HLTH 1155: Personal Care and Assistance - Skills Practicum
This course offers students the opportunity to acquire personal care and assistance skills within the parameters of the Health Care Assistant (HCA) role. The course is comprised of supervised laboratory and clinical practice experiences which will assist you in integrating theory from other courses. This allows students to develop caregiver skills that maintain and promote the comfort, safety, and independence of individuals in community, residential facility, and acute care contexts.
Learning outcomes
- Perform personal care skills in an organized manner ensuring the comfort and appropriate independence of the client/resident.
- Apply an informed problem-solving process to the provision of care and assistance
- Provide personal care and assistance within the parameters of the Health Care Assistant role
- Provide care and assistance in ways that maintain safety for self and others in a variety of contexts
From: Ministry of Advanced Education. (2015). Health Care Assistant Program: Provincial Curriculum Guide 2015, 31-32. 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
- Problem Solving when Carrying Out Caregiving Procedures
- Asepsis and Prevention of Infection
- Promoting Comfort and Rest
- Promoting Personal Hygiene
- Moving, Positioning and Transferring a Client/Resident
- Bed Making
- Promoting Exercise and Activity
- Promoting Healthy Nutrition and Fluid Intake
- Promoting Urinary and Bowel Elimination
- Measuring Vital Signs
- Heat and Cold Applications
- Assisting with Oxygen Needs
- Assisting with Medications
- Home Management
- Personal Assistance Guidelines
Note: All skills are taught in such a way that both facility and community contexts are recognized.
Required text and materials
Students will need to source the following on their own:
- Sorrentino S. A., Remmert, L., Wilk M. J., Mosby's Canadian Textbook for the Support
Worker. 4th edition Elsevier/Mosby Inc. 2018.
Type: Textbook ISBN: 9781771720434
- Sorrentino S. A., Remmert, L., Wilk M. J., Workbook to accompany Mosby's Canadian
Textbook for the Support Worker. 4th edition Elsevier/Mosby Inc. 2018.
Type: Workbook 2. ISBN: 9781771721271
- Mosby Inc. Mosby's Nursing Assistant Video Skills. Mosby Inc. 4th
edition Elsevier/Mosby Inc. 2015.
Type: Online Access Code, ISBN 9780323581899
Note: The above resource can be purchased directly from the publisher.
Assessments
Students in the Health Care Assistant Program must achieve a minimum grade 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.
You must pass each course to continue in the program. All courses must be completed within 3 years of initial course enrolment.
In order to successfully complete this course, you must obtain COM (complete) for the competency based portions in the course. You must also achieve a satisfactory on every skill evaluated to achieve a COM (complete) in the course. You will be required to complete a minimum of 35 hours of lab experience and 40 hours in a clinical setting during this course.
