Rockford Career College

Love animals? Well, Animal Welfare Administration may offer the perfect career choice. Animal Welfare Administration is essential for the well-being of pets everywhere and caring for animals when owners or former owners cannot. Animal Welfare Administration involves:

• Learning how animals cope with the conditions of their environment.
• Gauging animal welfare, identifying potential risks to animals and mitigating those risks.
• Fully understanding the essentials of animal care such as health & nutrition, animal ethics & law and pet behavior characteristics.
• Providing customer service to pet owners through outstanding shelter management and client communications
• Improving the lives of the animals under your care.

While there are multiple avenues to enter Animal Welfare Administration, one of the best ways to get a leg up in the field is through related education and course work. Our Animal Welfare Administration program can be completed in as little as 9 months. You will learn:

• The nature and process of animal shelter medicine, infectious disease, animal anatomy and physiology.
• Coping techniques to improve and control animal behavior and animal enrichment.
• Common veterinary terminology and procedure.
• Proper facility management, volunteer management and customer service.

A Healthcare Administration Associate of Applied Science (AAS) is fascinating program of study that can open multiple doors for entry-level positions in the Healthcare field. Healthcare Administration AAS involves:

• General patient care through improved efficiency and quality of care.
• Working as part of a team to establish and exceed institutional goals.
• Managing patient data and working with insurance providers.
• Maintaining compliance with healthcare laws and regulations.
• Helping patients improve healthcare outcomes and improve lives.

This program is designed for individuals who have already completed some coursework in a Healthcare concentration or are graduates of related programs.

There are few better and faster ways to gain the necessary knowledge and get a leg up in healthcare than through an Associate degree program. Our degree program can be completed in just 7 months and has been carefully designed to provide:

• Advanced study of healthcare management and best practices.
• Examination of diversity issues facing today’s healthcare professional.
• Coursework on digital communication strategies, including social media.
• Oral, written communications and ethics courses.

If you love details and are always the dependable one in your group of friends, Medical Office Billing and Coding may be the perfect career choice. In the rapidly growing medical industry, Medical Record Specialists are needed to:

• Process and transcribe diagnoses, treatments and patient procedures.
• Standardize payer codes for government and commercial reimbursement.
• Work as part of a team to meet medical reimbursement cycle goals.
• Act as a key liaison between providers and insurers.
• Help patients improve healthcare outcomes and improve lives.

Medical Office Billing & Coding is highly complex and detailed work. To thrive in this environment is helpful to have the necessary background and fundamental knowledge necessary to succeed in the role. Our degree program can be completed in just 10 months and has been carefully designed to provide:

• Real-world best practices for processing medical data.
• Understand medical coding and the language of a healthcare office.
• Understand medical coding and the language of a healthcare office.
• Classes in CPT, ICD and HCPS coding and insurance claim processing.

Caring for animals is not only virtuous; it’s also an interesting and great career choice. Veterinary Assistant and Grooming typically involves:

• Caring and nurturing for animals and tending to their daily needs.
• Maintaining a clean and safe environment for animals.
• Understanding the common language of Veterinary professionals.
• Handling and restraining animals in an ethical manner.
• Providing proper animal nutrition.

A Veterinary Assistant career is one of the fastest paths to enter Veterinary services. Veterinary Assistants enjoy a diverse work environment and are critically important to the expanding industry of animal care.

Some people just have a knack for communicating with animals. If you are one of these people, one of the best ways to start a career in the animal services is through a diploma program. At Rockford Career College, our Diploma in Veterinary Assistant and Grooming can be completed in just 12 months and has been carefully designed to:

• Provide advanced lessons in professionalism, communication, and collaboration skills in a veterinary setting.
• Identify and describe the legal and ethical standards, guidelines, and regulations pertinent to the veterinary assistant field.
• Learn critical knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology in small animals as it relates to a veterinary assistant profession.
• Explain and perform appropriate administrative tasks effectively.

In addition to attendance in all courses, students will be required to complete out-of-class assignments. These assignments include reading, exercises and problem solving, projects, and presentations. A student can anticipate out-of-class activities that equal to about two (2) hours for every one (1) hour of lecture.

