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.
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 & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) 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.
A 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.
Graduate students are required to read and/or complete and submit to the Graduate Office all of the following Health and safety forms before the commencement of their first clinical course:
- Health and Safety Checklist for:
- Family All Ages: complete and submit
- Adult Stream: complete and submit
- Faculty Immunization Clearance Form
- Personal Declarations for Graduate NP Students: sign and submit
- Identified Purposes and Handling of Personal Information in HSPnet (PDF): read
- Consent form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information in HSPnet: sign and submit
- Faculty of Nursing Clinical Placement Confidentiality Agreement: sign and submit
- Alberta Health Services Information Technology Confidentiality Agreement: sign and submit
Students must provide evidence of CPR certification at the Basic Life Support Provider CPR. No other courses will be accepted to meet the CPR requirement.
This course is designed for healthcare providers who have a duty to respond to medical emergencies. A BLS Provider certificate is valid for one year from the date of the course. No online course CPR course certifications will be accepted; students must attend an in-person course.
Evidence of annual re-certification must be submitted each year. Students who do not have current Basic Life Support Provider CPR certification cannot participate in clinical courses.
Students in the advanced clinical courses, NURS 533 and 534, require Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Students in the Family/All Ages NP stream will also require Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Life Support (PALS) prior to commencement of NURS 532.
Students must have their immunization records reviewed and updated by a healthcare professional. The Faculty of Nursing highly recommends that this be done at the University Health Centre. Please contact the University Health Centre at 780-492-2612 to make an appointment to have your immunizations reviewed and have this section of the form completed.
- Faculty Immunization Clearance Form - have completed and keep
Students should bring all childhood and previous immunization records to the appointment. These can be obtained by contacting the student's local public health centre, school, family physician, or wherever the student may have had childhood immunizations completed. Students who cannot obtain their records should consult with the University Health Centre for advice. Immunizations will be updated based on individual assessment.
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. Students who will not be proceeding with immunization should be aware that clinical agencies may prohibit the student from participating in a clinical practicum at their site.
Students must obtain a Police Information Check with vulnerable sector clearance (PIC) to participate in clinical courses. You must bring your original PIC and a copy to the Faculty of Nursing; a staff member will verify the PIC.
Criminal record checks can be obtained through the Edmonton Police Service (see the Police Information Check page for more details), a community police station, or any RCMP detachment. Students must familiarize themselves with the requirements and process before going in for their criminal record check (fees, identification to bring, processing times, etc.). Students from outside of the region are advised to obtain this requirement prior to any planned relocation to Edmonton.
Students must submit a copy of their PIC with a vulnerable sector check to the Faculty of Nursing. Students need to keep their PICand present it to clinical agencies upon their request. PICs are considered valid for 90 days, so additional checks may need to be acquired throughout the program if a clinical site requires an updated PIC.
Students enrolled in the Family/All Ages NP stream are also required to obtain a Child Intervention Record Check (Child Welfare Check). Please review the following application and complete the form, which you will submit directly to Child Services. A copy of your results must be submitted to the Faculty of Nursing Graduate Office.
All students enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing are bound by and shall comply with, the Professional Codes of Ethics governing the profession and practice of Nursing.
- "Professional Codes of Ethics" means the current Canadian Nurses Association's Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses, and all other relevant professional codes and practise standards for registered nurses. It is the responsibility of each Faculty of Nursing graduate student to obtain, and be familiar with, such Professional Codes of Ethics, and their amendments as may be made from time to time.
- It is the student’s responsibility to be familiar with, and adhere to, the terms of the University of Alberta’s Code of Student Behavior. Included in this Code are descriptions of unacceptable behaviour for Students in the University, the sanctions for the commission of the offences, and explanations of discipline and appeal processes. All students enrolled in the Faculty of Nursing are bound by and shall comply with, the Professional Codes of Ethics governing the profession and practice of Nursing.
The Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet) is a computer system used by the Faculty of Nursing to arrange all clinical placements for our students. Students should read the document Identified Purposes and Handling of Personal Information in HSPnet, and then sign and return the Consent Form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information to the Faculty of Nursing.
If you have extenuating circumstances that prevent you from signing the consent form, please contact the Graduate Office through your student service portal.
As a nursing student, you will be privileged 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 must sign and submit the Faculty of Nursing Clinical Placement Confidentiality Agreement and the Alberta Health Services Information Technology Confidentiality Agreement.
All students and instructors have obligations under the Health Information Act (2001/2018) and Alberta Electronic Health Record Regulation (2010) related to the “collection, use, disclosure, and security of health information that protects the privacy and confidentiality of individuals and their health information” (CARNA 2020, Privacy & Management of Health Information Standards, p.2). Students are accountable for ensuring that they follow all relevant privacy legislation and policies, and understand the privacy requirements that apply to their nursing practice. Access to an individual’s health information should be limited to that which is needed for your role. Reasonable measures must be in place to physically secure the areas in which health information is stored; maintain information security while it is being transported from one location to another, and securely dispose of documents containing health information. Legislation requires mandatory reporting of a privacy breach in an expedient manner, to enable assessment of the risk of harm to an individual when their health information is lost, inappropriately accessed or disclosed.
Students are responsible for finding their own mask fit testing company.
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. Please note that 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.