Certificate in Medical Laboratory Assistant

at Red Deer Polytechnic Canada

This two-year Career Development Diploma prepares internationally educated nurses to integrate their prior education into the Canadian health care environment and take on management or leadership roles. Explore foundational business and management concepts and learn how to apply them to challenges faced by both public and private health care organizations.

Graduates of the program will be perfectly positioned to lead their organization in achieving business and strategic goals. The importance of critical thinking and significance of cultural diversity are both emphasized in this immersive and dynamic program. Graduates will also gain valuable strategies for completing the regulatory examination process for professional certification in Canada.

This program is accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP). It prepares the graduate to become a Registered Pharmacy Technician (RPhT) following graduation and successful completion of the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) certification process and the Alberta College of Pharmacists (ACP) registration process. Details regarding registering as a Pharmacy Technician in the province of Alberta can be found by accessing the Alberta College of Pharmacists website (www.pharmacists.ab.ca).

RDC has been educating Pharmacy Technicians since 1976 and graduates are highly sought after by employers. This diploma program is delivered over five academic terms.

Program outcomes are designed to enable successful transition to the role of the Pharmacy Technician, assisting students to:

• Communicate effectively and respectfully to build positive relationships through verbal, nonverbal, written and technological means with patients, co-workers and other health care providers.
• Practice in a legal, ethical and professional manner demonstrating conduct that meets expectations of members of society and the profession.
• Accurately manage and perform technical and distributive tasks expected of a pharmacy technician.
• Build collaborative relationships within the pharmacy and health care teams to optimize patient safety and meet patient health care needs and improve health outcomes.
• Perform job related tasks in a safe and effective manner that ensures quality and patient safety while using professional judgment as to which tasks can be performed independently or in collaboration with a pharmacist.
• Maintain, enhance and share knowledge, skills and attitude through self-reflective practice, use of available learning resources, networking and self-directed learning to continue to be a lifelong learner.

The two-year University Arts Diploma offers students the opportunity to learn about the issues and people shaping their world through a holistic approach to knowledge that is interdisciplinary in emphasis and chronologically broad in its topics. Students are able to determine their futures through a focus on general University Arts, which allows students to concentrate on a particular area of interest within the Humanities (English, History/Classics, Philosophy) and Social Sciences (Anthropology, Communications, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology) or through one of three thematic specializations—Global Perspectives; Science and Society; Culture, Societies, and Gender—that centre on timely themes and subjects. With a choice of pathways, resulting in a University Arts Diploma, students are able to concentrate on what matters to them while gaining transferable knowledge and skills that will give them a leg up in an ever-uncertain future. In an age where intricate problems do not respond to traditional solutions, the ability to think beyond disciplinary boundaries, offer critical analysis, craft well-considered assessments, supported by adaptive thinking in pursuit of solutions, will be the foundation for students’ further educational goals or employment aspirations.

Please note: all students apply to the University Arts Diploma. Following Admission, students may, if they choose, declare a specialization in Year 1 or Year 2 prior to graduation. Specializations are noted on transcripts. Students who choose not to specialize, or who do not meet the requirements of a specialization, will graduate with the same University Arts Diploma (without a specialization noted on their transcripts).

Program Outcomes

• Recognize the provisional nature, inherent complexity, and ambiguity of knowledge.
• Acknowledge a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to local and global issues and identify the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.
• Engage in scholarly inquiry, both independently and collaboratively, to identify and investigate questions of a theoretical and applied nature using appropriate disciplinary methodologies and sources.
• Integrate knowledge and perspectives across disciplinary boundaries.
• Demonstrate intellectual integrity and academic accountability.
• Recognize reasonable objections to positions one endorses and to the arguments one uses to support their own position when presenting oral and written arguments.
• Acknowledge the diverse social, cultural, and historical forces that shape identities and values and examine personal and cultural diversity.
• Analyse and interpret historical and contemporary events, texts, and data within disciplines.
• Demonstrate collaborative, independent, and inclusive attitudes and practices.