Few healthcare functions would be possible without Medical Assistants. This varied and fundamentally important career, is critical in providing services such as:

• Working alongside physicians and nurses to provide administrative support.
• Measuring and recording vital signs.
• Ensuring stellar patient experiences through appointment scheduling, cleansing rooms and processing customer data.
• In some cases, obtaining patient samples.
• Helping patients improve healthcare outcomes and improve lives.

Due to the complexities of healthcare and the importance of patient care, a diploma program is a great way to gain fundamental industry knowledge to launch a healthcare career. Our diploma program can be completed in just 10 months and has been carefully designed to provide:

• Instruction in both clerical and clinical best practices and skills.
• Development of medical communication and critical thinking.
• Includes a 160-hour externship designed to gain hands-on experience.
• Real-life examples of common challenges in the healthcare world.

Practical Nursing, often referred to as Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN), is a very rewarding career and many are even considered as heroes in their communities. Practical Nurses have the power to change lives through their actions and are typically responsible for:

• Providing basic nursing care and being responsible for patient comfort.
• Checking blood pressure, changing bandages or other patient needs.
• Monitoring and reporting patient vitals to doctors and other medical staff.
• Under certain circumstances, administering medications.

One of the most common paths to become a Licensed Practical Nurse is through a diploma program. This approach provides invaluable lessons that aid in preparing for the NCLEX exam and help you launch a career in practical nursing. Our diploma program can be completed in just 14 months and has been carefully designed to:

• Provide necessary training to pass the NCLEX exam.
• Studies in anatomy, pharmacology and nutrition.
• Course work in clinical skills, critical thinking, medical ethics and nursing care.
• How to create a safe environment for patients, family and the community.

Looking for a fast-paced, exciting career? This is it. A Surgical Technician assists with all manner of operating room (OR) procedures and patient care. They are critical to pre-operative processes and ensure the sterilization of equipment and the room itself. Some of their duties include:

• Organizing pre-operative equipment and ready the OR for surgery.
• Assisting surgeons during surgical procedures.
• Preparing and administering medications, assisting in retracting tissues and passing surgical tools as necessary.
• Applying bandages and removing patients after an operation.
• Participating in the sterilization of equipment.

Surgical Technology offers a rewarding career. To enter this field, one of the best paths is through an accredited degree program. Our program can be completed in just 18 months and will prepare you through:

• Advanced studies in anatomy, microbiology and physiology.
• In-depth study of medical terminology and operating room procedures.
• An externship in a healthcare setting, providing real-world experience.
• General education course work to meet the requirements of an associate degree.

Animal Sciences

Helping animals in their critical hour of need is at the core of what a Veterinary Technician does. This hands-on profession, sometimes referred to as simply a Vet Tech or Veterinary Assistant, involves:

• Providing critical support services for Veterinarians and animal hospital staff
• Participating in lab tests and sampling and ensure equipment is ready for administering services.
• Taking x-rays and performing physical exams prior to veterinary procedures.
• Supervising and training personnel in the essentials of animal care.
• Delivering exceptional customer service to pet owners.

To gain employment as a Veterinary Technician or Veterinary Assistant, it is highly valuable to graduate from an accredited program and have passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE). At Rockford Career College, our program will focus on the core subjects you need to master to pass this exam, including:

• Anesthesia
• Emergency Medicine/Critical Care
• Pharmacy & Pharmacology
• Pain Management/Analgesia
• Dentistry
• Laboratory Procedures
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Animal Care & Nursing
• Surgical Nursing

Rockford Career College’s Academic Associate of Applied Science Degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography program prepares students to become competent sonographers in the general ultrasound concentration. Graduates of the program will acquire entry-level cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills to perform quality diagnostic ultrasound examinations required of a general sonographer on the abdomen, pregnant and non-pregnant pelvis, fetal structures and fetal measurements, superficial structures and segments of the vascular system.

• Knowledge and understanding of human gross and sectional anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology and recognition of normal and abnormal sonographic appearances.
• Knowledge, understanding and clinical application of acoustical physics, Doppler principles and ultrasound instrumentation in optimizing ultrasound examinations.
• Knowledge and understanding of ultrasound and tissue interactions and the probability of biological effects.
• Knowledge and understanding of the role of a sonographer in performing interventional/invasive procedures.