Program Description

The Health Careers Certification course is a student-centered program with a clearly defined plan of individual study. Each student will work with the instructor and/or counselor to complete a program "prescription" which will identify the program core and Career Pathway(s) the student will pursue. Curriculum will be presented in a LAP (Learning Activity Packet) format and will be facilitated by the instructor.

Program content will begin with a basic core of information that all health care workers need to know. Students will then complete Anatomy and Physiology and Medical Terminology appropriate for the Career Pathway they select.

The Career Pathway will be selected from two options: Direct Care and Therapeutic Care. After successful completion of each section of the Career Path, the student will sit for the appropriate certification test. Within each Career Pathway are state or nationally recognized certification opportunities. Students would still be required to participate in basic skills enhancement in the Educational Enhancement Center and activities that encourage leadership development. Those who complete all available certifications in a Career Pathway could also enhance their success by completing LAPS that expand Core information or that complement the original pathway.

Length of Program

1050 hours

Eligible Students

This program is open to secondary as well as post-secondary students.

College Credit

Students may receive 33 hours of college credit through Northern Oklahoma College.

Certifications

After successful completion of each section of the Career Path, the student will sit for the appropriate certification test. Within each Career Pathway are one or more state or nationally recognized certification opportunities. Those who complete all available certifications in a Career Pathway could also enhance their success by completing LAPS that expand Core information or that complement the original pathway.

Certification options may include:

• Long-Term Care Nurse Assistant (CAN)
• Home Health Aide (CHHA)
• Medication Aide(CMA)
• ARC Community Safety & First Aid (CPR/FA)
• AHA Healthcare provider (CPR).

Verification of skill set competencies (PT Aide, Dental Aide, Pharmacy Aide, Massage Therapy, etc.) may be done on an individual basis with selected students.

Career Opportunities

The following career opportunities are possible after completing the program:

• Long Term Care Aide
• Home Health Aide
• Certified Medication
• Alzheimer's/Geriatric Care Training
• Restorative Care Aide
• Massage Therapy
• Dental Assistant
• Administrative Medical Assistant
  

Helpful Attributes

The following are some of the skills and attributes that are desirable for individuals planning to enter the health care field:

• Dependability
• Positive attitude
• Empathy
• Ability to work effectively with a wide variety of personality types
• Organizational skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Understanding of fractions, decimals, percents, ratios
• Ability to read and interpret graphs
• Ability to perform basic word processing and Windows functions.
• Strong interest in working with people

Student who have courses such as biology, chemistry, and algebra may experience quicker success.

Student Organizations

The students are encouraged to participate in Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA).

Contact Information

For more information about the Health Careers Certification program at the Alva campus, contact Ms. Sarah White at 580.327.0344.

The instructor's website has additional information about program.

CLICK HERE to download a program brochure in pdf format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the brochure.

Students Elected to State Officer Team

Two Northwest Technology Center students enrolled in the Health Careers Certification program were recently elected to serve as state officers in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) student organization. Lisa Yearout, an adult student and graduate of South Barber High School who now lives in Alva, and ShiAnne Cook, a junior at Alva High School, were selected as the Northwest Post-Secondary representative and Northwest Secondary Representative, respectively.

Cook and Yearout were elected by approximately 1,200 health careers students and advisors at the 2007 HOSA Fall Leadership Conference on October 16 in Oklahoma City. The conference included officer training workshops, guest speakers and the election of the 2007-2008 HOSA State Officer Team.

At the conference, the current State Officer Team led local HOSA officers in training for presidents, vice-presidents, secretaries, treasurers, historians, reporters, chaplains and parliamentarians. Keynote speaker, Mr. Bryan Fiese delivered a dynamic address and got the students excited about the upcoming year and the opportunity to work as a team with the new state officers.

With over 4,400 members, Oklahoma HOSA is the only Oklahoma vocational student organization designed to exclusively serve the needs of students in health career programs. HOSA is an integral part of the health careers education division within the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. HOSA’s mission is to enhance the delivery of compassionate, quality healthcare by providing opportunities for knowledge, skill and leadership development of all Health Science students, therefore, helping students to meet the needs of the health care community. HOSA is a student-led organization.

To qualify for state office, each student was required to present a memorized speech, read from a script, give an impromptu monologue, interview with HOSA officials, recite the HOSA creed and pass a written test. Cook and Yearout will attend all state HOSA meetings, CareerTech Training Camp, the HOSA National Convention and next fall’s Officer Training.

Cook is studying pre-nursing and cross-training in massage therapy and Yearout is studying massage therapy. “I am proud of them.” stated Tara Thomas, Health Careers Certification instructor at Northwest Technology Center. “They did a good job on their speeches. They both take pride in their work and don’t settle for anything less than the best.”

Students Open Business

Northwest Technology Center students Shayla Watkins and Jamie Mathis are shown in the photo above celebrating the opening day of their massage therapy business. The business owned by Watkins and Mathis is called Redbud Bodyworks Therapeutic Massage and is located in Cherokee, Oklahoma. They opened their business in May 2007. The pair has completed the 500 hours of instruction needed to receive National Massage Therapy certification and will continue their training at Northwest Tech in order to complete the Health Careers Certification program.

Health Careers Students Place at State Contest

Five Health Careers Certification (HCC) students from the Alva Campus participated in the state Health Occucaptions Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference held in Oklahoma City in April. All five students brought back awards.

Students competed in more than 50 different competitive events during the three-day conference held April 11-13 at the Meridian Convention center. All told, nearly 2,000 students and educators from across the state participated in the event.

Those placing at the competition were Anna Zeller, top 20 in Nurse Assistant; Daniella Smart, 4th in Dental Assisting; Krista Haltom, 2nd in Nurse Assisting; McKenzie Scott, 4th in Nurse Assisting; and Robin Garcia, 2nd in Dental Spelling.

By placing in the top three, Haltom and Garcia qualify to attend the National HOSA Leadership Conference to be held in June in Orlando, Florida.

Pictured above (left to right) are Mrs. Tara Thomas, HCC instructor; Anna Zeller, top 20 in Nurse Assistant; Daniella Smart, 4th in Dental Assisting; Krista Haltom, 2nd in Nurse Assisting; McKenzie Scott, 4th in Nurse Assisting; and Robin Garcia, 2nd Place in Dental Spelling.

Alva HCC Class Makes Visit

The HCC p.m. class headed to Share Convalescent Home September 14th at two thirty for an afternoon of clinicals. The massage therapy students met their clients in the solarium, which was soon full as massage student Ricky Ward's piano skills lured them in! The residents were ready for their pampering as some of them even took off their own shoes and socks in anticipation. The dental and pre-nursing students headed to individual rooms, following a list made up by the nursing staff. There they pampered the residents by providing brushing, flossing, denture care,
as well as lip therapy. The experience was a great opportunity for the students to practice new
skills as well as provide comfort and companionship to the residents! The class left the clinical with a sense of accomplishment and some essential hands-on practice!

Alva HCC Class Visits Nursing Home

The Alva HCC class went to Beadles Nursing Home on August 31, 2006 for aromatherapy and reflexology as well as an oral care clinic. The massage students got to work with the residents by massaging thier hands and arms,
some of the residents even got to do a parafin dip on their hands or feet, which they seemed to really enjoy. Most of the residents were provided oral mouth care allowing the
dental students to assess the residents teeth and dentures. They brushed and flossed many of the residents teeth or dentures and they said it brought a smile to the residents faces. It was a good training activity to learn basic massage and dental skills as well as patient empathy.