Diploma in Pharmacy Technician

at Centennial College - Morningside Campus Canada

Centennial College's Biotechnology Fast-Track program was created for qualified college or university graduates wishing to receive a diploma in one year (two semesters). By gaining direct admission into the second year (third semester) of the two-year Biotechnology program, you'll be trained to work as a laboratory technician for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

This program will offer detailed practical training in microbiology and chemistry (analytical, organic and biochemistry). Laboratory techniques including aseptic technique and appropriate safety procedures will be extensively highlighted. A special feature of this diploma program is its project-focused approach, with independently designed microbiology projects that will enhance your problem-solving and research skills.

You'll learn to:

• Isolate, enumerate and identify microorganisms from many types of samples (water, soil, air, the human body, food, and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products);
• Prepare specimens for staining, becoming an expert light-microscopist;
• Become proficient in aseptic handling of materials;
• Accurately calibrate and use a range of instruments such as pH and BOD meters, gas chromatographs, spectrophotometers (regular/IR/UV) and HPLCs;
• Prepare microbiological media and reagents, and culture pathogenic microbes;
• Design and perform your own microbiology experiments;
• Use microorganisms to assay pharmaceutical products;

You'll have the option of graduating as a biotechnician in one year or continuing for a second year to study specialized topics such as microbial genetics, systematic microbiology and environmental microbiology to graduate with an Advanced Biotechnology diploma.

This Biotechnology - Advanced program will prepare you with the scientific principles, techniques and skills required in industrial microbiology and chemistry. In this applied science program, you'll also study biotechnology applications, biochemistry, microbial genetics, and clinical and environmental microbiology.

Your Biotechnology - Advanced courses will teach you to: 

• Isolate, enumerate and identify microorganisms from many types of samples;
• Accurately calibrate and use instruments such as pH and BOD meters, gas chromatographs, spectrophotometers, HPLCs, centrifuges, PCR thermocyclers and gel electrophoresis equipment;
• Prepare media and reagents to culture pathogenic microbes;
• Design and perform advanced microbiology and microbial genetics experiments;
• Isolate DNA and perform gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on samples.

Centennial College's Bachelor of Science Nursing is offered in partnership with Ryerson University and George Brown College. To complete this degree program, you'll spend your first two years at Centennial and the final two years at Ryerson.
The goal of this Nursing program is to help you become a nursing leader who is highly competent, knowledgeable and committed to playing an integral role in shaping the future of health care.

The curriculum, taught by faculty members from both the college and university, has five themes that will be reflected in all program years at varying levels. These themes are:

• Primary health care/health promotion
• Reflective practice/critical thinking
• Meaningful relationships/caring/communication
• Political/social justice
• Personal/professional development

You'll be required to complete professionally-related courses in areas such as anatomy and physiology, nutrition, ethics, psychology and sociology. Also included in Nursing (BScN) will be a series of required and elective courses, selected from other disciplines, to enhance and support the broad knowledge base required of professional nurses.

At Centennial's Morningside Campus, you'll benefit from small classes, state-of-the-art medical facilities and individualized attention.
When you complete this offering, you'll be prepared to work with persons and communities of diverse backgrounds, ages, and degrees of health and illness, in a variety of contexts.

Program Highlights

• A mentorship program and peer tutoring will help you to fulfill your potential.
• Starting in the first semester of the Nursing (BScN) program, opportunity will exist for small group instruction in clinical and laboratory settings.
• State-of-the-art nursing labs outfitted with highly realistic computerized "patients" will be available for independent and scheduled practice. These labs recreate a hospital floor with a nursing station and operating room facilities.
• When engaging in serious and highly realistic patient care scenarios, you'll get teamed up with front-line professionals.
• You'll partake in hands-on application in a clinical simulation facility where the School of Community and Health Studies hosts large-scale disaster simulation exercises involving major health care services from around the city and beyond.
• The experienced and caring faculty members are professionals with years of expertise.
• Clinical placement will give you the advantage of being able to network and make employment contacts.

If you’re looking to get a practical college education but also want the theory found in a university degree, Centennial College's Liberal Arts to University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) program can make it happen.

This offering will start by teaching you a wide range of subjects, including communications, research methods, humanities and social sciences, before setting you up to transition to the University of Toronto. This arts diploma program is for you if you're:

• Interested in applying to an honours degree program at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus;
• Considering college programs in areas such as business administration, child studies and community services, hospitality and tourism, journalism, and media and design;
• Exploring your ultimate career goals and different educational opportunities.

