Student Placement FAQ: General questions

Placement opportunities for students are coordinated directly through St. Joseph's Health Care London's Student Affairs office and the placement coordinator/practicum director of the school.

The official placement request must come directly from the school.

All students with clinical fieldwork placements in patient care areas must complete N95 mask fit testing prior to placement.

Schools will notify students directly if they have been successful in securing a placement opportunity at St. Joseph's.

There are placement requirements for health, vulnerable sector screening and required learning that students must complete two weeks before their placement beings at St. Joseph's.

TB requirements:

You are required to have a baseline two-step TST regardless of Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) unless you have: documented results of a prior two-step test which can include: two individual skin tests done at least one week apart*.

A single step is required if the last of the 2nd step was more than 12 months ago, or if there are indications of travel to an area known for high levels of TB or an exposure to someone known or suspected of having TB or symptoms of TB. .

*(The two-step TB skin test is normally given as a series of two single TB skin tests repeated between 1-4 weeks apart. However, two individual TB skin tests performed 4-52 weeks apart are also considered an acceptable “two-step TB skin test” - Canadian Thoracic Society & the Public Health Agency of Canada, 2013.)

Influenza vaccination is strongly encouraged and is an important measure in protecting patients from the spread of influenza. If a student declines the influenza vaccination, the school needs to notify Student Affairs so that both the school and student are provided with the influenza policy and information regarding next steps and protocol. If there is an outbreak in the hospital, the student will be considered unfit for placement and his/her placement hours could be jeopardized.

Please return your pre-placement documentation to your school two weeks prior to your placement start date.

For parking information and maps (including accessible spaces) and public transit please see our parking at St. Joseph's Hospital, parking at Parkwood Institute, parking at Southwest Centre, or parking at Mount Hope.

The personal attire required varies according to site and role but there are three requirements that are the consistent across the organization:

• The environment is scent free
• Jewelry should not be worn other than a wrist watch and a medic alert bracelet that are cleaned regularly 
• Functional footwear is required for staff and students who work with patients  -- closed toe/closed flat heel, material impermeable or resistant to liquids, no large openings or holes, and slip resistant sole

Students should contact the St. Joseph’s staff member supporting their learning BEFORE the placement begins to obtain information about additional expectations or recommendations for personal attire specific to the program area.

Students are required to email the following details directly to @email (and cc: their preceptor in) 14 days in advance of their student placement start date so their identification and security package can be ready for pick up on Day 1:

DETAILS of what needs to be in the email are below:  

• Student’s first/last name 
• Student role 
• Placement start/end date 
• Placement site/program and unit 
• Photograph

DETAILS required of the photograph are below: 

• Image to capture from just below shoulders up (to allow for cropping of photo) 
• Face and shoulders to the camera: straight-on  
• Subject of photo to be in contrast with the background 
• Background to be a solid colour (preferably grey, black or blue)  
• Image to match current appearance  
• Not altered in any way  
• Eyes open and clearly visible  
• Jpg. format 

Students are accountable for picking up and returning their security packages.  St. Joseph’s will continue to invoice students for any non-return of security items.