Health Unit Coordinating Certificate

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Program Start Date: Fall term
Minimum Program Length: 32 academic weeks; 2 consecutive terms day; 28 credits
Curriculum Code: 70715

Program Description

Health unit coordinating students gain skills to perform administrative duties for medical units, other departments in hospitals and various health care facilities. Students utilize knowledge of medical terminology, medical procedures and diagnostic tests to requisition hospital or medical services.

Practical Experience

Students develop interpersonal and technical skills that are vital to their role as communicators with physicians or health care personnel, patients and patients’ families. They acquire administrative competencies including transcribing physicians’ orders. The clinical rotations include hospitals, ambulatory care centers and long-term care facilities during the same term.

Professional Opportunities

Unit secretaries, clerks in other hospital areas, receptionists in physicians’ offices and other medical settings.

Unique Aspects

A criminal background investigation (CBI) and drug testing are required at student expense for each Health and Human Services student who has been accepted into a Spartanburg Community College curriculum program of study. For more information, please visit the Criminal Background Investigations and Drug Testing Policy section of the SCC webpage.

Graduates are eligible to take the national certification examination offered by the National Association of Health Unit Coordinators (NAHUC) to become a certified health unit coordinator.

EEDA Career Cluster:

Health Sciences

Course Requirements

COL 101 - College Orientation Credits: 1
(Note: Students who place into two or more developmental areas are required to take COL 103 in place of COL 101 .)
AHS 102 - Medical Terminology Credits: 3
AHS 170 - Fundamentals of Disease Credits: 3
CPT 101 - Introduction to Computers Credits: 3
ENG 165 - Professional Communications Credits: 3
HUC 110 - Health Unit Procedures I Credits: 7
HUC 120 - Health Unit Procedures II Credits: 8

Total Credits: 28

Semester Display

(Courses with *** are restricted and cannot be taken without permission of the department)

First Semester

AHS 170 - Fundamentals of Disease Credits: 3
AHS 102 - Medical Terminology Credits: 3
COL 101 - College Orientation Credits: 1
HUC 110 - Health Unit Procedures I Credits: 7 ***

Second Semester

CPT 101 - Introduction to Computers Credits: 3
ENG 165 - Professional Communications Credits: 3
HUC 120 - Health Unit Procedures II Credits: 8 ***

Total Credits: 28

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Demonstrate professional and ethical behavior expected in the workplace.
Demonstrate competency and accuracy in the skills and procedures required of a Health Unit Coordinator.
Coordinate physician orders for the patient between the physician, nursing staff and other hospital departments in both paper and electronic format.
Interact effectively with the nursing and medical staff, and patients, visitors, and other hospital departments.
Practice responsible and confidential communications as required in health care practice.