Orientation

Whether you are a preceptor, instructor or student, these resources will help you prepare for a placement:

• Student welcome package
• Student preceptor orientation tool
• Developing a student learning plan
• Preceptor learning module

All students and instructors need to complete information, privacy and IT security training. View the video and complete this 30-minute training module.

After finishing the training, students and instructors from Canadian schools should print and sign the Alberta Health Services Confidentiality and User Agreement Form and Covenant Health Confidentiality Agreement form and submit them to their school’s placement co-ordinator.

International students and clinicians completing post-specialty education should email these signed documents to students@covenanthealth.ca.

Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health are moving to one provincial health record system (Connect Care). You will get a Covenant Health network account and have Connect Care training if needed.

Covenant Health has a responsibility to inform students of potential hazards in the workplace in keeping with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Legislation and Safety Code. Effective January 1, 2025, behavioural safety program (BSP) education is mandatory for all students completing a placement within Covenant Health patient or resident care areas.

About the program

Our BSP and risk assessment measure the risk of patient-to-worker violence. This program is a clinical practice standard for identifying and communicating safety risks and safe care strategies for patients or residents displaying harassing or violent behaviours. The BSP reduces exposure to patient-to-worker harassment and violence by using screening tools and behavioural safety planning. 

The training provides insight into the program’s role in improving safety and covers:

• OHS Code Part 2 – Hazard Assessment, Elimination and Control
• OHS Code Part 27 (389) – Violence and Harassment
  • Violence and harassment are considered hazards for the purposes of OHS Code Part 2

Training module

Complete the 15-minute non-clinical training module which gives an overview of the program. You must complete the module before your placement starts and provide a screen print of the completed module to your educational program.

You’ll be able to access our policies and procedures once you have your network account.

• Abuse of patients, residents or clients
• Clinical adverse events, close calls and hazards
• Conflict of interest
• Corporate vehicle policy
• Disclosure of wrongdoings and protection of persons who disclose wrongdoings
• Emergency/disaster management response
• Ethical decision-making framework
• Identification cards
• Immediate management of adverse events, close calls and hazards
• Intellectual property
• Just culture
• Media relations
• Medical emergency response policy
• No smoking policy
• Occupational health, safety and wellness policy
• Our commitment to ethical integrity
• Records management
• Relationships with industry
• Reporting/investigating legal action and potential legal actions
• Reporting of work-related incidents, injuries, illnesses
• Standard for immunization of health care workers
• Student placement policy
• Working alone
• Workplace abuse and harassment

If you have an illness or injury that affects your placement, contact your preceptor, unit manager, instructor and placement co-ordinator.

If you are injured during your placement, email ohs@covenanthealth.ca, your instructor and your program. We will report the injury to the Workers’ Compensation Board and complete the forms for the injury if needed.

We do not tolerate workplace abuse or harassment. Our Workplace Abuse and Harassment policy includes procedures and processes for reporting and responding to abuse and harassment. You should also check with your school for its reporting requirements.

Required learning

The Respectful Workplaces and Prevention of Harassment and Violence policy course supports student and instructor safety during placements. The course will help you prevent and safely respond to worker-to-worker and patient-to-worker harassment and violence. 

Students and instructors must follow Occupational Health and Safety Outbreak Management protocols.

If there is an outbreak, students and instructors who are immunized and mask fit tested can usually continue their placement, unless the risk is considered high (i.e., for Ebola). If you are not mask fit tested or fully immunized, you may be limited in working with patients or may not be able to finish your placement.

Attending work with respiratory virus symptoms

The attendance at work and respiratory virus symptoms standard encourages students and instructors to:

• stay home when sick
• return to work when their symptoms have improved
• mask continuously for five calendar days when they return to work, starting from the first day they are eligible to return to work

Masking directive

Our masking directive has been updated to include all respiratory viruses. The directive reinforces best practices for masking at all Covenant Health sites, and sections 2 - 4 describe enhanced masking requirements at acute care facilities. 

Outbreak management

If there is an outbreak, we will:

• find out which students and instructors at the unit or facility are immunized and mask fit tested
• consider excluding unimmunized students or instructors from the affected areas of the facility
• offer protection such as personal protective equipment, antivirals, treatments, vaccines, etc.

Reporting symptoms

If a student or instructor has symptoms consistent with an outbreak, they must follow the Occupational Health and Safety Outbreak Management policies and protocols.

If the preceptor has symptoms, they must follow the outbreak guidelines and protocols, which may affect completion of the placement.

• Health Information Act
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
• Health Professions Act

Covenant Health provides safe, high-quality and collaborative learning experiences for emerging professionals. See what other students say about their experiences.

Samantha Skeich

“It’s nice to know that behind the scenes there are people that are looking out for you and advocating for you.”

Hear more about Samantha's experience.

Tayna Gilchrist

“I love emergency medicine and the adrenaline but having the ability to look after people of all ages — from pediatric to palliative care — is really rewarding. In rural, you’re every type of nurse.”

Read more about Tanya's experience.

Tyler Robertson

“As a nursing student there’s so much to learn. You’re learning but you’re also working. It can be very demanding. It’s nice to feel so supported.”

Covenant Health’s mission is to continue the healing ministry of Jesus by serving with compassion, upholding the sacredness of life in all stages, and caring for the whole person—body, mind and soul. 

Covenant Health is accountable to the Government of Alberta and the Catholic Church while collaborating with Alberta Health Services (AHS) as a partner in Alberta’s integrated health system.

Learn more about Covenant Health