Centennial College's Healthcare Environmental Services Management (HESM) program was designed to meet the demand for qualified environmental services managers with the ability to develop systems and processes to protect workers, clients and patients from environmental hazards in the health care setting and operate buildings that are safe.

Today's health care environment is changing, and there's an increased need for infection control measures, outbreak or pandemic planning, isolation cleaning levels, emergency preparedness and timely response in the health care setting. In this college health diploma program's courses, you'll learn to develop, implement, and monitor operating systems and preventative maintenance in the housekeeping, laundry, maintenance and transportation areas within the environmental department of a health care facility. You'll also learn about the emergence of new technologies to fight antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" and to help support disease control of bacteria and viruses.

The curriculum will include concepts of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as well as going "green" for a healthier environment and to reduce pollution and the carbon footprint. You'll also research the use of effective eco-friendly products with lower volatile organic compounds.

To help you acquire the necessary skills, the HESM program will also expose you to the industry's best practices and continuous quality improvements to coordinate and monitor building, sanitation, maintenance and operating systems. You'll also be informed of the wide range of environmental issues health care facilities encounter as they work to comply with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Health Canada, Occupational Health and Safety, Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) and other regulatory requirements. As part of Public Health Ontario, the PIDAC has created best practice documents, reports and recommendations on matters related to communicable diseases, immunization, and infection prevention and control and surveillance. Centennial's HESM program is recognized as a recommended program that managers and supervisors in environmental service departments can attend when directly related to environmental cleaning in health care.

Through this offering, you'll combine health care environmental service knowledge with business and human relations, critical thinking and problem solving skills. This combination will prepare you to work with a diverse team in this challenging field.

As a Centennial College HESM student and graduate, you may be eligible to apply for Ontario Healthcare Housekeepers' Association and Canadian Association of Environmental Management memberships. Both are recommended for employment opportunities.

Program Highlights

• The Healthcare Environmental Services Management program will incorporate classroom lectures, hands-on practical lab experience, field trips and guest speaker presentations.
• Experiential learning and practical skill development will occur on campus in designated lab areas and in computer labs with industry-specific software.
• Included in this School of Community and Health Studies program will be two field placements in semester 3 and 4.
• The diploma you'll earn reflects high standards of learning and transferable skills.

As a Healthcare Environmental Services Management graduate, you'll be able to reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• Support the provision of a healthy, safe and sanitary health care environment according to guidelines set by current legislation, standards and regulations;
• Analyze infection prevention and control practices to ensure compliance with current legislation standards and regulations;
• Effectively work as part of an interprofessional health care team to ensure successful functioning of the facility;
• Apply quality management principles in compliance with requirements established by the organization and regulatory bodies;
• Manage the health care environmental services operations as outlined by the departmental/organizational business plan;
• Develop ongoing personal and professional development strategies and plans to achieve realistic career goals and to enhance management skills;
• Analyze and evaluate the impact of social, ethical and legal issues on individual and/or organizational operations within a health care environmental services context;
• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of recruitment, orientation, training, development and retention programs for health care environmental services employees;
• Develop and evaluate a departmental budget that reflects fiscal accountability and financial planning;
• Apply effective human resource management practices to enhance organizational and individual productivity and performance;
• Document, generate and maintain all required records in compliance with current healthcare environmental services regulations, standards and established protocol.

In Centennial College’s General Arts program, you'll study a range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences as well as communications.

This college preparation program is for you if you're:

• Considering college programs in areas such as communication arts, child studies, community services, hospitality or tourism administration;
• Planning on transferring to the Liberal Arts diploma;
• Exploring your ultimate career goals and various educational opportunities.

The Personal Support Worker program will prepare you with the knowledge and skills to provide compassionate care when assisting patients, clients and residents with broad-spectrum conditions and health care needs. Your help will enable them to lead active and fulfilling lives in the community and institutions, both here and abroad.

The Personal Support Worker courses will focus on the full range of home and health-related services required by individuals with physical disabilities, cognitive impairments, and chronic and acute illnesses. The skills and knowledge you receive will give you the flexibility to adapt to a variety of settings such as hospitals, homes, schools, community residential agencies, and long-term or chronic care facilities.

