Students from the nursing school site in Prince Albert have been able to apply their skills during the H1N1 pandemic and help out northern health regions.

"The call came out from the health region through the province that they needed help," said Lorna Butler, dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan. "The college responded to that call and the students responded to the college's opportunity ... to do a clinical experience in the north that would give them an experience with immunization and all the things that go into a pandemic plan."

The 12 students arrived back Friday from three communities in Keewatin Yatthe Regional Health Authority after spending two full days in Buffalo Narrows, Beauval and Ile-a-la-Crosse.

The students, all in their third or fourth year, travelled with the assistant dean from Prince Albert plus one of the clinical co-ordinators from Saskatoon because they are still students and need to have preceptors available.

"They are never put in a situation where they are alone," Butler said.

The Ministry of Health worked with the regions to determine if they needed the additional capacity.

"Different regions had a role to play in identifying whether they wanted to use students in different parts of the immunization rollout," said Ron Knaus, executive director of the workforce planning branch of the Ministry of Health.

The students were expecting a slightly different semester this fall, said Marlene Smadu, associate dean for the college of nursing, at the Regina site.

"We've had conversations with our students at all the sites about how this fall term might look a little different as far as pandemic planning and what that might mean in terms of their learning experience, and students have really responded positively," she said.

Butler said it's been nice to help the regions while they have been so busy with H1N1 pandemic planning.

"Here's a way that we are able to give back to them to support the work that they do, the way that they do for us. I see a real mutual benefit that way," she said.

Currently, the northern health regions have received about 75 per cent of their requirement of the vaccine, said Dr. Moira McKinnon, chief medical health officer for the province.