Health and Functional Capacity Requirements for Health Care Students

As an undergraduate in our Nursing bachelor’s programme, you will spend time working on clinical placements with vulnerable patient groups. Students must possess sufficient physical, mental, and social capacity to carry out your academic tasks and participate in practical training.

To understand what will be required before your internship, please read the following important health and functional capacity requirements. These apply to all our health care students.

• Students are advised to plan required vaccinations (Hepatitis B), well in advance. Blood tests confirming your immunity should also be completed before September 2026.
• IDEWE, a Belgian external prevention and protection service, conducts medical screenings for all students prior to clinical placements. These screenings are planned by KdG and include:
  • Hepatitis B immunity testing: Students without sufficient immunity will need to be vaccinated again.
  • Tuberculosis screening (Mantoux test): Students testing positive must undergo further evaluation and treatment.

Health care students are required to follow hygiene and safety protocols that reflect professional clinical environments. These include:

• Wearing protective clothing as specified by the university.
• Following clinical practice unit guidelines for workwear and personal protective equipment.
• Avoiding long sleeves or personal clothing when caring for patients, where prohibited. Be aware that some clinical settings have restrictions or prohibitions with respect to wearing religious symbols in the workplace.
• Displaying a photo ID badge during clinical placements.

These essential measures ensure both student safety and the safety of patients and clients.

Participation in training and internships requires good physical and mental health. Applicants may face challenges if you have conditions that significantly limit your functional capacity. Examples include:

• severe allergic reactions or skin conditions caused by medicinal products or detergents
• significant sensory impairments affecting functional capacity
• psychological or severe mental health disorders
• limited social functioning that hinders effective interaction with others
• long-term illness or physical injury that restricts participation in training

If the impact of a health-related restriction can be reasonably mitigated, such as through special arrangements provided by the university, the student may still be able to complete practical training. 

• Working with children is one of the compulsory areas of your internship. The institution where you follow your internship will request a criminal record extract before you begin.
• For Belgian citizens this document is called the ‘Uittreksel strafregister’ and can be requested via the website of your hometown or city. For international students the equivalent document can be requested via your embassy.
  
  You do not need to have this extract before you begin your study programme at KdG.