Health Care Aide Certificate

Columbia College’s Health Care Aide program follows the Government of Alberta Health Provincial 2019 curriculum.

 Full Time 2 Terms (32 weeks in total)

• Duration: 32 weeks
  • 24 Weeks Theory/Lab: 4-hour classes, Mon – Fri
  • 8 Weeks Practicum:  8-hour shifts, scheduled any day of the week
• Supported Tutorials (Friday – 12 pm – 5 pm) and on-line Learning Activities

Clinical Experience

• Students will be required to travel to various locations in order to complete their clinical and practicum placements. Clinical and practicum placements will be provided as available. Every effort is made to accommodate students in clinical placements within the time frame of the program, however in rare instances there may be a delay in program completion until a clinical placement can be arranged.

 Facilitator to Student Ratios:

• Classroom / Lab: 24 Students to 1 Facilitator
• Practicum: 8 Students to 1 Facilitator

For the Health Care Aide portion of the program, theory classes will be offered via a distance delivery format through TEAMS sessions with a facilitator. Lab classes will be held on-site at the college, and clinical placements will be at designated sites.

Each course will continue to be scheduled in their regular semesters, and will be expected to be delivered in the same time period as a face-to-face class. Classes may include (but are not limited to):

• Interactive webinars
• Discussion forums
• Group work
• Daily Tests

Eligibility for the program can be established through either Standard Admission or Mature Admission, with further details provided below. Students can choose to begin their application online or in-person and must pay the application fee before their submission will be processed.

Mature Admission

• Be 19 years of age or older
• Out of high school for 1 year
• Successfully meet entry levels on Columbia College’s Accuplacer assessment test or equivalent (See Academic Proficiency Requirements below)

*Please note that for those who English is not their first language, a minimum benchmark of CLB 7 is recommended. Academic and admission requirements would also still need to be met.

Or

Standard Admission

Academic English Language Arts (ELA)

• English 20-1 or 20-2 with a minimum score of 60% achieved or Canadian jurisdiction equivalent, or
• English 30-1 or 30-2 with a minimum of 55% or Canadian jurisdiction equivalent; or
• Deemed equivalent by completion of ACCUPLACER (assessment placement test)

Note: Students who have not completed the ELA, 20-2 level requirement and achieved the minimum grade are subject to completing the ACCUPLACER assessment test. This can include students out of province, out of country or mature students that have been out of school for a significant length of time.

Test/Transcript Validity

Test/Transcript results are valid for two years from the day of testing or completion of a course. Results that expire prior to the Start Date of the program may not be accepted, but will be reviewed by the Office of the Registrar. Official results must be submitted.
Transcripts will be reviewed by the Office of the Registrar and the Health Care Aide program to determine whether the courses completed will be accepted to meet the proficiency requirement.

Additional Requirements

• Up-to-date Immunization Record
•  Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Search

Pre-Practicum Requirements

• Heart and Stroke BLS
• N95 Mask Fit Test