in person classes due to health or travel restrictions, contact the Office of the Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs at nuugdean@ualberta.ca to determine what accommodations may be available.

Will COVID-19 vaccines be mandatory for students?
Key things to know about COVID-19 vaccines and the U of A.
Am I required to have both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to enter the clinical environment?
Vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended for all healthcare workers. The Faculty of Nursing highly recommends that all nursing students receive this vaccination.

If you are on a unit where there is a COVID-19 outbreak you will need to follow the directives of the Medical Officer of Health and directives from the Command Post/Occupational Health for the clinical agency. The recommendations may require that all students who have not had their COVID-19 vaccination need to be removed from the unit. Absence from clinical may jeopardize your ability to meet the objectives of your clinical course. As announced by the Alberta Government, all aged 12 and up are now eligible for the vaccine. Details on how to book the first and second dose are available via the Alberta Vaccine Booking website.

Please ensure that you keep documentation of your COVID-19 vaccination. You will be required to produce this documentation to verify that you have received your COVID-19 vaccination should there be an outbreak on the unit to which you are assigned for your clinical course. It is recommended that you take a picture of your documentation that you can produce if you have difficulty locating your paper documentation
What is being done to ensure clinical placements are safe for students?

We have dedicated individuals who arrange, monitor and are in constant conversation with our clinical partners to ensure clinical areas are positive learning experiences and are safe for nursing students. Although junior students are not being assigned to care for known COVID patients at this time, junior students may come into contact with unknown COVID positive patients, clients or caregivers. Senior students may come into contact with COVID positive patients and they may be required to take care of potential and/ or possible covid patients with full PPE equipment available and provided. Senior preceptorship students, because of their seniority, knowledge, skills, scope of practice and the array of areas (including critical and emergency units) where students are placed, may be required to take care of COVID positive patients in addition to non-COVID patients, potential and probable COVID patients. These students will have all the required PPE equipment necessary to care for all patients including COVID positive patients.

All efforts are being implemented to ensure students have all the knowledge, skills and access to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required to care safely for assigned patients or clients within the scope of practice of nursing students. Please talk with your instructor if you have concerns about your placements and experiences related to COVID-19.

What personal protective equipment (PPE) and pandemic training will I receive prior to entering the clinical setting?

Students will have exposure to the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in labs for health assessment (NURS 335, NURS 125) and introductory clinical courses (NURS 221, NURS 225, NURS 345). These labs include practice in donning (putting on) and doffing (taking off) protective equipment. PPE will also be reviewed and supported by clinical instructors in the inpatient clinical setting. In addition, some patient care units have on-site "doffiers" (staff trained to help and assist all individuals coming onto the unit with their PPE).

Prior to any clinical course students are required to complete pandemic training from the World Health Organization (resulting in a certificate) and the Alberta Health Services COVID/PPE module. Both are required prior to entry to clinical and both support clinical learning during a pandemic. These modules will be posted on your course eClass site.

Please be assured that you will be well supported to enter clinical safely in relation to PPE, given the above-listed learning strategies. Your acute care clinical course is supported by an on-site clinical faculty member whose key responsibility is to support the clinical learning of the students in their group. The course lead for your course will be posting information to help you prepare for your next clinical course. Feel free to contact your course lead if you have questions that are not addressed by the general information that is provided.