Health Care Assistant

Program Overview

This Health Care Assistant (HCA) program provides a comprehensive foundation for students seeking a career in healthcare. Through a combination of theoretical and practical courses, students develop the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to provide compassionate and competent care to individuals in various healthcare settings, including home support, assisted living, and long-term care facilities.

Program Outline

Outline:

Year 1 – Semester 1 – Fall

HCA-101 – Health and Healing: Concepts for Practice

• Provides a theoretical framework for practice.
• Introduces philosophical values and theoretical understandings for competent practice as an HCA.
• Focuses on concepts of caring, person-centered care, basic human needs, human development, family, culture, and diversity as they relate to health and healing.
• Introduces a problem-solving model for practice.

HCA-102 – Health Care Assistant: Introduction to Practice

• Introduces the role of the HCA within the British Columbia health care system.
• Covers the health care team and the roles and functions of the HCA within the team.
• Develops self-reflective skills for competent practice.
• Introduces effective job-finding approaches.

HCA-103 – Health 1: Interpersonal Communications

• Focuses on self-awareness, increased understanding of others, and the development of effective interpersonal communication skills for care-giving contexts.
• Encourages self-awareness of communication choices and patterns.
• Develops communication techniques demonstrating personal awareness, respect, and active listening skills.

HCA-104 – Health 2: Lifestyle and Choices

• Introduces a holistic concept of health and the components of health-enhancing lifestyles.
• Encourages reflection on personal health experiences, recognizing challenges and resources that can impact lifestyle choices.
• Introduces a model for understanding multi-faceted aspects of health and healing.

HCA-105 – Healing 1: Caring for Individuals Experiencing Common Health Challenges

• Introduces the normal structure and function of the human body and normal bodily changes associated with aging.
• Explores common challenges to health and healing in relation to each body system.
• Encourages person-centered practice for common health challenges, particularly end-of-life care.

HCA-106 – Healing 2: Caring for Individuals Experiencing Cognitive or Mental Challenges

• Assists students in exploring concepts and caregiving approaches for working effectively with individuals experiencing cognitive or mental challenges.
• Emphasizes supporting clients with dementia, recognizing responsive behaviors, and identifying person-centered intervention strategies.

HCA-107 – Healing 3: Personal Care and Assistance

• Offers practical skills in personal care and assistance within the parameters of the Health Care Assistant role.
• Includes class and supervised laboratory experiences.
• Integrates theory from other courses to develop care-giver skills that maintain and promote the comfort, safety, and independence of individuals in community and facility contexts.

Year 1 – Semester 2 – Winter

HCA-108 – Practice Education Experience in Home Support, Assisted Living and/or Group Homes

• Provides opportunities to apply knowledge and skills from other courses with individuals and families in a community setting.
• Familiarizes students with the role of the HCA within Home Support Agency, Assisted Living Facility, and/or Group Home.
• Develops abilities for employment in these settings.
• Emphasizes the philosophy of community care settings and client choice and independence.

HCA-109 – Practice Education Experience in Multi-Level/Complex Care

• Provides supervised practice experience to apply knowledge and skills from other courses with individuals in a multi-level/complex care setting.
• Focuses on working with individuals with dementia.
• Develops expertise and confidence in the role of the HCA within Long Term Care Facility.

Careers:

• Health Care Assistant in long-term care or community settings.