Community Health Worker Certificate: Harper College

Create a world of healthy opportunities for your community

Program facts

Credit hours: 17
Stackable to degree: No
Potential job outcomes:
Community health worker, health advocate, patient navigator,
Promotores de Salud

Prepare for a career as a community health worker with this 17-credit-hour certificate program.

Take classes in community health, helping skills in human services, medical terminology, multiculturalism in the helping professions and more.

This program will prepare you for a career as a community health worker, health advocate, or patient navigator at a community-based organization.

Certificate program requirements

Program Overview

This 17 credit-hour certificate program provides entry level education and field experience for students wishing to obtain a position as a Community Health Worker. This program prepares students for community health positions such as community health advocates, lay health educators, community health representatives, patient navigators, and Promotores de Salud. The certificate can be completed in two semesters with full-time study in the first semester and professional practice experience in semester two, or on a part-time basis over three semesters.

FIRST SEMESTER:

A grade of C or better is required in all courses.

Number	Course Title	Credits
CHW 101	Introduction to Community Health Work	3
Description: Introduces the student to the role of the community health worker. The evolution of community health work will be explored with an emphasis on the current core competencies for the field. Students will be introduced to case management, home visits, and group facilitation. Class Schedule: Spring 2020 \| Summer 2020 \| Fall 2020
HED 203	Community Health	3
Description: Focuses on the functions of community health organizations and the way they relate to individual health needs. Helps students to analyze and evaluate health promotion practices at the community level. Class Schedule: Spring 2020 \| Summer 2020 \| Fall 2020
HMS 102	Helping Skills in Human Services	3
Description: Studies practical aspects of helping strategies and interpersonal skills. Focuses on the use of techniques to improve communication, facilitate change, better evaluate relationships and resolve conflicts. Designed for persons in helping roles, professional and paraprofessional, or volunteers in Human Services and health care settings. Prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in CHW 101 or HMS 101 with a grade of C or better. Class Schedule: Spring 2020 \| Summer 2020 \| Fall 2020
HMS 121	Multiculturalism in the Helping Professions	3
Description: Explores a variety of social, theoretical, psychological and political issues related to multicultural competency in Human Services practice. Concepts of race, ethnicity, culture, class, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnocentrism, oppression, and power will be explored. Experiential and community-engaged instruction is utilized to integrate current issues with culturally responsive service delivery. Practical application of acquired awareness, knowledge and skills will be stressed. Recommended: Prior or concurrent enrollment in HMS 101 or CHW 101. Class Schedule: Spring 2020 \| Summer 2020 \| Fall 2020
HSC 112	Medical Terminology	2
Description: Emphasizes the origin and the basic structure of medical words, including prefixes, suffixes, word roots, combining forms and plurals. Offers pronunciation, spelling, and definition of medical terms based on the body systems approach. Emphasis on rendering a professional vocabulary required for work in the health care field. Class Schedule: Spring 2020 \| Summer 2020 \| Fall 2020

SECOND SEMESTER:

A grade of C or better is required in all courses.

Number	Course Title	Credits
CHW 210	Community Health Worker Practicum	3
Description: Provides the student with a minimum of 125 hours of supervised field placement experience, with application of acquired knowledge and skills through observation and participation in the field of Community Health Work. Introduces students to community health settings, clientele and professionals to provide a foundation for career development. Increases comprehension of how agencies interact with other entities in their communities, and how community health practitioners interact in community settings with individuals, families, health and human service organizations, policy, coalitions and government institutions. Prerequisite: CHW 101, HED 203, HMS 102, HMS 121 and HSC 112 with grades of C or better, or consent of coordinator. Class Schedule: Spring 2020 \| Summer 2020 \| Fall 2020

Number

Course Title

Credits

CHW 210

Community Health Worker Practicum

Description: Provides the student with a minimum of 125 hours of supervised field placement experience, with application of acquired knowledge and skills through observation and participation in the field of Community Health Work. Introduces students to community health settings, clientele and professionals to provide a foundation for career development. Increases comprehension of how agencies interact with other entities in their communities, and how community health practitioners interact in community settings with individuals, families, health and human service organizations, policy, coalitions and government institutions.

Prerequisite: CHW 101, HED 203, HMS 102, HMS 121 and HSC 112 with grades of C or better, or consent of coordinator.

Class Schedule: Spring 2020 | Summer 2020 | Fall 2020

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Related program

Students interested in community health may also be interested in:

Human Services AAS Degree

Resources

Harper Career Paths: Community Health Worker

Next steps

For more information about the Community Health Worker Certificate program, contact Admission Outreach at 847.925.6700, or submit a request information form. You can also apply online.