Diploma in Practical Nurse for Internationally Educated Nurses

at NorQuest College - Edmonton Campus Canada

The first of its kind in western Canada, this new two-year diploma program explores what distinguishes settlement work from other disciplines in the human services sector. You will learn models and approaches to effectively work with migrant diaspora communities, and strategies to help bridge cultural divides between newcomer communities and Canadian society. 

Transferability
The Settlement Studies program will allow graduates from the NorQuest College Community Support Worker program to transfer directly into Year 2 of the diploma program. In addition, there will be significant overlap in the content of foundational courses offered in the Settlement Studies and Disability Studies diploma programs. 

NorQuest College offers an approved and accredited two-year full-time Social Work diploma program with a multicultural focus. As its mission, the program emphasizes the value of human diversity and teaches the practice of social work within an anti-oppressive framework that is supportive and empowering.

As a social worker, you may have the ability to improve the quality of life for yourself and for others through self-reflection and offering resources, services, and opportunities for your prospective clients. In addition, you will be prepared to create social change through your work and professional activities.

Program themes include:

• Competency working in different cultures
• Social work practice that recognizes and deals with oppression
• Awareness of cultural displacement issues
• Awareness of personal abilities and resiliency
• Spirituality
• Community practice
• Holistic practice
• Practice in specialized settings

Students in the Social Work program can expect to develop knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• Social work foundations
• The helping process
• Social policy
• Assessment and interviewing
• Social work models and practice
• Working with groups
• Working with families and communities
• Mental health
• Abuse, violence, and addictions

The Social Work diploma program teaches students the value of human diversity in the context of Indigenous and multicultural knowledge and practices within an anti-oppressive and ethical framework that is supportive and empowering.

Practicum/Work Experience

• This program includes two practicums totalling 700 hours.

NorQuest College’s Justice diploma program is an interdisciplinary program that allows students to gain skills and knowledge across the spectrum of the justice field. It is a unique offering in the Edmonton region and in Alberta. The program offers broad education in the justice field that leads directly to a career as well as university transfer courses for laddering opportunities to university. Students will select from a variety of electives that are linked to areas such as diversity and inclusion, Indigenous justice, youth justice, law enforcement, and corrections.

Graduates will be prepared to explore a number of career options within the justice field and to work collaboratively with other justice professionals. Justice students will explore a broad range of skills important to a justice career including crisis intervention skills, health and wellness initiatives, and strategies for working with diverse groups of Canadians. Students have the option to focus on specific areas of interest, including youth work, corrections and law enforcement, Indigenous justice, advocacy, and many others.

NorQuest’s Health Care Aide program is among the largest in Canada and prepares you to be part of a health-care team in a variety of different settings, providing frontline care to clients in need of assistance.

Student Success
Students are more likely to be successful in this program if they:

• Are physically and emotionally able to manage workplace demands
• Have access to a vehicle to travel to complete their practicum
• Have access to a computer and basic computer skills
• Applicants should review the job requirements listed below and assess your ability to fulfill the demands of the health care aide occupation.

As a health care aide, you must be able to:

• Work day, evening, and night shifts any day of the week
• Be on your feet for extended periods of time
• Bend, squat and lift up to 40 pounds to move clients who have minimal body strength
• Function effectively in stressful situations
• Perform all skills independently

The Health Care Aide Workplace Education option is offered throughout Alberta in partnership with health-care employers. Consult your employer if you are interested in this program option.

Practicum/Work Experience
This program includes four practicums totalling 800 hours.

Business Analysis professionals play a vital role in helping organization create efficiencies, update processes, and modernize to meet the challenges of today. This is a non-credit program that issues a Professional Certificate upon successful completion of the courses and three-month work integrated learning component.

The Early Learning and Child Care diploma program will combine theory with practice to prepare graduates for Child Development Supervisor certifications from Alberta Human Services.

Early learning and child care professionals play an important role in supporting families and promoting healthy growth. Research shows the early years are critical in shaping a child's overall development. The importance of play in how children understand the world around them is embedded throughout this program, and it aligns well with current Canadian curriculum frameworks in early learning and care.

