“Seniors have helped create the community I live in today, and it’s important to me to make sure they have the care and support they need as they get older,” said Cranna. “This seemed like the perfect program to start a career in a field I find so rewarding.”
Health care assistants work in a variety of health care settings, providing care and support to individuals throughout their lives.
“I started looking at NIC because it’s close to home, but it was the knowledgeable team of instructors and smaller class sizes that made me want to study here,” she said. “NIC has so much to offer, it really feels like you are a part of a community being a student here.”
The Health Care Assistant program provides a combination of theory and practical skills that helped Cranna prepare for her practicum placements and be ready to enter the workforce.
“It can feel very busy at times but that paralleled what it’s like in the workplace,” she said. “It really prepares you to transition and made me confident working as an HCA.”
While Cranna knows she wants to work with seniors, she’s still exploring what form that will take for her and her career.
“I think people would be surprised at the range of options available for HCAs, from working in hospital settings to care homes to in-home care,” she said. “It’s really meaningful to build relationships with your clients and help support them.”
NIC has expanded its offerings for the Health Care Assistant program this fall, with intakes in Campbell River, the Comox Valley, Port Alberni and the West Coast. It will also be offered in Port Hardy in January 2020.
Cranna would recommend anyone interested in health care to look at the program.
“It’s a great starting point to enter the health care field,” she said. “I am so thrilled to have had such wonderful classmates and instructors while I pursue a dream I have had a long time. There is such a support group around you when becoming an HCA.”
To learn more, or to apply, visit www.nic.bc.ca/health-human-services.
