Placement Process

Thank you for your interest in a placement at Providence Health Care. We are committed to providing quality clinical opportunities to students in acute, rehabilitation, and residential care settings. 

All enquiries about placements at Providence Health Care may be directed to the Student Placement Coordinator. Please do not contact a unit or a PHC staff member directly to enquire about placement opportunities, this includes following up on an outstanding request. 

Program's capacity to accept requests for student practicum is based on operational requirements and ability. 

The placement process at PHC is as follows:

Priority Due to our capacity and support, priority is given to local students first.

Providence Health Care accommodates thousands of students annually. Priority of placements goes to:

  1. The schools in the greater Vancouver & surrounding area
  2. The schools throughout BC
  3. The schools throughout the rest of Canada 

Unfortunately we do not have the capacity or the support that is required to accommodate students studying outside of Canada at this time. Medical Students are the exception. 

Placement CoordinationThe student Placement Coordinator will work with you to organize your placement.

All requests are to be submitted through the Student Placement Coordinator. They will act as a liaison between you and the unit you wish to do your placement.

  1. Schools are requested to seek placements on behalf of students and are to submit requests through Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet). 
    HSPnet
  2. Non-HSPnet users or placement requests from out of province are to complete the HSPnet Request Form and submit it to the Student Placement Coordinator.  
    HSPnet Request Form
  3. Students that are required to seek placement opportunities on their own may enquire directly with the Student Placement Coordinator. 

AffiliationYour school must be in partnership with Providence Health Care.

For a placement at PHC your school must be in partnership with us. Before a placement can be confirmed, a signed contract outlining the roles and responsibilities between PHC and an education institution is required. This is called an Affiliation Agreement. It addresses the risks in the relationship for both organizations, their employees, patients, clients, residents, and students.

Current Affiliation Agreements

Schools not Listed

If we do not currently have an agreement in place with your school, you may submit a request for your program to be considered. Please contact the Student Placement Coordinator three to six months prior to your potential placement start date with the following:

  1. A link to the school website
  2. Program outline & learning objectives
  3. Contact information of person with signing authority

If your program is approved, we will send out our Provincially Approved Affiliation Agreement. We do not sign school agreements.

Discipline-specificEach Discipline has specific requirements and procedures. Please check your discipline’s page for more information.

Update: COVID-19

COVID-19 ... What you need to know

 

Refer to our Guidelines and Helpful Tools for Students during COVID-19 page. 

Guidelines

For more information about PHC and Provincial expectations, review the practice education guidelines.

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What is HSPNET?

It stands for Health Sciences Placement Network and is a web-enabled practice education management system for health sciences. This program is used Canada wide to organize placements, streamlining the processes and improving coordination and communication among agencies that place and receive students. It is continuously expanding.

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