Diploma in Social Work

at Medicine Hat College Canada

Improving client health, movement and quality of life is the reward for a career as an Occupational Therapist Assistant/Physical Therapist Assistant (OTA/PTA). As an OTA/PTA, you will work under the direction of occupational therapists (OT) to help clients of all ages and health conditions successfully perform daily activities related to self-care, leisure, and work, school or play. You will also work under the direction of physiotherapists (PT) to provide treatment that helps patients recover from illness or injury to increase mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or lessen physical limitations.

This two-year diploma program offers extensive classroom training and valuable practicum experiences with potential employers in hospitals, private clinics, home care settings, schools, and community programs. Through the use of games or crafts, group activities, exercises, assistive devices, and various electrotherapy and physical modalities, you’ll have opportunities to bring your compassion and creativity to a health care and rehabilitation team.  

MHC's new agroecology program provides you with the competencies required for producing food, forage, fiber, and fuel using sustainable methods. Courses within the program will prepare you with a range of knowledge in the three E’s:

• Environment,
• Economics, and
• Energy using systems theory.

Cultivating food for future generations, this program provides you the scientific knowledge to optimize interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment to grow food with minimal impact to our world.

Whether you are a small-scale farmer, urban grower or entrepreneur, the agroecology diploma gives you exposure to a variety of topics preparing you to diversify your current operations or start a venture. Expand your knowledge in areas, such as:

• Holistic (Grazing) Management: A value-based decision-making framework that integrates all aspects of planning for social, economic, and environmental considerations.
• Mycoculture: Mushroom cultivation for food production, medicine, or other ecological applications.
• Permaculture: Principals which allow us to create a culture that can sustain and prosper for generations to come. It considers care for the planet, care for people and fair share.
• Rangelands: Ecosystems comprised of grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are typically grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals.
• Vermiculture: The process of using worms to decompose organic food waste, turning the waste into a nutrient-rich material.
• Eco-system: A geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.
• Systems thinking: A process of understanding how elements like air, water, energy, plants and animals influence one another to thrive.

This program meets the knowledge, technical skills, and performance competencies required for certification with the Alberta Institute of Agrologists as a registered Technologist in Agrology (RTAg). This program also maximizes transfer opportunities to universities offering sustainable agriculture programs.

Your future success in business rests on the foundation of knowledge and skills you’ll build in the Business Administration Diploma program. This program offers you the opportunity to focus on your strength and career goals, with majors in Accounting, Financial Services, Hospitality & Tourism (pending government approval), Marketing, Management, and Administrative Office Professional. All students are admitted into a common first year before concentrating on a specific area through declaring a major in your second year.

Accounting prepares you for an entry-level accounting position. In addition to acquiring a basic knowledge of accounting theory and practice, you will gain a range of business skills that are of value to many businesses and organizations. If your goal is to be recognized by the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA), you can build a program that fulfills the designation's requirements.

When lives are on the line, the skills and knowledge of a paramedic can make the difference between life and death. The Bachelor of Applied Health Science – Paramedic degree program prepares learners to be an integral part of the health care team, primarily within the pre-hospital environment.

MHC’s (Paramedic) program has been created to meet the emerging needs of patients, practitioners and employers. It enables you to move seamlessly through the various levels of preparation for careers in Emergency Medical Services, ultimately allowing you to attain the Advanced Care Paramedic Diploma or to continue on to the Bachelor of Applied Health Science Paramedic Degree.

Prospective students must be mature and highly motivated to deal with the stress of emergency care, critical care and shift work. Paramedics must think independently, exercise good judgment, communicate effectively with others and work well in multidisciplinary environments. The training provided not only addresses the necessary skills of a paramedic but also the skills required to perform with confidence in a variety of situations, effectively interact with others and maintain professional decorum whether in simple or complex situations.

There is a high demand for paramedics who are employed by public and private ambulance services provincially, nationally and internationally. Paramedics also work in a variety of industrial and community-based emergency health settings.