During your time in the Personal Support Worker program you'll learn through a hands-on approach facilitated by hospital and community health care-experienced faculty members. Additionally, clinical and community setting learning opportunities will allow you to offer direct care to patients, clients and residents. You'll gain experience caring for persons across their lifespan and learn to effectively communicate and collaborate with members of an interprofessional health care team.

Program Highlights

• This Personal Support Worker program reflects the latest practices and policies in the field.
• You'll spend 14 weeks gaining extensive practical experience by working with teams in hospitals, long-term care institutions and the community. Many students have been offered employment in the agencies in which they completed their placements.
• With one instructor to each small group of clinical placement students, you'll have the support necessary to learn, grow and practice your newly acquired skills.
• Faculty members are experienced, caring and supportive.
• Community agencies and clinical settings recognize the certificate you'll earn.

In accordance with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (2014) program standards, once you complete the Personal Support Worker program, you'll have the ability to:

• Work within the personal support worker role and participate as a member of the interprofessional care/service team and maintain collaborative working relationships in the provision of supportive care in the community, retirement homes, long-term care homes and/or hospital care settings in accordance with all applicable legislation as well as your employer's job description, policies, procedures and guidelines;
• Act responsibly and be accountable for your actions while recognizing the boundaries of knowledge and skills within the personal support worker role that require collaboration with the individuals, families, supervisors and/or other members of the interprofessional care/service team;
• Provide person-centred and person-directed care that's based on ethical principles, sensitive to personal values and family values, beliefs and needs, and which follows the direction of the plan of care or service plan;
• Establish and maintain helping relationships with individuals and their families reflecting open communication, professional boundaries and employer's policies, and adhering to confidentiality and privacy legislation;
• Identify relevant client information using basic assessment and communication skills and report and document findings in accordance with the requirements of employer policies and procedures and all applicable legislation;
• Promote and maintain a safe and comfortable environment for individuals, their families, self and others, including the implementation of infection prevention, control measures and emergency first aid procedures that are in keeping with the plan of care/service plan, employer policies and procedures, and all applicable legislation;
• Assist individuals across their lifespan with routine activities of daily living by applying basic knowledge of growth and development, common alterations in functioning, disease prevention, health promotion and maintenance, rehabilitation and restorative care;
• Assist individuals with medication, keeping with the direction of the plan of care or service plan, under the direction and monitoring of a regulated health professional or most accountable person and in accordance with all applicable legislation and employer's policies;
• Assist with household management tasks and instrumental activities of daily living in accordance with the plan of care or service plan, considering the preferences, comfort and safety of patients, clients, residents, families and significant others;
• Assist individuals who are caring for dependent individuals, considering client and family choices, professional boundaries and the direction of the plan of care or service plan;
• Identify and report situations of neglect, potential, alleged or witnessed/actual incidents of abuse, and respond in accordance with all applicable legislation and employer's policies and procedures;
• Assist in the provision of culturally relevant palliative and end-of-life care to patients, clients and residents experiencing a life-threatening illness and to their families and significant others, from diagnosis through death and bereavement, in accordance with personal decisions and the plan of care/service plan;
• Use identified approaches and best practices to support positive strategies and safe responses for people experiencing cognitive impairment, mental health challenges and/or responsive behaviours.

The Massage Therapy program at Centennial College will provide you with both the fundamental and advanced massage therapy skills to become a successful massage therapist. The program will emphasize professionalism and teach an evidence-based approach to assessment, treatment planning and implementation.

Recognized as a distinctive and rigorous offering within the School of Community and Health Studies, this program will balance a combination of theory and practical application through in-class lectures, lab experience, an onsite public clinic and offsite outreach placements.

You'll learn the proper assessment tools and techniques to deal with a wide variety of conditions that involve lymph, muscle, nerve, fascia and joints of the body as well as a wellness focus that maintains physical health, function and mobility.

Program Highlights

• Programs at Centennial College are awarded Key Performance Indicator Awards based on student satisfaction survey statistics. The Massage Therapy program has received the President’s Academic Gold awards for Graduate Satisfaction and for Quality of Learning Experience.
• The Massage Therapy program will offer strong clinical components through onsite labs and clinics and offsite placements. 
• At Centennial’s Morningside Campus, you'll obtain hands-on practice in modern clinical spaces where you'll meet clients who experience injuries, dysfunction and disease. Your responsibility will be to offer assessment and treatment, under the supervision of experienced RMT faculty members, to help improve patients’ physical ability and quality of life.
• When you graduate, you'll be eligible to write the registration examinations administered by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO) to obtain the Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) designation. Centennial students have demonstrated an excellent success rate at the CMTO entry-to-practice examinations (see www.CMTO.com for results).