Note: Graduates of NorQuest's Early Learning and Child Care – certificate program or other Early Learning and Child Care certificate programs should apply to the Early Learning and Child Care – diploma (year 2 only) version of the program.

Practicum/Work Experience

• This program includes four practicums totalling 800 hours.

In this nationally accredited diploma program, you will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to work in this fast-paced and highly respected occupation. This includes dispensing prescriptions, compounding medications, preparing sterile products, and providing patient care.

Student Success
Students are more likely to be successful in this program if they:

• Are detail-oriented
• Have strong arithmetic skills
• Can multi-task and problem-solve effectively
• Have access to a computer with strong computer and typing skills
• Have good written and verbal communication skills
• Have good vision and manual dexterity and can stand and sit for extended periods of time.
• Applicants are requested to review the job requirements listed below and assess their ability to fulfill the demands of the occupation of pharmacy technician.

As a pharmacy technician, you must be able to:

• Work day, evening, and weekend shifts
• Stand and sit for extended periods of time
• Use your knees, back, and arms to move objects that weigh up to 10 kilograms
• Have good manual dexterity and vision, which are essential for some tasks
• Physically and emotionally manage workplace demands
• Function effectively in stressful situations
• Multi-task and problem-solve
• Perform all skills independently
• Work collaboratively with other health-care professionals
• Communicate effectively in written and verbal form with patients, colleagues, and other health care professionals.

Additional Program Details
NorQuest’s pharmacy technician lab provides students with practical, hands-on training in compounding, sterile product preparation, repackaging, inventory management, and dispensing. In the lab, students have the opportunity to use technologies currently employed by those working in the profession, including laminar airflow hoods and Kroll® computer software.

Our state-of-the-art simulation lab prepares students to work collaboratively with other health-care professionals as part of an interdisciplinary team.
For more information on becoming a registered pharmacy technician in the province of Alberta, visit the Alberta College of Pharmacy website.

Practicum/Work Experience
This program includes two practicums totalling 320 hours.

To meet Alberta's growing needs in health care, the demand for licensed practical nurses is increasing. NorQuest College's Practical Nurse program, one of the largest in Canada, will prepare you to become a professional practical nurse educated to give high-quality care to clients in a variety of health-care settings.

What to expect from the program
Students are more likely to be successful in this program if they:

• are physically and emotionally able to manage workplace demands
• have access to a vehicle to travel to complete their clinical practice
• have access to a computer and Internet, and basic computer skills
• are able to demonstrate professional and ethical behaviour

This one-year professional certificate program will prepare you to become a leader in the food and beverage industry. Learners will be ready to manage existing establishments or take their first step in launching a business.

Accounting technicians are involved in the day-to-day practical work of accountancy and play a key operational role in producing reliable financial information. They may also perform a wide range of finance roles, from accounts clerk to financial controller and beyond.

Graduates from this program will have the basic theory, technical knowledge, computer competencies, and skills to enter the accounting field at an entry-level position. Our program equips graduates to perform financial accounting, budgeting, costing, and tax returns. The work experience component of the program allows you to gain hands-on experience in the field.

What to Expect as an Accounting Technician

• Accounting technicians are involved in processing invoices, recording receipts and payments, payroll, bookkeeping, auditing external and internal work, and preparing and checking ledger balances and other monthly and yearly accounts. They also handle company expenses, control budgets, prepare financial transactions, and use computerized accounting systems. Accounting technicians usually work regular weekday hours in a comfortable office environment.
• Accounting technicians can work on their own, in a large accounts team, or alongside professional accountants. While they are not accountants, they can perform many of the same functions and are qualified to take accounts beyond the trial balance stage, as well as prepare full financial accounts. There is always a strong demand for these skills in industry.
• Self-employed accounting technicians provide a range of accounting services to businesses, which may include advising on budgets and taxation issues, calculating end-of-year accounts, and consultancy.