There is a high demand for healthcare professionals across British Columbia. With many employment opportunities and the potential for high wages, there’s no better time and place to pursue a career in healthcare! Sprott Shaw College is excited to help people interested in the healthcare field explore future career paths. Learn more about exciting healthcare careers below.
Located in Victoria? Be sure to visit our Healthcare Open House and Career Fair in Victoria on Thursday, May 22nd from 5:00 – 7:00pm to learn more about our healthcare programs. RSVP today!
Practical Nursing
Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) assess and monitor patients, administer medication, and assist clients with activities of daily living in hospital, community, residential, and home care environments. They are an integral part of the health team often working under physicians and Registered Nurses (RNs), whose guidance they follow in order to maintain patients’ wellbeing and ease their pain. They ensure that treatments are working as intended through taking vital signs and monitoring respiratory and intravenous therapy, and are often responsible for applying sterile dressings, preventing and controlling infection, and collecting specimens.
As a health professional that regularly interacts directly with patients, LPNs are often caring and social individuals who thrive working in a hands-on environment. LPNs usually work 8-hour to 12-hour shifts on rotation but have the opportunity to choose between full-time and part-time employment. With a median annual income of almost $67,000 and hourly rates from $27-37 an hour (according to WorkBC), LPNs earn a high income for the hard work they dedicate to their career.
LPNS are in demand across British Columbia, with nearly 5,000 job openings expected to be available between 2024-2034, according to WorkBC. Sprott Shaw College is ready to help meet the demand —are you? As one of the largest providers of Practical Nursing training in BC, we are prepared to help you enter this in-demand, and well-paying field. Click here to learn more about our Practical Nursing.
Health Care Assistants
As frontline caregivers, Health Care Assistants (HCAs), sometimes known as care aids, provide personal care assistance in community and facility settings, such as long-term care, assisted living environments, urgent care, and hospitals. They are focused on maintaining the health, safety, independence, comfort, and overall well-being of patients and their families. The responsibilities of HCAs usually relate to helping patients perform every-day activities that they are no longer capable of performing on their own. These tasks often include hygiene care (such as bathing, dressing, and grooming), assisting with serving meals, and providing mobility support by transferring patients to and from beds, wheelchairs, baths, and toilets.
HCAs work with patients with varying personal needs. Due to the sensitive nature of their work, HCAs must be compassionate, organized, good with people, and able to recognize the unique needs, backgrounds, and challenges of every patient. HCAs are compensated for their work with wages ranging from $21-29 an hour, or around $52,000 a year, according to WorkBC.
HCAs are one of the most in-demand occupations in the province; WorkBC estimates that there will be nearly 23,000 job opportunities in this field from now until 2034.
At Sprott Shaw College, you can earn your Health Care Assistant diploma and begin a fulfilling career in just 29 weeks. Click here to learn more about our Health Care Assistant program.
Medical Office Administrators and Health Unit Clerks
Medical Office Administrators (MOAs) and Heath Unit Clerks (HUCs) perform a variety of administrative duties in doctors’ offices, hospitals, and medical clinics. MOA duties include appointment scheduling, patient correspondence, interviewing patients for forms and case histories, and other administrative tasks. On the other hand, Health Unit Clerks work more directly with patients’ health information; they coordinate diagnostic tests, lab work, and treatment plans, and maintain accurate and up-to-date medical records. Typically, MOAs work in doctor’s offices and clinics, whereas HUCs work in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
People in MOA and HUC careers are organized and comfortable with interacting and communicating with a variety of people throughout their workday, such as patients, healthcare professionals, and other administrative employees. According to WorkBC, MOAs and HUCs can expect to earn $21-$33 an hour, with a median annual earning of approximately $52,000.
Sprott Shaw’s Medical Office Administrator Health Unit Clerk program teaches students how to perform the secretarial and administrative tasks of an MOA as well as HUC responsibilities related to managing patients’ health information. Click here to learn more about our Medical Office Administrator Health Unit Clerk program.
Community Support Workers
Community Support Workers (CSWs) help vulnerable communities by administering social services such as life skills workshops and substance abuse treatment programs. CSWs also work directly with clients to help them manage personal and social issues. Some communities they work with include people struggling with addiction, people living with mental health challenges, Indigenous communities, victims of domestic abuse, at-risk youth, pregnant teenagers, children with special needs, and houseless individuals. CSWs can be found working in government agencies, social service agencies, mental health agencies, shelters, substance abuse centres, correctional facilities, and group homes.
The nature of this field requires CSWs to be empathetic, open-minded, and understanding of clients’ diverse backgrounds, needs, and life situations. Because outreach and support are intrinsic to this role, individuals who are friendly and good with people are better suited for this line of work. People entering this field can expect an income of $20-$32 an hour with a median annual wage of $52,000, according to WorkBC. There are many opportunities in this field, with WorkBC estimating that there will be close to 15,000 job openings over the next ten years.
Sprott Shaw’s 49-week Community Support Worker – Social Services program gets students career-ready! The curriculum includes a hands-on practicum, so students get real-world experience as well as courses on addiction, mental health, counselling approaches, and understanding diverse backgrounds. Click here to learn more about our Community Support Worker – Social Services program.
Start Your Healthcare Career Today
Ready for the next step? Our array of programs prepares students to enter the healthcare field; whether they want to take on the supportive and administrative role of a Medical Office Assistant or Health Unit Clerk, or perform hands-on care as a Licensed Practical Nurse or Health Care Assistant.
Contact an Advisor to learn more about our healthcare programs or take the leap and secure your place in our next intake!