Centennial College's Biotechnology program will prepare you to work as a laboratory technician (in quality control and quality assurance) in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Biotechnology courses will provide practical application in industrial microbiology as well as chemistry (analytical), organic chemistry and biochemistry. Laboratory techniques, including appropriate safety procedures, will be extensively highlighted.

A special feature of this applied science program is its project-based approach, with independently-designed microbiology projects that will enhance your problem-solving and research skills.

You'll learn to:

• Isolate, enumerate and identify microorganisms from many types of samples (water, soil, air, the body, food, and pharmaceutical and cosmetic products);
• Prepare specimens for staining and become an expert light-microscopist;
• Become proficient in aseptic handling of materials;
• Accurately calibrate and use a range of instruments such as pH and BOD meters, gas chromatographs, spectrophotometers (regular/IR/UV) and HPLCs;
• Prepare microbiological media and reagents and culture pathogenic microbes;
• Design and perform your own microbiology experiments;
• Use microorganisms to assay pharmaceutical products.

You may graduate in two years as a biotechnician or continue into a third year to study specialized topics such as advanced biotechnology and microbial genetics or systematic microbiology. With the third year of study, you'll graduate from the Biotechnology – Advanced offering.

The Workplace and Wellness Health Promotion program, facilitated by Centennial College's School of Community and Health Studies, is one of the first graduate certificate programs of its kind in Canada. As such, it enjoys a respected national and international reputation and is recognized by leading employers.

The Workplace and Wellness Health Promotion courses will prepare you to promote the total well-being of individuals and groups within corporate and community contexts.

To do so effectively, in this college health program you'll:

• Benefit from acquiring essential program management and communication skills to become an effective manager of wellness and health promotion programs;
• Gain knowledge in providing wellness coaching, designing, implementing and evaluating effective health promotion strategies and programs, as well as managing programs in accordance with organizational policies and procedures;
• Focus on assessing health risk factors and developing health and wellness plans and strategies to promote individual and organizational well-being;
• Learn to utilize a variety of presentation techniques and strategies, develop a business case for wellness and market, and promote wellness programs.

As a Workplace Wellness and Health Promotion graduate skilled in program design and management, psychosocial and physical health issues, mental health management, program planning and health promotion theory, you'll bring a holistic and interprofessional approach to the field.

Program Highlights

• Program content will include program planning and management, mental health management, health promotion theory, organizational development, environmental health, coaching, business foundations and community health.
• You'll develop leadership skills through assessing individual and group health and wellness needs.
• You'll have the opportunity to design and implement workplace wellness projects.
• Faculty members have current and relevant industry experience.
• During the final semester, you'll strengthen your skills and explore career opportunities with a field placement and relevant experiential learning. The placement component will provide you with valuable and relevant work experience and networking opportunities.
• Credit for past educational experience will be considered through the PLAR process as stated on the official course outline.

Once you complete the Workplace and Wellness Health Promotion program, you'll be able to:

• Assess wellness needs of individuals, groups, organizations and communities;
• Apply best practices to design, implement, evaluate and manage effective individual and agency intervention strategies and wellness programs to achieve goals mutually determined through consultation;
• Effectively communicate verbally and in writing (e.g., presenting workshops, seminars, speeches and facilitating groups, writing reports and proposals, and developing promotional materials);
• Identify risk factors that influence human behaviour, health and wellness;
• Implement strategies that facilitate personal, organizational culture and community wellness;
• Analyze trends and issues in the political, social and economic environment and effectively deliver contemporary wellness programs that address these factors;
• Work in team settings and apply leadership and organizational skills to a variety of populations and settings;
• Provide appropriate referral information to assist individuals, groups and organizations;
• Advocate wellness concepts and philosophies in community and employment settings;
• Maintain professional helping and working relationships that adhere to legal and ethical standards;
• Apply principles of health promotion to a variety of diverse individuals, organizations and communities;
• Apply research design and methods to workplace wellness and health promotion projects;
• Examine the strategic approach to human resource management;
• Develop global citizenship and equity knowledge, skills and experience as it relates to sustainability of resources, individual and community identities, critical social analysis, and enhanced personal and social responsibility.