Clinical Requirements for Advanced Clinical-Nurse Practitioner Focus

The Faculty of Nursing is committed to meeting standards of practice in nursing by ensuring that students attain and maintain required licensure and certifications, and meet recommended immunization standards. Students are responsible for the health and safety requirements for all clinical practice courses in their graduate program. Proof of licensure as a Registered Nurse in a Canadian jurisdiction must be provided upon admission and annually. All other requirements must be met prior to starting the clinical courses. If there is an associated fee, students are responsible for the costs incurred.

Licensure as a Registered Nurse

Nursing applicants and students in the Advanced Clinical-Nurse Practitioner Focus must be a regulated member in a Canadian jurisdiction. This means that you must hold licensure as a Registered Nurse with the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) or with another Canadian regulatory nursing college. Students must notify the Faculty of Nursing Graduate Studies Office of any changes to their registration status throughout their program of studies.

Clinical placements: All students doing clinical placements must be registered in the Province in which their clinical placement will occur.Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet the registration requirements of any Province in which they are placed. Proof of RN registration from all jurisdictions must be submitted to the Faculty of Nursing Graduate Office upon admission and on an annual basis

An RN student in a nurse practitioner program may use the term "student" with the protected 'NP' title. As students in the NP program must be registered with their jurisdictional licensing body for their practica, they must identify themselves as an RN when providing health services, even in the student role. Although CARNA suggests the title "RN, Student NP", students practicing in other provinces may wish to consult with their licensing body to confirm the recommended title.

Completion of Health and Safety Forms

Graduate students are required to read and/or complete and upload required health and safety forms to Alfresco before the commencement of their first clinical course:


Please visit the College of Health Sciences website for more information: https://www.ualberta.ca/en/health-sciences/portfolio/office-of-education/placement/prerequisite-documents.html

Accommodation in Graduate Nursing Courses

The University of Alberta, Faculty of Nursing’s Accommodation in Clinical Course Procedure is congruent with the University of Alberta policy: Discrimination, Harassment and Duty to Accommodate Policy.

Learn more about the Permanent Disability and required documentation under Accessibility Resources for current students. This information is directed towards both theoretical and clinical courses. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of Accommodation in Graduate Nursing Courses is to provide guidance to students, Nursing faculty and Accessibility Advisors regarding timely notification of accommodation needs in academic learning and clinical practice. The Faculty of Nursing is committed to equitable opportunities for all graduate students, with the goal of promoting success in learning and prevention of disruption in learning experiences. The Graduate Office wishes to support persons with all levels of ability or other required accommodations for learning.

Each student is responsible for ensuring their fitness to practice in order to participate in graduate clinical courses. According to the Canadian Nurses Association Code of Ethics, fitness to practice is defined as "all the qualities and capabilities of an individual relevant to his/her capacity to practice as a nurse, including but not limited to, freedom from any cognitive, physical, psychological or emotional condition and dependence on alcohol or drugs that impairs his or her ability to practice nursing" (CNA, 2017). Students within the Nurse Practitioner program are asked to complete physically, cognitively and emotionally challenging clinical learning activities. The Graduate program will work with students to ensure each individual’s success.

PROCEDURE

Student Responsibilities

  1. Students may or may not choose to disclose a need for accommodation. The Faculty of Nursing will work with students who have disclosed a need for accommodation in order to facilitate their completion of the program, providing whatever reasonable accommodations may be available.
  2. Students with a documented level of ability needing accommodation  are responsible for reviewing the University of Alberta Duty to Accommodate Policy so they are aware of the process within the university.
  3. Students are required to review and attest to their fitness to practice annually, during the licensure process (CRNA, 2022). NP students should be able to:
    1. Establish effective and therapeutic relationships with clients while being sensitive to their health preferences and needs. This includes therapeutic use of touch.
    2. Use various forms of technology to complete both academic and clinical requirements. 
    3. Communicate and document clearly and comprehensively.
    4. Work collaboratively within an interprofessional healthcare team.   
    5. Collaborate in the care of individuals, which may require the ability to stand, lift, bend and safely transfer clients from one position to another in some clinical practice contexts. 
    6. Demonstrate manual dexterity, precision and hand-eye coordination for some psychomotor skills.
  4. Students who require accommodations must be registered at the Academic Success Centre in order to receive accommodations at the University of Alberta. To facilitate placement organization, students must register for accommodations a minimum of 4 months prior to the commencement of Graduate Clinical Placements and email arrec@ualberta.ca for any assistance. The advance notice enables the placement team to address any accommodation requirements in a time frame that aligns with the four-month placement request cycle.
  5. Students are responsible for meeting deadline dates. Failure to provide appropriate notice of the need for accommodation to the NP Clinical Placement Lead and Accessibility Advisor may result in postponement of a clinical placement until reasonable accommodations can be determined and/or until the course is offered in the future. Collaboration between student and placement team will enable successful outcomes in clinical experiences.
  6. Students are responsible for providing information regarding the clinical placement (location, type of work, physical requirements) to their Accessibility Advisor once that information is known to the student.
  7. The student, in consultation with the Accessibility Advisor and Faculty of Nursing, will determine the reasonable accommodations that a student may require for graduate clinical courses and may be required to submit a proposal for accommodation to the Director of NP Programs and the NP Clinical Placement Lead.
  8. Once approved, the student is responsible for sharing the details of the accommodation agreement with the graduate course instructor.

Clinical Courses

Clinical courses in the Graduate MN - Advanced Clinical program stream include: NURS 516/518, NURS 530, NURS 531, NURS 532, NURS 533, NURS 534.

For any students who experience negative accommodation processes, section 7.c of the U of A Student Conduct Policy specifically provides for  student complaints to be addressed through the governing body involved in regulation of  the practice of its discipline.

College of Registered Nurses of Alberta Requisite Skills & Abilities document (2022). Accessed on December 2, 2024 https://nurses.ab.ca/media/vf4lxby2/requisite-skills-and-abilities-for-becoming-a-registered-nurse-in-alberta-2022.pdf