Access to the GE CareCast patient care information system (PCIS)

December 24, 2021 - Effective January 1, 2022, students at VCH sites will no longer have access to the GE CareCast patient care information system (PCIS). The only exceptions will be Medical Students, Residents and Nurse Practitioner students. Nursing Instructors will continue to get PCIS access, if required, and all students who currently have PCIS access will continue to have access for the duration of their program. For the most up-to-date training requirements, please refer to the Discipline-specific requirements section.

COVID-19 Vaccination Status Order for Hospital and Community (Health Care and Other Services)

October 15, 2021 – If you placement takes place in a hospital or community setting, please refer to the newly posted PHO order for the COVID-19 vaccination guidance for hospital and community sites. For the long term care and assisted living sites, please refer to the Residential Care Staff order.

New online Profile EMR training

August 18, 2021 - Starting August 23, Profile EMR training will be offered online through the Learning Hub. The module is self-paced, and will include the account registration form. More information can be found under the applicable discipline-specific requirements section. 

Update to Respirator Fit-Testing for Students

July 16, 2021 – BC Health Authorities in partnership with the Provincial PPE/N95 Sub-Working Group have issued an update to current approaches for respirator fit-testing for students.

How do I submit a placement request?

Educational institutions should request placements through the national web-enabled database, Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet). This is the preferred method of for placement application so the process is streamlined and sites/programs consider requests from one source. Students who wish to request placements at VCH are required to have a school email address.

• We ask our partner institutions and their students not to contact our sites directly with placement requests. All requests are to be submitted through HSPnet.
  

• Out-of-Province Institutions and Students: Prior to entering your request in the system, we will need to know which site(s) the student is interested in. Our VCH Locations and Services is where our students and schools can look up our sites. Once the student has found a site they wish to be considered, they can let their Placing Coordinator know and then the Coordinator can reach out to VCH Placements to request a guest access to enter the formal request into the HSPnet database.
  

NEW! We also offer the following supplementary step-by-step worksheets available for both Placing Coordinators and Students to help prepare for the upcoming practicum and ensure all VCH requirements are complete. Please note that these worksheets are for your reference only and do not need to be submitted.

• VCH Student Placement Process Worksheet for Placing Coordinators

• VCH Student Placement Process Worksheet for Students
  

We do not receive medical student placement requests directly. All requests must go through the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

• For Undergraduate placements/electives: http://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/

• For Postgraduate placements: http://postgrad.med.ubc.ca/
  

Job shadow/career observation: Vancouver Coastal Health does not offer any shadow or practicum placements to students on their own, including observations as prerequisites to school programs.  We consider requests for placements from students who are currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution where the practicum is a requirement of graduation and the students are insured by the school for 3rd party liability and personal injury insurance. 

We only consider shadow experiences for qualified health care professionals who are seeking professional development opportunities or employment. Individuals will be required to have immunizations up to date and a current criminal record check. Individuals may be responsible for having adequate insurance and completing the VCH Privacy and Confidentiality Undertaking for Student Placement is mandatory. Please email Placements@vch.ca for details. ‎

If you are interested in shadowing a physician, please refer to the “Requesting a medical student placement/elective” section of this page.

Independent supervised practice experience: if you require a practicum placement at the health authority to renew your Nursing license and you are not enrolled in a post-secondary institution, please contact us at Placements@vch.ca. Please note that you will be required to complete all standard pre-requisites prior to starting a placement per our guidelines.

Co-op student placements: VCH Student Practice only processes requests for health sciences-related student placements arranged through HSPnet. if you require a paid Co-op placement (reimbursed by either the health authority or your institution), please connect with your co-op coordinator who will advise you on how to apply for these opportunities. ‎

Paid work opportunities for students: VCH Student Practice only processes requests for unpaid health sciences-related student placements arranged through HSPnet. If you are a Nursing student interested in paid work opportunities, please refer to the Employed Student Nurse (ESN) Program page. For other paid work opportunities, please refer to the VCH Careers website or contact VCH Recruitment directly.

If you are an institution inquiring about a potential partnership with our health authority or you need to renew an existing affiliation agreement, please contact us at Placements@vch.ca. We ask that you contact us early to allow enough processing time and avoid placement delays.

Once the agreement is signed, the educational institution may proceed with entering the placement in HSPnet and ensuring the student completes all the necessary training and requirements outlined on this website.