If you are fascinated by the words and images that we see every day in traditional mass media and social media, and you’re looking for an opportunity to work in a fast-paced career that requires maturity and excellent writing skills, consider the Media Studies and Professional Communication diploma at RDC.
 
In this program, you’ll study how mass media such as television, advertising and even video games influence, and are influenced by, society; you’ll also gain valuable knowledge to help you succeed in a variety of careers that require superior strategic communication skills. The combination of media studies and professional communication will allow you to adapt to an ever-changing job market by giving you strong critical thinking skills, and the tools to create effective messaging for your employer.

Completing the diploma program will open doors to employment in corporate, government, and not-for-profit organizations; graduates can also transfer to several universities to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies or another discipline.

Our program offers

• Small class sizes with dynamic learning activities
• A blend of theoretical knowledge and practical skills
• An interdisciplinary approach that equips you to evolve in your career
• Dedicated instructors who will help you succeed
• A practicum placement that will give you experience in the communications field

Program Outcomes

• Demonstrate the oral and written skills necessary to communicate clearly, concisely and persuasively while adapting to different audiences and purposes.
• Employ current qualitative and quantitative research methods in addressing both complex theoretical questions and concrete professional challenges.
• Explain the history and application of communication theories related to topics such as mass media production, new media literacy, intercultural and interpersonal relations.
• Identify historical and contemporary trends and implications of various forms of mass media and technology.
• Apply critical media theory to oral, written and audiovisual communications in order to appraise sociocultural messaging, power dynamics, and bias.

The program at RDC is one year of study toward Bachelor of Science Nutrition and Food Sciences.

Students studying Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Alberta can pursue 5 different majors upon transfer. Students starting at RDC will be best set up to transition into either the Nutrition and Food Science General program or the Dietetics Specialization program. If you are pursuing another major in Nutrition, you may experience some added time to finish your degree from the University of Alberta when you transfer. See the Bachelor of Science – Nutrition and Food Sciences Academic Planning Guide for more information

Communications Studies provides an awareness of the impact of media, understanding of research and practice involving media, and research and practice in discourse.

University Transfer Program
RDC offers the first two years of the Bachelor of Arts, Major in Communications Studies. For the most current university program and transfer information, see the Planning Guides.

Political Science is the study of politics and government, the location and use of power in society, and quests for human betterment.

Program Content
The below schedule is a general pattern that transfers to the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge. Check the Alberta Transfer Guide for transfer credit information.

Economics studies how households, businesses and governments make choices about how to allocate scarce resources in order to best satisfy individual and social wants. The tools of economics can be used to analyze issues as diverse as unemployment, inflation, globalization, discrimination, environmental issues, taxation, health care and professional sports. Each year courses are offered in microeconomics and macroeconomics, and in selected fields such as money and banking, labour economics, international economics, sports economics, development economics, and industrial organization.

The importance of the early years in a child's development is well established. There is a critical need for a variety of programs for children and families and for trained staff to ensure children's developmental needs are being met. The Early Learning and Child Care Program trains professionals to work with children from birth to eight years, with some related preparation for working with children from eight to twelve years of age. Throughout the program, there is an emphasis on developing caring relationships with children and families.

RDC offers a two-year diploma program in Early Learning and Child Care. Each course you take focuses on a different topic important to those who work with young children - everything from child development, to guiding behavior, to planning snacks and bulletin boards, to planning and participating in play experiences, to interacting with children who have special needs.

Kinesiology is the study of the science of movement. The program is designed so that students can complete 2 years of studies in order to transfer to a university and then enter the work force or transfer to a university and complete a Bachelor's degree. The program is designed for students wishing to transfer to the University of Alberta. Transfer to other universities is possible with proper program consultation and careful course selection. For university transfer, the courses you select must meet the program requirements of the specific university chosen.

Admission to a university program may be limited by quota. Entry is based on your academic record. You should expect heavy course and program demands and the need for a competitive GPA if you wish to transfer to a university program.

The objective of the program is to educate and prepare qualified leaders in the field of Kinesiology and Sport Studies who:

• are prepared for employment in related fields and agencies in the private and public sectors
• upon completion of a Bachelor's degree may choose to continue their education at the graduate level