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A new course through the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (Sask. DLC) offers students the opportunity to explore health care as a potential career path.
Darren Gasper, CEO of the centre, said 11 students have already signed up for Health Careers 20L.
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“The best thing that we can hear back is when kids take a course like these ones, it might be in the trades, it might be in health care, and they come back to us and let us know that they have a career opportunity or a very clear career path for them,” he said. “That’s pretty rewarding to us.”
Students who sign up for the course will learn about a variety of health care careers like nursing, patient care, diagnostics, pharmacy, dentistry, mental wellness, addictions treatment, and emergency care.
Gasper said the program took 18 months in total to develop alongside the Ministry of Health, the Virtual Health Hub, and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Darren Gasper, CEO of the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre, made the announcement of the program on Tuesday. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)
Students will be instructed about health care system procedures, ethics, safety, and communication.
Education Minister Everett Hindley said the course will be available for students in Grade 10 to 12.
“I think back to my time in high school … and wish that I had this opportunity to learn about some of the more exciting opportunities that are available across across our province, and across Canada, and the globe,” he said.
“We all know that our health-care system continues to grow, continues to evolve, and there’s some really unique opportunities here. I hope that it does bode well in terms of providing for opportunities for students.”
Education Minister Everett Hindley said the earlier more students can be introduced to the health-care field, the better. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)
Hindley said students would learn about some newer roles within health care.
“A couple of additions, I understand, have been added in through some consultation with the Virtual Health Hub, include potential opportunities as physician assistants and in virtual health-care administration — things that didn’t exist all that long ago,” he said.
Some courses through the Sask. DLC — like its Energy and Mines Oil & Gas 30 — do include a work placement.
Gasper said he sees the program growing to include field trips to different post-secondary health-care training sites.
“We see this as a great opportunity to help them learn about those careers, learn about the pathway to get into them and get their foot down that pathway and moving,” he said.
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