Health Care Practice and Management
About Program
The program has been approved for delivery by the registrar of the Private Training Institutions Branch (PTIB).
The Postgraduate Certificate in Health Care Practice and Management is a non-credit program that prepares Internationally Educated Nurses to integrate their prior education and take on management or leadership roles in the dynamic Canadian healthcare environment.
In this comprehensive and applied two-year program, learners will enhance their theoretical nursing knowledge and clinical nursing skills within the Canadian context. The program draws upon management and organizational knowledge to support learners who aspire to manage and lead within healthcare organizations. Foundational business and management concepts are applied to challenges faced by both public and private healthcare organizations.
Theoretical knowledge will be evaluated through multiple choice exams, case studies and written assignments. Practical skills will be evaluated via learner demonstration. Professional conduct is expected throughout the program. Completion Requirements: Successful completion of all program courses and course-specific assessments.
Program Details
The program draws upon management and organizational knowledge to support learners who aspire to manage and lead within healthcare organizations.
Program Name
Health Care Practice and Management
Start Date
Fall, Winter, Summer
Location
Vancouver, BC
Program Length
2 years
Credential
Certificate
Program Outline
Proficiency in English is imperative for communication in the workplace and is a requirement for nursing licensure. The Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) is a mandatory language test used to assess the English proficiency of internationally educated nurses (IENs) seeking licensure in Canada. This highly effective CELBAN test preparation course is designed to improve IENs’ healthcare-specific listening, writing, reading and speaking skills. It provides opportunities to reflect on and practice how nurses communicate in Canada, and equips learners with valuable test-taking strategies. If you are an IEN looking to maximize your English competency test score, this course is for you!
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
•Demonstrate proficiency in healthcare-specific speaking, listening, reading andwriting English language skills
•Understand CELBAN and how it is structured
•Successfully complete the CELBAN Institutional Assessment Test
This course provides learners with the foundational knowledge and skills required to communicate as effectively as possible in the context of safe, competent and collaborative nursing practice in Canada’s nursing profession. Learners gain greater self-awareness and enhanced interpersonal skills by exercising a self-reflective approach.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
•Discuss the basic elements involved in communication
•Explain self-awareness and understanding of self-concept
•Identify concepts and nursing interventions that promote therapeuticcommunication
•Describe and demonstrate culturally competent communication withpatients/clients, families and community members
•Discuss strategies for giving and receiving feedback
•Explain principles of assertiveness to confidently express differences
•Explain SBAR communication tool, its purposes and uses
This course is designed to introduce the role of the support worker in a broad range of health care settings. Topics covered include the caring for older adults, safety, and abuse awareness, assisting with medications, confusion, delirium and dementia as well as bed making, grooming and assisting with medications.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Describe the main responsibilities of the support worker
• Explain the importance of scope of practice of support worker
• Explain the role of support worker on the health care team
• Describe the delegation process
• Describe the changes that occur in the body’s systems during aging and the care required.
• Explain how aging affects sexuality in older adults.
• Describe how the health care team promotes the client’s sexuality.
• Explain the effect of ageism on older adults.
• List the risk factors for accidents.
• Describe how identifying the client, providing call bells, and using bed rails correctly promote client safety.
• Identify the safety measures to prevent accidents.
• Describe the types of abuse.
• Describe the cycle of abuse.
• Describe spousal abuse, child abuse, and abuse of older adults.
• Describe how clients and health care workers can be abused.
• Explain what to do if you have an abusive client.
• Identify signs of abuse.
• Explain your legal responsibilities when reporting abuse.
• Identify your role in assisting with medications.
• List the factors that affect drug action.
• List the different forms of medications.
• Differentiate between assisting with medications and administering medications.
• Identify guidelines to follow when assisting with medications.
• List the “rights” of assisting with medications
• Describe confusion, dementia and delirium and their causes.
• List the normal changes that happen with aging.
• Differentiate among confusion, delirium, and dementia.
• Summarize the role of the support worker when finding someone who is delirious, confused and demented.
• Describe safety measures for bed making
• Explain the importance of hair care and shaving.
• Describe how to dress and undress clients.
This course is designed to prepare learners to assume nursing roles in the Canadian Health Care system. Learners will explore different legislation influencing nursing practice and gain familiarity with the roles of provincial and national regulating nursing bodies. This course will enhance your ability to care for clients in different settings, and help you gain an appreciation of the health determinants and prevalent health issues in Canada.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Discuss Canadian health care system
• Discuss the evolution of Canada’s Medicare.
• Identify and define the principles of the Canada Health Act and significant legislations related to the Canadian health care system
• Discuss principal factors influencing health care reform and the current health care delivery system.
• Compare various settings and models of care delivery in the Canadian health care delivery system.
• Describe five levels of health care and associated types of services
This course provides learners with the foundational knowledge of Canadian health care laws and policies. Learners will also gain knowledge on legal issues and risk prevention pertaining to health care organizations.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Explain legal concepts that apply to nurses
• Describe the legal responsibilities and obligations of nurses.
