Fitness and Health Promotion – Field Placement Information

Introduction

Welcome to the Field Guide for the Fitness and Health Promotion program. The instructions below will walk you through the process of preparing for fieldwork.

We advise all students to bookmark this page so you always have access to the most current placement information.

Program Overview

The FHP program includes a Prep for Field course and three Field Placement courses, undertaken in each level of the program. Students will gain experience in the fitness environment and workplace through both the project and placement courses. In the final level placement, students should be identifying their career goals and choosing an agency that is in their field of interest.

Students are responsible for securing their own placement locations and will have additional guidance in this process from the course facilitator. Please note that your hours can include a 15-minute break each day but do not include your lunch period. Field placement hours can be completed all at once or in varying time periods throughout the term. All placement hours must be completed by the final day of the term.

Placement Deadlines

This program is unique, as there is a placement requirement in each level of the program. Full-time students will begin the program registered in a field placement prep course in their first semester. As a result, the initial ParaMed clearance requirements, placement deadlines, and process to secure your placement location have been built into the FIT2219 Field Preparation course requirements.

In order to complete the placement option for this program, students must meet the following deadlines and ensure their ParaMed clearance is up to date prior to the start of each placement course:

Completing the documentation and securing a placement location can be a complicated process and students should start the preparations early.

If your documentation is not complete for FIT2219 Field Preparation and/or you are not able to obtain placement clearance, you may be withdrawn from the course. This can delay your progression in completing your program and may result in you incurring additional fees.

For all placements, it is the student’s responsibility to confirm that their ParaMed clearance is up to date and no items expire prior to the final day of placement. If you do not have ParaMed clearance prior to the start of the semester, you may be withdrawn. This can delay your progression in completing your program and may result in you incurring additional fees.

Placement Eligibility

In order to be eligible for field placements, students must meet the following requirements prior to the deadlines:

1. Academic Clearance: students must successfully complete all required pre-requisite courses to be eligible to register for Field Placement courses. This will be confirmed by the Student Advisor after the Intent to Complete Placement Form deadline.
2. FHP Intent to Complete Placement Form: this form must be submitted prior to the deadline to confirm your intent to register for field placement, and ensure you are added to the master tracking list. This form is completed entirely online in just a few minutes, and a new form is required for each placement.
3. ParaMed Clearance: the FHP program requires students to meet the following requirements. Upon completion, these requirements must be confirmed through ParaMed, our partner organization. Please get started on the ParaMed Clearance process as early as possible to ensure you are able to meet your deadlines.
   1. Police Records Check (PRC): if you live in an area with high demand for police checks, it may take up to 12 weeks to receive this document. If your local police station requires a letter from the college, please complete the online request form.
   2. Standard First Aid/CPR Level C: students must provide current certification from a Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance, or equivalent First Aid course. This course must be completed in-person to be valid, online first aid certification will not be accepted.
4. Secure an appropriate placement agency: it is the student’s responsibility to confirm their placement agency, dates, hours, etc. All supporting documentation confirming your agency will be submitted in your course on AC Brightspace.

How To Secure a Placement

Getting Started

Students in the FHP program will be connected with the Facilitator who will provide support in finding and securing placement locations. In order to get started, students should:

1. Update your resume
2. Determine your availability: be prepared to let the agency know exactly what your placement period will look like. Have your availability (working days and hours) as well as your preferred start and end dates defined before you contact agencies.
3. Research agencies in your area that you may be interested in working with. Some of the best resources to identify potential agencies include:
   1. Google Search
   2. Linked/In
   3. Reaching out to personal contacts in the field

Contacting Potential Placement Agencies

We highly recommend that students reach out to their potential placement agency by phone and follow up with an email. Do not expect your agency to agree to host you for placement in your initial phone call, you should allow them time to review your request and get back to you with a final decision.

1. Contact your prospective agency by phone. Be prepared to summarize:
   1. Who you are: indicate your full name, and that you are an Algonquin College student studying in the FHP diploma program.
   2. What the purpose of your contact is: be prepared to provide specific information based on the course requirements (at minimum this should include the nature of the project or placement and number of hours required onsite).
   3. When the placement period would be: indicate the start/end period and your availability (days per week and hours per day).

Ask the agency if there is a particular person you should reach out to by phone or email to provide further details. They may refer you to HR, a hiring manager, or they may prefer that you send them the details to follow up with the appropriate contact.

2. Send a follow up communication by email, including:
   1. Who you are
   2. If contacting the person you spoke to by phone, thank them for the time they have taken to speak with you and consideration of your request
   3. If contacting someone you have been referred to, indicate who has referred you, and the reason for your contact
   4. A brief summary of your request, including your objective and the key placement dates/hours
   5. Attach a copy of your resume
   6. Invite the agency to contact you for an interview or further information prior to making a decision
   7. Include a date for follow up, approximately one week after the initial contact.

3. After your date for follow up has passed, if you have not heard back from the agency, send a follow up email asking for a final decision so you can determine your next steps.

Confirming your Placement

After you receive confirmation from the placement agency, you will need to submit your supporting Contract and Consent Form through your AC Brightspace course.

Registration

Full-time Students
Eligible full-time students will be registered for placement by their Student Advisor automatically. Please confirm your registration in ACSIS  and connect with your Student Advisor if you have any concerns regarding your course load.

Part-time Students
Online registration is not available for part-time placement courses. Part-time students will be provided with the next steps to register after the placement deadline has passed if they have submitted the FHP Intent to Complete Placement Form and have successfully completed all prerequisite courses.

Please note registration does not guarantee placement; part-time students must have Field Placement Officer permission to register for all placement and seminar courses. Students will be withdrawn if placement requirements are not met by the placement deadline.