The University College of the North will start offering Health Care Aid programs next year.

 

Helga Bryant, UCN’s Dean of Health, said the program represents a first step towards a “rewarding healthcare career journey.”

 

The 20-week program will start in February next year and run in Thompson, The Pas, and Swan River.

 

The program will feature a combination of theory and clinical instruction and, when complete, will leave students prepared to enter various clinical jobs in the health care system.

 

Healthcare aid vacancies are as high as 50 percent in some areas in northern Manitoba, which has resulted in reduced services.

 

The UCN also offers rotating health care aid programs running through the north upon request, with discussions on providing the program in Flin Flon next.