1. Home Care/Special Care Aide Program

2. Entrance Requirements
Grade 10 or GED 12

3. Standardization of Curriculum In Province
SIAST has standard curriculum
Brokers the program through Regional Colleges or Health Regions
SIAST does all the Quality Assurance to ensure consistent standards are maintained
SIIT equivalency granted till February 2004
Recognized Provincial Curriculum

4. Length of Program = 753 hours
Theory
498 hours
12 courses
3 certificates Food Safe, CPR’C’/First Aid, PART – Professional Assault Response Training
Practicum
4 practicums
2 mid – 1 long term = 105 hrs; 1 home care = 30 hrs.
2 final – 1 long term = 90 hrs; 1 home care = 30 hrs.

5. Courses within the HC/SCA Program

6. Personal Care
90 hours
Skills necessary to assist clients in meeting personal care needs
Study body systems, infection control, body mechanics, oral care, skin care, lifting and transferring techniques and devices, exercise and positioning, specimen collection, mobility aids, simple treatments and determining temperature, pulse and respiration

7. Personal Competence 30 hours
Goals and philosophy of home care and long term care; employability skills, ethics
Role of caregiver
Client teaching
Abuse

8. Safe Environment 20 hours
Promote client independence in a safe, comfortable and pleasant environment
Includes fire safety, emergency response, WHMIS, household cleaning and laundry

9. Interpersonal Communication
30 hours
Interpersonal communication theory and applications in the workplace
Includes the importance of self-awareness and self-esteem
Perception problems
Verbal and nonverbal messages
Listening skills
Creating positive communication climates
Resolving interpersonal conflict

10. Human Growth and Development
30 hours
Physical, social, intellectual and emotional aspects across the lifespan – infancy to old age
Includes working effectively with all age groups within a family setting

11. Communication Skills 24 hours Application of attending behaviours
Empathy
Respect
Concreteness and summarization
Genuineness

12. Communication in the Workplace
30 hours
Written and oral communication skills
Including observing
Reporting
Documentation
Care plans
Includes basic medical terminology

13. Special Needs I
45 hours
Basic needs and interventions of clients with chronic conditions
Focus on clients with disruptions in sensory organs

14. Special Needs II
45 hours
Basic needs and interventions of clients with
Altered mental abilities
Palliative care
Disruption in mental health
Infectious process
Cancer
Alcohol/drug dependency
Body functions
Body Systems

15. Post Acute Care
30 hours
Skills to assist client to meet their needs in the post acute phase
Includes surgical or recent illness

16. Dementia 45 hours Address causes Stages and behaviours of dementia
Behaviour mapping
Appropriate interventions to promote optional level of functioning

17. Nutrition 30 hours Normal nutritional requirements
Meal planning, purchasing and preparation
Assisting clients to eat

18. Program Learning Outcomes

19. Titles of unregulated workers used in the Province
Home Care Special Care Aide
Home Health Aide
Special Care Aide
Home Care Aide
Attendant III

20. Delivery options Full time Part time
2 base programs – Saskatoon & Prince Albert
Regional colleges (broker and deliver programs across the Province)
Part time
All courses are offered at SIAST’s 4 campuses as well as through regional colleges
Approximately 2000 students across the Province

21. Delivery options (cont’d)
Distance (correspondence)
11/12 courses are available through video correspondence two or three times a year
1 offered per year via SCN (Saskatchewan Communication Network) (televised)
Work based (training on the job) (WBT)
Agencies within Regional Health Authorities can deliver on site

22. Number of graduates per year
Province wide – approximately

23. Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition Availability
Individual course
12/12 courses available fro individual PLAR.
Variety of assessment tools
Total program
Total program PLAR available
Assignments
Comprehensive exams
Clinical component
Practicums
Individual practicum PLAR
Cumulative practicum PLAR – all 4 practicums in one challenge

24. Salaries upon graduation
Approximately $14.00 per hour

25. Providers of education in the Province
Private
Saskatoon Business College (SBC) (not an equivalent program)
Public
SIAST – Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology
SIIT – Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology

26. Career opportunities Long term care Home care Acute care Group homes
Private care homes
Private home care services

27. Is a certificate from a recognized college in your province required prior to employment?No
not prior to but must be attained within 2 years of employment

28. The End