Clinic Memo

August 29, 2025 |  Clinical Operations

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ATTENTION: VCS Image Loading Issue with Cameras After Windows Upgrade

Following the recent Windows upgrade on our computers, we have identified an issue affecting image loading for Dispensary and student kit cameras. This problem is related to permission settings within the VCS platform.

To resolve the issue, each student must review and adjust specific preference settings in their VCS account to restore proper download functionality. While some accounts may already have the correct settings in place, those encountering issues will need to make these changes manually.

Please follow the provided instructions to update your VCS preferences. If you continue to experience difficulties after making the changes, contact IT department dsupport@ualberta.ca for assistance.

ATTENTION: PDFs inside VCS 

With the recent switch to Windows 11 inside of VCS, there have been users having trouble with viewing PDFs inside VCS including when trying to open them from axiUm or Viewpoint. This is a result of Adobe Reader no longer being available in VCS. While we were not made aware of this change until after the switch had already been made, there is another PDF viewer available in VCS: Foxit PDF Reader. It offers all of the same functionality as Adobe Reader; you will just need to set it as your default application for viewing PDFs. For staff who have a subscription to the full version of Adobe Acrobat, you can continue to use that as your PDF viewer.

Please see this help article for instructions on how to change the default program inside VCS. When choosing the default application, just make sure to select Foxit PDF Reader. Do not choose Adobe Acrobat 2020 unless you have a subscription for this version. These instructions (and many other helpful articles for using VCS) can also be found on the IT Resources page of DentraNet.

IMPORTANT: VCS Outages

When VCS is down, access to axiUm and Sidexis was previously unavailable. However, moving forward, each operatory's computers will have direct access to both axiUm and Sidexis. In the event of a VCS outage, our IT team will be able to unlock all clinic computers from the back end, allowing us to restore functionality in a very short time.

Nurse & HSE Advisor: We would like to inform everyone that our school nurse has retired, and we are in the process of filling this position, with hopes to have it filled by October. Please understand that the HR approval and recruitment processes can take some time. In the meantime, any medical emergencies that arise during patient care will need to be managed by the supervising instructor. Additionally, those requesting extra health information from Netcare should expect delays as we train new authorized Netcare custodians.