Student Placements

• The Affiliation Agreement is the first step to coordinating a student practice experience. A fully executed (signed) Affiliation Agreement between IH and the PSI needs to be in place for student placement coordination to move forward.
• An Affiliation Agreement is a legally binding contract entered into by the Health Authority and the Education Institution where the student is enrolled. This contract defines the roles & responsibilities of the parties involved and addresses the risks in the relationship for the Health Authority, Health Authority employees, patients & clients, and students.
• Executing an agreement can take up to six months. Please contact the Student Placement Team at studentplacement@interiorhealth.ca if you have questions.
• Once an Affiliation Agreement has been full executed, a student placement request must be submitted to the Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet) for consideration

IH uses the Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet), an online practice education management system, to coordinate and manage student placement requests. Placement requests are coordinated based on geographic region. Local publicly funded PSIs are provided priority of acceptance before out-of-region or out-of-province placement requests are considered.   

Pre-arranging placements: To support coordination of student placements and build capacity, it is important that all placement requests for clinical, non-clinical & practice education experiences be requested through academic personnel and not the individual student. PSIs and placement sites should not contact each other to arrange student placements. This practice is essential to maintain anonymity, prevent bias, and ensure adherence to placement priorities as outlined in the Practice Education Guidelines: Guiding Principles for BC

Over-requesting: When creating placements, it is important that you do not request more than one placement per student. Over-requesting impacts both the Health Care Organizations (HCOs) and other PSIs. Submit all requests for practice education experiences based on the exact number of placements required.

In general, the following steps are required:

1. The PSI Placing Coordinator (PC) confirms student’s program are listed on the current Affiliation Agreement with IH.
2. Once the AA has been confirmed, the PSI PC submits a request through HSPnet at least one (1) term prior to placement start date. Please refer to the BC Student Practice Education Placement Request timeline (under Planning & Coordination) for more information.
3. IH Receiving Coordinator (RC) reviews all requests for suitability and confirms the affiliation agreement. If the request is appropriate, it will be forwarded to an IH Destination Coordinator (DC) of the requested site through HSPnet.
4. The DC reviews the request and either:
   • ACCEPTS the request and enters preceptor information: the PSI is then informed through HSPnet that the request has been accepted. It is the PSIs responsibility to confirm placement and provide the name of the student in HSPnet. The PSI will then reach out to the preceptor assigned to that placement to arrange scheduling with the student.
     • Student Practice Education Core Orientation (SPECO) Checklist - the PSI is responsible for fulfilling the orientation requirements for the student as outlined in the SPECO Checklist. These requirements must be completed prior to the start of the practicum.
     • Access Management Portal (AMP) - once the placement has been confirmed and the SPECO checklist completed, the PSI submits a request through for student access through the AMP Portal. This request must be done in advance to ensure the student has correct access to IH systems prior to practicum start date.
   • DECLINES the request. A declined request is sent back to the PSI and a new request can be submitted through HSPnet.

IH uses the Health Sciences Placement Network (HSPnet), an online practice education management system, to coordinate and manage student placement requests. Placement requests are coordinated based on geographic region. Local publicly funded PSIs are provided priority of acceptance before out-of-region or out-of-province placement requests are considered.

If the PSI does not have access to HSPnet, the PSIs Placing Coordinator (PC) should contact the Student Placement Team at studentplacement@interiorhealth.ca to request a Guest Access link to HSPnet.

Pre-arranging placements: To support coordination of student placements and build capacity, it is important that all placement requests for clinical, non-clinical & practice education experiences be requested through academic personnel and not the individual student. PSIs and placement sites should not contact each other to arrange student placements. This practice is essential to maintain anonymity, prevent bias, and ensure adherence to placement priorities as outlined in the Practice Education Guidelines: Guiding Principles for BC

Over-requesting: When creating placements, it is important that you do not request more than one placement per student. Over-requesting impacts both the Health Care Organizations (HCOs) and other PSIs. Submit all requests for practice education experiences based on the exact number of placements required.

In general, the following steps are required:

1. The PSI PC confirms student’s program are listed on the current Affiliation Agreement with IH.
2. Once the AA has been confirmed and the Guest Link has been received, the PSI PC submits a request through HSPnet at least one (1) term prior to placement start date. Please refer to the BC Student Practice Education Placement Request timeline (under Planning & Coordination) for more information.
3. IH Receiving Coordinator (RC) reviews all requests for suitability and confirms the affiliation agreement. If the request is appropriate, it will be forwarded to an IH Destination Coordinator (DC) of the requested site through HSPnet.
4. The DC reviews the request and either:
   • ACCEPTS the request and enters preceptor information: The PSI is then informed through a confirmation email that the request has been accepted. Included in this email, the PSI will find the site’s contact information as well as the preceptor’s email. It is the responsibility of the PSI to reach out to the preceptor and arrange scheduling for the student.
     • SPECO Checklist.pdf (phsa.ca)- the PSI is responsible for fulfilling the orientation requirements for the student as outlined in the SPECO Checklist. These requirements must be completed prior to the start of the practicum.
     • External User Access Agreement (EUAA) form will be provided to grant the student access to IH systems while in practicum. There are instructions on how to fill out this form correctly in the confirmation email that is sent from Interior Health. This form can also be found in the Helpful Resources section below.
   • DECLINES the request. A declined request is sent back to the PSI and a new request can be submitted through HSPnet.

1. Can I arrange my own practicum? No, all practicums must be arranged through your PSI. Please have your school’s PC reach out to the Student Placement team.
2. I am an employee of Interior Health and a student; can I arrange my own practicum? No, all practicums must be arranged through your PSI. Please have your school’s PC reach out to the Student Placement team.
3. I would like to arrange a job shadow; how do I do that? If you are looking for a self-directed job shadow, not attached to your program’s curriculum, you can request a job shadow experience by emailing Career Exploration
4. Can I shadow a physician? Per the practice standard, individuals who are not enrolled as students of health professions regulated by the Health Professions Act or Emergency Health Services Act, do not qualify for job shadowing or observing of a Physician.
5. What’s the difference between an SPE and an TPE placement? Please refer to this link on the BCCNM website.

1. I would like to request a student placement in a Destination or Site that I cannot find in HSPnet, what should I do? Please email our team for help: studentplacement@interiorhealth.ca 
2. Where can I access the Provincial Education Guidelines (PEGS)? View the guidelines
3. Where can I access the IH AU1100 Student Experience Policy? View the policy
4. Who needs to complete SPECO? Students and instructors from all PSI’s that will be attending a practice experience in an IH facility. The PSI will ensure these requirements will be completed prior to practicum start date. Please refer to the SPECO checklist for more info.
5. If I am working remotely, what do I need to complete on the SPECO checklist? Students completing their practicum experience remotely, are required to have the following completed before practicum start date:
   1. Current Criminal Records Check 
   2. Meet Confidentiality requirements
6. What if I have questions or concerns about an upcoming student placement request? Email the Student Placement team: studentplacement@interiorhealth.ca