The School of Continuing Education at MacEwan University offers Nursing Professional Development courses that provide students the opportunity to stay up-to-date on current technology, practice and theory to renew or advance their clinical practice knowledge. These courses provide students with flexibility to enrol anywhere, anytime and complete on their own time within four months. Whether you are looking to change your career focus, specialize, update your skills or meet a requirement for licensure, completing a course or courses with the Health Professional Development Program will provide you with a certificate demonstrating your mastery of the content. These courses are created by practitioners to meet the knowledge and skill requirements in the clinical practice environment.
Program Eligibility
To be eligible for this program, you must have at least two years of formal health care related education. Examples include the following:
- Practical Nurses (PNs)
- Registered Practical Nurses (Ontario)
- Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs)
- Registered Nurses (RNs)
- Registered Psychiatric Nurses
- Therapists, including physiotherapists, occupational and respiratory
- Pharmacists
- Speech language pathologists
- Primary and Advanced Care Paramedics
Learning and Career Growth
Enhancing Gerontology and Palliative Care in Rural and Remote Communities is a non-credit professional development micro-credential and certificate program for health-care professionals. Each of the seven (7) 15-hour micro-credentials offers flexible, high-quality gerontology and palliative care training designed for health-care professionals working in, or planning to work in, Alberta’s rural and remote communities. Micro-credentials are delivered asynchronously and supported by an experienced nursing educator.
The suite of micro-credentials comprising the certificate includes two core micro-credentials focusing on gerontology and palliative care, together with a choice of three (of five) elective micro-credentials addressing current practice needs, leadership, communication skills, cultural safety, optimizing comfort and care and digital innovation. The program aims to strengthen clinician competence, collaboration and continuing care services in Alberta’s rural and remote communities.
This program will help you:
- Provide person-centred, ethical and culturally safe gerontological and palliative care that supports dignity, comfort, autonomy and quality of life for older adults and individuals with serious illness in rural and remote communities.
- Apply evidence-informed gerontological and palliative care principles across the illness trajectory, including assessment, symptom management, end-of-life care and ongoing reassessment of goals of care.
- Develop and adapt individualized care plans that integrate patient- and family-defined goals, cultural and contextual factors, interprofessional collaboration and rural resource realities.
- Communicate and collaborate effectively within interprofessional teams, using clear, compassionate, and structured communication strategies to support safe, coordinated and equitable care.
Duration and Delivery
- Each of the 7 micro-credentials is 15 hours. Online anytime delivery.
- The full certificate is 75 hours when learners complete 5 of 7 micro-credentials. NURS 0501 Aging Well in Canada and NURS 0502: Palliative Approach to End-of-life Care are mandatory.
Fees
Tuition-free for Fall 2026 and Winter 2027.
Disclaimer:
These are non-credit professional development courses and completion does not confer licensure, registration or authorization to practice nursing in any jurisdiction. Learners are responsible for applying course content only within their lawful scope of practice, employer policies and required supervision.