Further Education
2021-2022

Further Education 2021-2022

Health Service Skills (Healthcare Assistant) 5M3782

A Healthcare Assistant supports existing staff in a hospital or care setting in the practical care and general welfare of clients. They play a vital role on the care team. Career opportunities are excellent as many care settings require prospective employees to hold relevant certification such as this one. The course will allow you to develop the necessary skills and training to enable you to seek employment in the healthcare sector. The National Quality Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older People require all newly recruited care staff and those in posts less than one year, to commence training to Level 5 QQI or equivalent within two years of taking up employment.

Apply for this course
This course is designed to

Equip the learner with the knowledge and practical skills required for a career as a hospital attendant / multi-task attendant / professional carer in a variety of care settings such as Nursing Homes, hospitals, day care centres, private home care and personal assistant work.

Course Content

  • Care Support 5N0758

  • Safety & Health at Work 5N1794

  • Care Skills 5N2770

  • Infection Prevention & Control 5N3734

  • Communications 5N0690

  • Work Experience (Learner must complete 150 hours in a Care Setting) 5N1356

  • Activities of Living Patient Care 5N3707

  • Care of the Older Person 5N2706

Certification

  • QQI Level 5 Award in Health Service Skills (5M3782)

  • IATI ( Irish Ambulance Training Institute )

  • Fire Safe Training Ireland

Optional Certification

  • PHECC [First Aid] & Patient Moving & Handling may be taken as additional certification and will incur additional costs. Check with Course Director for details

  • Fire Safety Awareness Course

  • Training in the Protection of Older People From Abuse

  • Patient Moving and Handling Certification

Progression to Higher Education:

Students who successfully complete the course may gain entry to Third Level Institutes and Colleges through the Higher Education Links Click for details of * CAO Requirements Lookup

Career Opportunities

  • Hospitals

  • Residential Homes

  • Nursing Homes

  • Day Care Centres

  • Home Care Assistants

  • Home Care Agency Work

  • Hospice Settings

Fees:

  • Student Services €175

  • DES Programme Participation Contribution €200

  • Patient Moving and Handling Course Fee €50

  • QQI Certification Fee €50

  • Hepatitis B Vaccine €150

  • Fire Safety Online Training €20

Total €645

Duration

This is a full-time one-year course and runs from September to May.

Adult Education

Full-time registered students of GTI may access a range of adult education courses at a reduced fee.

For more Information and contact

ann.jennings@gretb.ie

Testimonial: Caoimhe Hynes

My name is Caoimhe Clare Hynes. I completed the QQI Level 5 Health Service Skills programme at GTI in May 2021. After working many years in management roles, I decided to pursue a career in healthcare, and I can honestly say it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am passionate about helping people and making a difference in their lives and for me I believe working in healthcare is one of the most rewarding career choices This course has provided me with the skills and knowledge necessary for my career in healthcare. Furthermore, I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this course, it has been a number of years since I have engaged in study and I found the whole experience to be very educational and well planned. Initially I was worried about starting the course being a mature student, working full time and being a mum to a busy toddler. However the pace of the delivery and the support from tutors helped me to complete each module successfully. This year the course was mainly delivered online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and my main concern on commencing an online course was that I may not learn and retain as much information as if I would in a classroom environment, however now that I have applied myself to online learning, I do not feel this way. The workload was organised in a way that I could research and complete the assignments in enough time and also learn about each module and not feel overloaded or rushed. I didn’t expect to learn so much from an online class, the format was presented very well, the PowerPoints and online notes were extremely beneficial and easy to understand.
I was encouraged and supported by fantastic tutors throughout my academic year at GTI. The support offered was second to none and I never felt like I was on my own. I could contact them anytime for advice or information and they were always happy to help. I particularly enjoyed the online interaction with other students on the course. I found myself in many interesting discussions with my classmates on a range of relevant topics. I was also lucky to secure a work placement on St. Pius Ward (Urology Ward) at University Hospital Galway, which was the highlight of the course for me as I got to put all the theory into practice. Overall, I found this course to be a great experience and very informative and I would highly recommend this course to anyone with an interest in progressing their careers in this dynamic and challenging area.

Erasmus + Placement

Every year, students who successfully meet the criteria for this exciting opportunity, will travel to Madrid in Spain where they will work under supervision of senior care workers in a busy hospital setting for 3 weeks. These placements are fully funded by the European Commission.