Students are eligible to work as a Health Care Aide (HCA) in Alberta while they are completing their Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. Note that all verifications done by the Faculty of Nursing for students applying to HCA positions CANNOT be completed until all final grades are posted in BearTracks.
Eligibility
After Degree Students:
Successful completion of NURS 345 and your remaining Fall and Winter Term Year 1 courses.
Bilingual and Collaborative Students:
Successful completion of NURS 221 and NURS 225, and your remaining Year 2 courses.
Please note that you do NOT receive official certification as a HCA. You will have met competency equivalencies, however that is not the same thing as receiving your Heath Care Aide certificate.
AHS & Covenant Health have recently changed their processes surrounding the Health Care Aide Regulations for Nursing Students. As of February 2, 2026, the Alberta HCA Directory is closed. Nursing students looking to work as a health care aide will be directed to the College of LPNs and HCAs of Alberta (CLHA) to complete the substantial equivalence assessment and apply for their professional practice permit.
Important information about the registration process
Students may apply for registration without a job offer
Initial practice permit fee is estimated to be $250
Additional fees include application fee ($100) and professional liability insurance ($50)
Registration to be renewed annually by November 30
Not required to write the Alberta HCA Registration Examination (AHRE)
If you have questions about these regulations, please reach out to the CLHA directly by emailing info@hcaregulation.com.Â
If you have any questions about the hiring process, eligibility for positions, or other requirements -- please contact either AHS or Covenant Health directly as our office is not involved in the hiring of these positions and cannot answer your questions.
The application process for HCA's varies from province to province. You may be asked to have the Faculty draft a letter or complete a certain form verifying the hours or courses you completed certain competencies in.
You can submit those documents through a Student Service General Inquiry in the Student Service Portal, and a member of our team will complete them and return them back to you in the ticket.
Unless told otherwise by a member of our team, the Faculty of Nursing Office is the only group who can complete the request for you. The Registrar's Office does not typically have access to the information requested, and so they may not be able to complete the request for you. Please submit it to us directly.