Hi there,

I'm trying to make a comprehensive list of schools in Canada (primarily Western Canada) which offer training for Dialysis Assisstants and Technicians as well as in Nephrology Nursing. So far I have found BCIT, Mount Royal College (Alberta), the University of Alberta, Mohawk College (Hamilton, Ontario), Humber College (Toronto), and Georgian College (Barrie, Ontario); of these, only the last seems to have a Dialysis technician course.

Can anyone here offer any suggestions for additions to the list? Thanks!

Susan

Actually, Georgian College is a Dialysis Technologist I don't think they offer a technician course. I think, Vancouver Community College offers a 3 month technician course.

I am currently enrolled on-line in the Georgian College program. You must meet certain prerequisites and the program is challenging and comprehensive.

If you are contemplating enrolement be aware of the healthcare structure in different Provinces. Basically a technologist will be treated and paid as a technician in B.C.
This does little for the system as a whole but there are so few dialysis technologists here the system does not take into account their role.

In Canada, what is the difference between
a technician and a technologist !

The primary difference is that a tecnician went to school for two years while a technologist went to school for three. The georgian course is a post grad course only, i.e. you have to be a technician from a select group of disciplines to qualify for in person class's. The on-line courses, as far as I know, are available to anyone already in the business so to speak.

There's some sort of rumor floating around that BCIT will be adding some sort of dialysis technician course, but the details are slim as far as I know

In some places a tech course is just one year long where as a technologist course is two years long. It varies from province to province and state to state.The main difference is the core courses taken.

In British Columbia the Renal Technician course is only 3 months long. Though there is an expectation that the job duties are somewhat limited.

My personal opinion is that I think there is also room for the technologist role. Given the complexity of day to day operations in dialysis a well rounded overveiw of both the technologic and clinical aspects of dialysis allows greater synergy between the clinical and technological issues. This allows for awareness of issues that might not otherwise be addressed. Hopefully, Canadian stadards for core competencies will take presidence.