Your future success in business rests on the foundation of knowledge and skills you’ll build in the Business Administration Diploma program. This program offers you the opportunity to focus on your strength and career goals, with majors in Accounting, Financial Services, Hospitality & Tourism (pending government approval), Marketing, Management, and Administrative Office Professional. All students are admitted into a common first year before concentrating on a specific area through declaring a major in your second year.

Financial Services is designed to prepare you for entry level positions in banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. Courses in the program include personal investing, accounting, marketing, and communications. These subjects will help provide you with a wide range of knowledge and skills related to modern business theory and practice.

When lives are on the line, the skills and knowledge of a paramedic can make the difference between life and death. The Bachelor of Applied Health Science – Paramedic degree program prepares learners to be an integral part of the health care team, primarily within the pre-hospital environment.

MHC’s Bachelor of Applied Health Science (Paramedic) Degree has been created to meet the emerging needs of patients, practitioners and employers. It enables you to move seamlessly through the various levels of preparation for careers in Emergency Medical Services, ultimately allowing you to attain the Advanced Care Paramedic Diploma or to continue on to the Bachelor of Applied Health Science Paramedic Degree.

Prospective students must be mature and highly motivated to deal with the stress of emergency care, critical care and shift work. Paramedics must think independently, exercise good judgment, communicate effectively with others and work well in multidisciplinary environments. The training provided not only addresses the necessary skills of a paramedic but also the skills required to perform with confidence in a variety of situations, effectively interact with others and maintain professional decorum whether in simple or complex situations.

There is a high demand for paramedics who are employed by public and private ambulance services provincially, nationally and internationally. Paramedics also work in a variety of industrial and community-based emergency health settings.

One of the greatest rewards of working with children is learning how to see the world through their eyes. If you love caring for young children and working with families, our Early Learning and Child Care program will help prepare you for a fulfilling and playful career in this field.

Throughout the program, you will learn the importance of play in the lives of children, and our classes give you lots of hands-on learning opportunities. We play with art materials, story props, and science and math materials to better understand how children learn and how we can help teach them.  

Our program also gives you the opportunity to apply theory to practice every semester through a five-week practicum setting. You’ll be able to practice your communication skills, better understand child development, and provide developmentally appropriate programming for children in a variety of settings.

The business program offers you the opportunity to focus on your own strengths and career goals. Students interested in the Accounting, Marketing, Financial Services, and Management majors take a common first year of classes before concentrating on a specific area. You can also pursue a Business/Administrative Office Professional major.

Accounting prepares you for an entry-level accounting position. In addition to acquiring a basic knowledge of accounting theory and practice, you will gain a range of business skills that are of value to many businesses and organizations. If your goal is to earn recognition as a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA), you can build a program that fulfills the designation's requirements.

Financial Services is designed to prepare you for entry level positions in banks, credit unions and other financial institutions. Courses in the program include personal investing, accounting, marketing, and communications. These subjects will help provide you with a wide range of knowledge and skills related to modern business theory and practice.

Marketing prepares you for careers in the field by focusing on the skills needed to create successful relationships with consumers and organizational customers. Possible areas of employment include sales promotion, sales, customer relations/service, marketing research, advertising, public relations, and retailing.

Management students are prepared for entry-level positions in profit and non-profit organizations. Graduates may also choose to work for a small or family-owned business or to become an entrepreneur.

Business/Administrative Office Professional is appropriate for individuals wishing to work in a technical position within a business office or develop comprehensive perspective on business theory and practice. You may enter this major after completing the Administrative Office Professional certificate.

Service Dog and Canine Studies Management is an exciting new opportunity that prepares students for a career in a wide range of canine-related fields. This program explores canine care and a variety of dog training techniques while having the student train a service dog for a specific disability that will be placed with an actual client at the end of their schooling. It is a two-year, five-semester, program including workplace integrated learning in both shelters/kennels and a two-month spring course in a service dog organization that will give the student a valuable professional experience as part of their education. The program is designed for the student who enjoys working with animals and working in a therapeutic and helping profession field.

This two-year program provides learners with the ability to pursue flexible degree options and develop a variety of transferrable skills to support diverse career paths, while empowering them to think creatively and with an inquisitive mind.