• Define legal aspects of nurse–patient, nurse–physician, nurse–nurse, and nurse–employer relationships
• Give examples of legal issues that arise in nursing practice
This course provides an overview of the normal aging processes including the physical, cognitive, sensory and psychological needs of older adults. It also provides learners with the knowledge and skills required for caring for older adults in different health care settings.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Examine the normal aging process as it affects the physical, cognitive, sensory and psychological aspects of the elderly using the client centered care model.
• Differentiate the common pathological problems and examine common degenerative diseases that affect the well and frail elder.
• Identify issues of elder abuse, legislation and the role of the health care professional.
This course is designed to help Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) refine the assessment skills needed to complete client health history and physical examination. Emphasis is placed on cultural diversity and safety. Learners will explore data gathering techniques, therapeutic communication skills, and the use of a body systems approach to physical examination.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Discuss the purposes of physical assessment
• Explain what constitutes accurate and comprehensive history taking
• Discuss cultural diversity, cultural competency and cultural safety as these relate to the provision of culturally competent health care and improved client outcomes
• Demonstrate the techniques used with each physical assessment skill
• Discuss ways to incorporate health promotion and health teaching into the examination
• Demonstrate physical assessment of the following systems: Integumentary, Neurological, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Musculoskeletal, Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary, Pain and HEENT
This course explores the basic concepts and principles of pharmacology (including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacotherapeutics) and the nurse’s role in the safe administration of drug therapies. Learners will review the major classifications of drugs as well as drugs commonly used in Canada. Content focuses on drug indications, contraindications, side effects, adverse effects and interactions. Safe drug administration and patient teaching are emphasized through the nursing process framework. Issues arising from the use of drug therapy in contemporary society are also explored.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
•Explain the principles of medication administration
•Describe and name the various drugs used in Canada
•Discuss Canadian drug legislation
•Cite the types of action and the non-pharmacological effects of drugs on the body
•Recall the drugs that affect the various systems
•Calculate dosages
•Explain nursing process as it relates to medication administration
•Describe the potential interaction of complementary, Indigenous and herbalpreparations with prescription medications
This course is designed to provide learners with the knowledge, skills, judgments and attitudes to perform as a Licensed Practical Nurse. The course provides the theory and skills required to practice safe, competent and ethical nursing care that contributes to the comfort and well-being of others. Learners will possess the competencies to successfully complete the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam (CPNRE).
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Explain the LPN Scope of Practice, Practice Standards and Professional Standards
• Make practice decisions that are client specific and consider client acuity, complexity, variability, and available resources
• Use critical thinking, clinical judgment and knowledge of assessment to plan,
• implement, and evaluate the agreed upon plan of care
• Provide culturally safe, person‐centered care across the lifespan that recognizes and respects the uniqueness of each individual and is sensitive to cultural safety and diversity
This course explores the health promotion and illness prevention of various health problems and diseases of the child and childbearing family. Learners will gain insight into antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care, including normal pregnancy and newborn, as well as associated complications. Learners will also gain an in-depth understanding of the developmental phases of childhood and normal patterns of growth and development. This course provides opportunities to apply nursing process in providing age-appropriate care and advocating for infants, children and adolescents.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• State the causes and effects of major health problems that may be present during pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence
• Describe family composition and childbirth trends
• List normal and abnormal pregnancy conditions and complications
• Explain perinatal assessment and care
• Describe the stages of labour, the labour process, and pain management during labour and birth
• Describe the postpartum stage and postpartum hemorrhage
• Discuss how to complete a newborn assessment
• Recall normal growth and development from birth to age 18
• Report the nursing care for various conditions/diseases/disorders of the systems
This course provides learners with the knowledge and skills required to assess information, reason and solve problems with concepts related to logic and argumentation. Critical thinking is a fundamental leadership competency. Focus is given to developing caring attitudes while applying critical thinking strategies.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Describe characteristics of a critical thinker and components of a critical thinking model for clinical decision making.
• Explain the relationship between clinical experience and critical thinking.
• Discuss the nurse’s responsibility in making clinical decisions.
• Discuss the relationship of the nursing process to critical thinking.
• Discuss the critical thinking qualities used in clinical decision making.
• Describe entry-level professional nurse competencies related to leadership, management, and collaborative practice.
• Describe the relationships between nursing leadership and healthy practice environments, patient safety, and quality patient care outcomes.
• Demonstrate critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving.
• Describe levels of management.
• Discuss ways to apply skills of clinical care coordination in nursing practice.
• Discuss principles of the appropriate delegation of patient care activities.
• Identify key Canadian issues and challenges in managing nursing data.
• Compare Canadian strategies for identifying and documenting key nursing data.
• Discuss how health information data standards influence Canadian nursing practice.
• Develop a beginning understanding of the scope of nursing informatics concepts and the ways in which nurses can be involved in nursing informatics.
This course provides learners with current strategies, theories, and practices in health care communications, develop approaches to effectively communicate within public and private sector and across health care disciplines, identify communication strategies for a variety of audiences including patient, patient family, individual, and group team members, senior team members, funders, external partners, and media.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Explain time management concepts to facilitate long term thinking as a leader.
• Analyze current health care leadership frameworks (ex. LEADS).
• Examine the role of emotional intelligence in health care leadership.
