The Aging Studies Certificate is a multidisciplinary approach to the study of aging, the aging process, and working with older adults. Biological, sociological, and psychological aspects of aging are explored. The certificate aims to educate individuals seeking a career in the field of aging, pursuing advancement in their careers, and/or who desire to expand their knowledge for personal growth. The certificate allows students to choose elective courses and provides suggested pathways and career objectives. Employment opportunities may include: business, marketing, environmental design, nutrition, health, recreation, fitness, food services/preparation, social/human services, senior communities, home health care, caregiving, and travel. Additional certification, degrees, and/or training may be required for the fields listed depending on the employer and occupation.

The Yoga Instructor Certificate of Achievement is designed to deepen students’ understanding of yoga by investigating the biomechanics of yoga postures, learning to use anatomical cueing for proper alignment in poses, examining effective teaching techniques for a variety of settings, and exploring the history and philosophy of yoga. Upon successful completion of the Yoga Instructor Certificate, students will be eligible to apply for their Yoga Alliance 200‐hour instructor certification and will be prepared for employment as a trained yoga teacher in public and private settings. Yoga Alliance is the largest and most influential governing body in the yoga field, thus providing our Yoga Instructor students with a prestigious certification. A minimum grade of “C” in all courses is required to receive this award, and 10 additional hours of practice teaching hours and feedback forms are mandated for those students applying for the Yoga Alliance credential.

Achieving a healthy and sustainable food future is an urgent matter that depends on collaborative efforts among scientists, policy makers, nutritionists, farmers and environmentalists. The Sustainable Food Systems certificate will train students to relate food intake and dietary patterns to their environmental impact, both on individual and population levels. Students will critically assess and apply research on sustainable food systems to optimal dietary patterns and will learn to quantify resource use and manage waste for food production and consumption. Students will learn how to plan and develop sustainable diets—diets with low environmental impact that contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations.

The certificate will prepare students for a variety of entry‐level employment opportunities in governmental programs, school districts, restaurants and food establishments, the public health arena and nutritional and agricultural settings. The certificate can also be used to help those already in the field of nutrition further specialize their knowledge and experience.

The Sports Nutrition Certificate of Achievement will prepare students entering the growing field of sports nutrition—helping athletes optimize their performance through diet. Students will be trained to relate diet to health and fitness, identify deficiencies and excesses in the diets of athletes, apply research in the area of sports nutrition, utilize current dietary principles to optimize performance, and identify disordered eating and weight management practices inherent in many sports. They will learn how to plan balanced pre‐event, race‐day and recovery diets tailored to the unique needs of strength‐building and endurance athletes.

The certificate will prepare students for a wide variety of entry‐level employment opportunities in recreational programs, health clubs, medical centers, gyms, health food stores, nutritional supplement sales, and with sports teams. The certificate can also be used to help those already in the field of nutrition further specialize their knowledge and experience.

The Nursing Program at Saddleback College offers a curriculum that qualifies the graduate to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The program provides graduates with the education necessary to become competent entry level registered nurses, to obtain employment in a variety of settings, and to provide quality patient centered care.

The Nursing Program offers evidence-based theory and clinical nursing courses that build upon a foundation of biological, psychological, and social sciences, as well as communication skills, and critical thinking, to prepare competent entry level professional registered nurses. The Nursing Program focuses on a strong medical surgical foundation, and the application of nursing process across the lifespan in a variety of healthcare settings to deliver high quality health care. Leadership skills and lifelong learning are emphasized as the student nurse takes on the role of the professional RN.

This certificate provides skills and knowledge to work in a new, multidisciplinary field. Students will be introduced to the basic concepts of public health infrastructure, data analysis and reporting, public health informatics and information systems, health services organization and delivery methods, data interchange standards, disruptive innovation, and data integrity, privacy, and security.  Students can explore careers in the fields of public health, health information management, IT, and health informatics specifically as Medical Records Specialists, Health Information Technologists, and Medical Registrars. The certificate is for both entry-level individuals and for providing additional competencies to those employed in various fields.

This certificate is designed for students interested in the field of personal training and fitness instruction. Students completing this certification will learn the fundamentals of exercise science, theory and application techniques for various modes of fitness training, how to perform fitness assessments, the effects of social, psychological, and behavioral factors on training, basics of sports nutrition, and how to create personalized training programs. Upon completion of this certification program, students will be prepared for entry‐level personal training and fitness specialist positions in fitness clubs, health and wellness centers, educational institutes, and community establishments. Courses in this program also prepare students to further their certification through the nationally recognized, American Council on Exercise (ACE).

The Paramedic program is designed to prepare the student for licensure as a Paramedic. It is an intense, full-time program consisting of lecture, skills lab, clinical practice, and field internship. Students must possess a current CPR-Health Care Provider Card and are also required to have a current EMT license and one-year recent work experience. Students must have or purchase malpractice insurance prior to taking PM 230*.

The Nutrition Certificate of Achievement program prepares students for a wide variety of employment opportunities involving the applications of fundamentals of nutrition. Employment possibilities include public agencies, day‐care centers for the young and the elderly, food co‐ops, recreational programs, pregnancy and weight management clinics, school food service, nutrition education programs in schools, health clubs, gyms and figure salons, health food and supplement stores, hospitals, nutritional supplement sales, and rehabilitation programs. The program also offers coursework for professional improvement.

By completing the Nutrition certificate, students will be trained to relate nutrition to health, fitness and disease; to critically assess and apply research in the area of nutritional sciences; to apply current dietary guidelines and nutrition recommendations for good health; to interpret and analyze nutrition labeling; to identify the function, deficiencies, toxicities and sources of nutrients; to identify causes and solutions to obesity and eating disorders; to identify causes and prevention of foodborne illness; to identify food‐based solutions to dietary inadequacies; and to compare nutritional needs throughout the life cycle.

The Mental Health Worker Certificate of Achievement program provides the knowledge, skills, and cultural competencies needed to engage in best practices in the field of mental health. It prepares individuals to work as paraprofessionals in entry-level positions in the field of mental health. The Mental Health Worker program introduces students to co-occurring disorders and integrated services, benefits and entitlement acquisitions, the recovery model, and the early identification of mental health issues and evidence-based practices. This program option combines the Human Services behavioral core skills training and clinical supervised experiential learning in Cooperative Work Experience mental health fieldwork settings.