Why is an Affiliation Agreement required? 

An Education Affiliation Agreement between the education institution and the health authority or agency is required for all practice education placements.

An affiliation agreement:

• defines the roles and responsibilities of the health authority and education institution in providing practice education
  

• addresses the risks in the relationship for organizations as well as their employees, patients, faculty and students.

PHSA and its programs use a standardized template for affiliation agreements governing all student placements in health authorities. 

Standard Affiliation Agreement template (pdf)

The template is supported by the BC Health Care Protection Program and the University, College, Institute Protection Program, Ministry of Finance. 

How is an Affiliation Agreement set up? 

If the institution does not have an existing Affiliation Agreement with PHSA or one of its specialized programs, a minimum of three months is required to process an Affiliation Agreement before the placement commences.  This process should be coordinated by the educational institution's representative for Affiliation Agreements, in collaboration with the health authority.

Who do I contact within PHSA to inquire about or set up an Affiliation Agreement? 

If your institution does not already have a PHSA or program contact, email one of the following: 

• BC Children's Hospital & Sunny Hill Health Centre
  
• BC Women’s Hospital
• BC Cancer
• All other and PHSA requests 
  

PHSA and program staff work with academic institutions to establish affiliation agreements and match student learning needs to available placements

The education institution must have a current affiliation agreement in place with PHSA.

Placement coordinators use HSPnet to request and confirm student placements in the health agencies, in collaboration with PHSA staff. The Placement Tasks and Resources  document provides information for out of province requests.

Students should communicate their placement interests to the placement coordinator for their educational program.