• Discuss current leadership and management principles.
• Assess effects of leading up, across, and down to engage others and build capacity.
• Examine the role of leadership in transforming a health care system.
• Analyze the role of leaders in creating, operationalizing, and measuring strategic planning and deployment.
• Analyze the role of leaders in quality improvement and outcome evaluation.
• Plan for future leadership development in self and others.
• Recognize the behaviours that support change initiatives to build flexible and productive teams.
• Examine the strategic planning process that health care organizations must employ.
This course provides learners examines human resource management functions, processes and systems within organizations including recruitment, selection, training of personnel and the legal and regulatory environment affecting Human Resources Management Operations. Current Canadian issues and practices are examined. Topics include the role of nurses in HR planning and management, competency framework and its implementation.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Facilitate group dynamics, process, meetings, and discussion.
• Explain potential impacts and consequences of decision making in situations both internal and external.
• To understand the major issues and challenges affecting human resources in the health sector.
• To examine the scope and complexity of health human resources.
• To provide leaders with tools and resources used in leading health systems and guiding potential system change.
This course provides learners with the foundational knowledge and skills required for providing a competent ethical care in Canada’s nursing profession. It focuses on values clarification, ethical theory, ethical decision-making models, and professional ethical standards affecting the nurse as an individual and a professional, in health care delivery to clients.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Discuss the basic elements involved in communication
• Examine and clarify personal values.
• Discuss how values influence patient care.
• Explain the relationship between ethics and professional nursing practice
• Identify contemporary ethical issues in nursing practice.
This course will enable participants to understand the relevance of key financial management concepts and appreciate the responsibility of financial managers towards integrated business analysis and decisions towards overall corporate strategy.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Assess the interrelationships among access, quality, cost, resource allocation, accountability, and community.
• Apply principles of operating, project, and capital budgeting.
This course equips learners with specialized knowledge and skills needed to provide safe, comprehensive and holistic care to individuals within the context of families, groups and communities in a variety of mental health care settings. Learners explore how to care for people of all ages with mental illness or in mental distress, integrating communication and critical thinking processes to promote mental health.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Identify ethics and legalities related to mental health care
• Demonstrate therapeutic communication when dealing with clients with mental health issues
• Identify patient-centered learning needs of the individual and groups of clients with mental health problems
• Name psychotropic medications action, side effects and nursing considerations
• Recognize the nursing treatment and care for dementia clients
• Discuss the stigma associated with living with mental illness
The course is designed to help Internationally Educated Nurses (IENs) master the skills involved in test-taking as a critical component in preparation for NCLEX RN examination.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Discuss strategies for alternate item format questions
• Discuss entry level competencies
• Explain nursing process and its implication to nursing care
• Explain different test taking strategies
This course explores the care of adult patients in a broad range of settings. Topics covered include factors that affect medical-surgical nursing, assessments and alterations, plus the application of the nursing process to the care of adult patients experiencing medical-surgical condition. A variety of health care settings are utilized. Learners review physiology and basic pathophysiology, causes of illness, communicable disease and disease transmission and prevention, and diagnostic and therapeutic nursing interventions relevant to medical-surgical health alterations. Learners are encouraged to engage in critical thinking in order to effectively manage acute and chronic problems.
Learning Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
• Explain the pathophysiology and nursing management of disease and illness for body systems across the lifespan
• List fluid and electrolyte imbalances
• Describe acid-base balance and ABGs
• Identify and describe clinical outcomes as a result of disturbances in conduction, altered cardiac output, impaired valvular function, myocardial ischemia, and impaired tissue perfusion
• Describe and demonstrate pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative care
• Discuss urinary and bowel alterations and appropriate nursing measures
• Explain the influence of cultural diversity in health and healing
Program Requirements
All students are required to meet the following admissions requirements:
- Applicants must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (or equivalent) from a recognized institution;
- Applicants must be currently registered as a registered Nurse (RN) in good standing in their country of origin;
- Applicants must have an overall IELTS Academic6.5 (with no band below 6.0 or equivalent).
- Applicants must have a minimum of 1125 hours of nursing experience within the last four years prior to application;
- For domestic students, Canadian citizenship or landed immigrant status is required.
- International students are required to possess a valid study visa, for programs longer than six months and prior to the program start date. International students are also required to have sufficient accident and medical insurance coverage to cover any injuries or illnesses that may occur during the educational term.
How to Apply
- Copy of High School Diploma or GED
- Please review and download a copy of the sterling college student handbook
Tuition And Fees
Program Name | First Year | Postgraduate Certificate in Health Care Practice and Management | Tuition Fee: $33,000 |
Tuition fees are pending approval and subject to change.
All Programs* An additional college application fee of $200 for domestic students and $300 for international students will be payable at the time of registration.
International Students: There is an additional fee of $635 for health insurance required for all international students.
For full details on program fees and tuition please visit our program fees page.
Our Process
Complete our online application form
We will review your application.
Once accepted, we will send you an offer later and payment details.
Once we receive payment, we will send you a letter of acceptance.
If you are an international student you can now apply for a study permit.
You are now ready to start your program!
Apply Now