LPN Orthopaedic Certificate is a certificate in Nursing programme taught at Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada. The programme runs for 1 year, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 8,459 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Nursing
Duration: 1 year
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 8,459 / total
Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This certificate is designed for licensed practical nurses seeking specialized orthopaedic skills and runs for one year, totalling 635 hours, combining self-paced online study with a face-to-face practicum. The five-course sequence covers orthopaedic anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology, orthopaedic radiology and patient assessment, and specialty skills such as applying and removing casts, splints, and braces and operating and adjusting traction equipment, along with orthopaedic-specific wound care and patient teaching, before concluding in practicum preparation and a supervised practicum. The practicum places students in settings such as cast clinics, ambulatory care units, and emergency rooms. Applicants must hold an active provincial LPN licence, have a minimum of two years of full-time-equivalent acute care experience, and secure a written practicum placement agreement from an orthopaedic unit manager. Graduates are prepared to work as orthopaedic technicians alongside nurse practitioners and physicians in hospital and clinical settings.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This is a post-licensure certificate for practising nurses rather than an entry-level program, so admission does not rest on secondary-school grades or a language test. Applicants must hold an active practising licence with their provincial LPN regulatory body and provide proof of a minimum of two years of full-time-equivalent acute-care experience completed within the past five years. Each applicant must also secure a written practicum-placement agreement from an orthopaedic unit manager, hold current CPR Level C certification that must be maintained throughout the program, and demonstrate wound-care competency either through a letter from a clinical manager or wound-care training completed within the last two years. Health and safety clearances are required before starting: a criminal record check from the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General's Criminal Records Review Office, a tuberculin test within six months of application, and up-to-date immunisation records covering Td, measles, polio, rubella, Hepatitis B, varicella and an annual flu shot. No English-language test score is published. As of this review the program page stated it 'has not been scheduled.'
Application Details
Start Date:Intakes published by Okanagan College for this program: September 2026 (Distance). Campus availability differs by intake and the program page shows which are still open.
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants: there is no fixed closing date. Okanagan College opens applications on October's first business day each year, and programs that run several intakes across the year - Entry-Level Trades Foundation and health programs other than Nursing and Dental among them - keep taking applications for those intakes over the following ten months. Most programs accept applications right up to the start date and close only when the seats are gone, so apply early and check each intake's status on the program page. Apply through EducationPlannerBC, choosing Continuing Studies as the faculty; the fee is $30 CAD. This program is offered to domestic applicants only.
