HLTH 1101 - Health Care Assistant: Introduction to Practice

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the role of the Health Care Assistant within the British Columbia health care system. Students are introduced to the healthcare team and the roles and functions of the HCA within the system. Students will also have opportunities to develop self-reflective skills required for competent practice and will be introduced to effective job-finding approaches.

Learning outcomes

• Display an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of Health Care Assistants within the health care system in British Columbia.*
• Contribute to the effective functioning of the health care team.*
• Function in a responsible, accountable fashion recognizing legal and ethical parameters of the Health Care Assistant role.*
• Apply self-reflection and self-appraisal processes in order to recognize and respond to your own self-development needs as a care provider.*
• Confidently conduct a job-search process.*

*From: Ministry of Advanced Education. (2015). Health Care Assistant Program: Provincial Curriculum Guide 2015, 36-37. Province of British Columbia. https://opentextbc.ca/hcasupplement/. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Course topics

• Lesson 1: Introduction to the Health Care System
• Lesson 2: Roles and Responsibilities of Health Care Assistants
• Lesson 3: Teamwork in Health Care Settings
• Lesson 4: Ethical Responsibilities 
• Lesson 5: Legal Responsibilities
• Lesson 6: Professional Approaches to Practice 
• Lesson 7: Self-Reflective Practice
• Lesson 8: Elder Abuse
• Lesson 9: Selecting a Work Environment
• Lesson 10: Writing an Application Letter
• Lesson 11: Resumé Writing
• Lesson 12: The Job Interview

Required text and materials

Students are responsible for purchasing the required materials on their own:

• Wilk, M. J. (2022). Sorrentino’s Canadian textbook for the support worker (5th ed.). Elsevier. ISBN: 9780323709392 

Assessments

Students in the Health Care Assistant Program must achieve a minimum grade of 70% on the mandatory final exam and in the course overall. Students must achieve a minimum of 70% in each required theory course and a COM (complete) for the competency based portions of laboratory and practicum courses to pass the program.

Students must pass each course to continue in the program. Students cannot re-write failed assessments and, if unsuccessful on a second attempt at any course, will be asked to withdraw from the program.

All Program courses must be completed within 3 years of initial course enrolment.

Prerequisites

Admission to the Health Care Assistant program

Exclusions

HEAL 1100