Domestic students
$6,277.35
total program cost
Nursing Unit Assistant Certificate
Start a career in health care
Build specialized health care administration skills and prepare for work in hospitals and patient care facilities. Learn to manage records, coordinate appointments and process medical orders through hands-on training and a 125-hour practicum.
Program at a glance
Credential
Certificate Certificates are short programs focused on specific skills or subjects. They are a fast and flexible way to start a new career, upgrade your qualifications or gain professional recognition.
Delivery mode
Online (scheduled) Online (scheduled)
Time commitment
Part-time You take fewer courses at once and progress more slowly. This option offers more flexibility for work or personal commitments.
Duration
1 year
Program codes
- Code: ZNUA
Cost
$6,277.35 total program cost Domestic students: $6,277 total program cost
Location
- Kelowna or Vernon Full program offered in Kelowna or Vernon
- Penticton Partial program offered in Penticton
Available for
- Domestic students
Program features
TBD
Program overview
About the program
Nursing Unit Assistants play an important role in keeping patient care organized and efficient. You'll learn how to manage patient charts, coordinate appointments, process physician orders and communicate with departments across a health care facility.
The 439-hour certificate combines online instruction with a 125-hour supervised practicum at an accredited health care facility. Practicum placements may be available at hospitals in Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Kamloops or Salmon Arm.
Skills you'll learn
- Medical terminology
- Patient records management
- Appointment coordination
- Medical order processing
- Data entry and keyboarding
- Health care communication
- Documentation
- Scheduling and coordination
- Patient information management
Tools you'll learn
- Electronic health records
- Patient charting systems
- Medical information systems
- Data-entry and scheduling systems
- Microsoft Office and productivity tools
Work-integrated learning
Practicum details
- Okanagan College has a limited number of Nursing Unit Assistant practicum placements available for each regional hospital in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton. Your practicum location is determined by the hospital located near the campus you apply to.
- Vernon – Vernon Jubilee Hospital
- Kelowna – Kelowna General Hospital
- Penticton – Penticton Regional Hospital.
- For placements at Kamloops/Royal Inland Hospital or Salmon Arm/Shuswap Lake General Hospital, please apply to the Vernon Campus and inform us of your practicum preference at RIH or SLGH.
- The hospitals set the schedules, you do not choose the hours for your practicum.
Already have experience in this area? This program qualifies for our Recognition of Prior Learning review. If some of your previous experience could apply to this program, please see Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for more information.
The Nursing Unit Assistant is a key member of the healthcare team, has frequent contact with nursing and medical staff, and performs a wide range of clerical duties related to the operation of a patient/resident care facility.
This 439-hour Nursing Unit Assistant Certificate program focuses on the theory and application skills of the various roles and responsibilities of a Nursing Unit Assistant through classroom demonstrations and a 125-hour supervised practicum at accredited facilities. Topics include: medical terminology and abbreviations, coordinating patient/resident appointments, transcribing and processing physicians' orders, communicating with other healthcare departments and hospitals, assembling/maintaining patient/resident charts, performing keyboarding and data-entry responsibilities, arranging patient/resident tests and receiving results, telephone answering, and receiving and directing visitors.
*Please note: This program is not student loan eligible.
Tuition and fees
- Domestic students: $6,277 total program cost
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plus applicable textbooks and/or materials
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Check if this program is student loan eligible. View Financial Aid and Awards
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All amounts are approximate and are subject to change.
- There is one book for Medical Terminology. You can purchase it online through the OC Campus Store. All other course materials are provided in an electronic format.
- You will need a computer or laptop with a camera, microphone and speakers.
Admission and program requirements
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B.C. secondary school graduation, or equivalent, or 19 years of age and out of secondary school for at least one year as of the first day of classes.
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English 12 with minimum 60% or alternatives.
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Applicants must provide evidence of a negative tuberculin test, taken no more than six months before the date of application (or evidence of an appropriate follow-up if the test was positive)
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A criminal record check clearance from the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General's Criminal Records Review Office. Okanagan College's Admissions will provide applicants with instructions to submit the request to the Solicitor General's Office and a deadline for the College to receive the clearance letter. Applicants should only initiate their criminal record check when instructed by Admissions. Failure to provide a clearance letter by the deadline may result in a cancellation of the applicant's admission application.
A minimum of 50% of the program must be completed through OC.
- Some employers require a typing speed of 40 - 50 wpm. Students are expected to attain this minimum speed independently and may utilize a number of free typing programs online. To meet an employer’s typing speed requirement, typing tests are available through your nearest Okanagan College. See campus contact info on our Continuing Studies page.
- Good computer literacy is required to be successful in this program and career.
Schedule and campus options
From September to December all scheduled classes are done online with live lectures. In mid-January, students come to campus for face-to-face classes on Saturdays (the weekday classes remain online). All lectures have mandatory attendance.
When applying online, choose Continuing Studies as the faculty.
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Start date
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Location
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Delivery mode
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Application status
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Sep. 2026
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Vernon
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Online (scheduled)
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Open
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Note: Part-time. Online Synchronous, Tue/Thu 6 - 9 p.m. and Sat 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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Program details
MOA 01 - Medical Terminology
NUA 100 - Communication Skills for Nursing Unit Assistants
NUA 110 - Patient Chart Records
NUA 120 - Admissions, Transfers, and Discharges
NUA 130 - Pharmacology
NUA 140 - Processing Medication Orders
NUA 150 - Processing Laboratory Orders
NUA 160 - Processing Diagnostic Orders
NUA 170 - Processing Interventional Orders
NUA 180 - Practicum