Issue 2 December
Happy Holidays Health Studies!
2014
The Apple The Holiday Issue
The Apple - Holiday Issue HSSA's online Newsletter This is our last issue of The Apple for the 2015 year, and it's just in time for the holidays! Included are upcoming events within the School of Health Studies, recap of past events from November, relevant news and events in the field of Health Sciences and a nutritious recipe for you to try out.
The purpose of this newsletter is to help keep the student body up to date and informed of what's happening within their faculty, any upcoming events and things to look out for. If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, or perhaps a recipe you'd like to subimit or an article topic you'd like to suggest, feel free to email us at westernhssa@gmail.com!
WHAT'S ONE THING YOU LOOK FORWARD TO FOR THE HOLIDAYS? TARA: Eggnog KYLEEN: Eat. ALISIYAH: Catching up with family and friends MIN: Baking!!! JENNA: Skiing MARISKA: Christmas cookies :) ABBY: Christmas tree decorating JENNIFER: eating all day with family and friends From the Apple newsletter family, we wish you a happy holiday!
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NOVEMBER EVENT RECAP: Career Convos & Cookies After the Career Fair, HSSA held our first ever Career Convos & Cookies event, which was a great success! It was an opportunity for current students to network with current graduate students who have graduated from the BHSc program in an interactive settings. Students from Professional & Graduate Programs talked
about their experiences and facilitate an open discussion in an interactive setting. BHSc alumni from Schulich Medicine, Western Law, OT, Health Promotion, Rehab Science, Clinical Anatomy and Compressed Nursing were incredibly helpful in talking about their first-hand experience in their respective programs.
Final Exam Season is upon us! Make sure that you know the dates your final exams are scheduled on! Tips for studying for finals: - Make a study schedule and stick with it! - Take breaks when necessary - Feed yourself nutritious meals (use some of our recipes!)
Thank you to those who came out, we hope you enjoyed the cookies & coffee, and most importantly, we hope this event was beneficial for your future planning. If you missed this event, not to worry! We may be holding a second event in second semester. Stay tuned!
Last year, we heard your pleas for study spaces! We are happy to announce that HSB will be open for the exam season from 6:00 am to 10:30 pm 7 days-a-week. Happy studying!
S.A.D By: Jenna Williamson As the days seem shorter and filled with more darkness, you may be beginning to feel blue, or thinking that you may have signs of depression. In these months it is not unusual for a disorder known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), to start to play a part in more people’s lives. SAD is a type of depression that is related to the change in seasons, (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/ definition/con-20021047). This disorder begins in the fall and runs into the winter months. It is due to the change in weather including temperature drop and the sun setting at a much earlier time, resulting in it being dark more than it seems to be light. SAD can result in a decrease in energy that leaves you feeling more moody and less wanting or willing to do things. You may begin to realize that you are starting to do less with your days and cutting back on activities you once did much more often. In order to not let these winter months get the best of you, or if you feel you may be experiencing signs of SAD, it is important to use the daylight to the best of your ability. This may
include getting out more in the daytime and leaving the activities you can do in the house for when it turns darker. Try waking up earlier to lengthen your day, it will make you feel more energized and awake throughout the rest of the day because you have increased your time in the light, rather than the majority of your day spent in darkness. Another technique suggested by those who diagnose SAD, is light therapy (http:// www.cbc.ca/news/sad-no-longer-brilliant-lightcure-for-seasonal-disorder-1.2962056). Light therapy treatment includes sitting in front of a light that mimics the outdoor light. Most light therapies are used for a minimum of 30 minutes each morning. If you feel that SAD may be something you are experiencing you can start by taking some basic undertakings such as using the daylight to the best of your ability or the light box treatment. It is very important that if you feel you have SAD that you seek medical advice and get the proper recommendations to help you adjust and cope with SAD.
Great success at the: Health Science Career Direction Fair We hope that many of you had the chance to attend the Career Direction Fair that happened on November 10 at the Great Hall. The event showcased both Health Studies and Kinesiology related post-undergraduate school programs and employment opportunities. Keep an eye out for the LinkedIn pictures taken by HSSA! We hope all of those who attended learned a thing or two about your future career directions!
Destressing for your mental health By: Mariska Batohi The Western community experienced another student death mid November. This students suicide renews the discussion on mental health (although it never left campus). Even with Western’s strong emphasis on mental health during orientation week and other awareness campaigns, we have not progressed far enough to have saved this students life It will take hard work and time to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues but it is an attainable goal. For university students many mental health problems arise from the stress of being in school, while juggling extracurriculars and jobs, all the while thinking about future career paths. This stress can be a lot to deal with (especially with finals on the horizon), so here are a few tips to try and become a mentally strong person when handling stress.
Keep your problems in perspective This area is especially important to first years. It may seem like the end of the world if you fail an exam or drop from 90s in high school to 60s in first year, but try to look at the bigger picture! One exam or one course will NOT define your entire future. Reassure yourself You made it to university. You are a smart person. You can do this! Having a positive outlook can really make a difference Focus on what you can control Wasting time on things you cannot control, like a failed relationship or a cat fight with a roommate are a part of life. Do your best to overlook these minor factors and focus more on things that will have a lasting impact on your life.
Spend time with positive people Who you spend your free time with is a huge influence on your career path and who you are going to be. If you find some of your friends are no longer a positive influence and do not push you to better yourself personally and academically, it may be time to let those relationships drift away. Use healthy Coping Skills As university students many of us turn to drinking, partying, and eating unhealthy foods to celebrate the end of midterms or to alleviate stress during busy times. Of course these things are fine in moderation but when it starts happening three times a week, it’s time to reevaluate. Working out is an excellent stress relief, try new things like boxing, swimming, and pilates. Have fun!
Ways to Give Back During the Holiday Season By: Abigail Dzur The saying “it is better to give than to receive” rings true especially this time of year. As we approach the holiday season people are seen hustling and bustling around buying gifts for family and friends. Black Friday commercials, huge holiday sales and advertisements on every type of media are all focused on getting gifts and spending lots of money. Despite the over commercialization of the holiday season, there appears to be a growing trend towards giving to those in need. Many people cannot afford basic expenses of day-to-day life and when Christmas, Hanukah, Diwali, or Kwanza rolls around, instead of being a time of happiness it becomes a time of stress or even sadness. Everyone should have a happy holiday season! If you want to give back this year here are some ideas for you to help out: 1. Donate to a local toy drive; contribute to give a child in need a gift on Christmas. 2. Visit your local homeless
shelter and donate blankets, gloves, hats, or coats. Help them to stay warm and survive the winter.
providers, nurses, or teachers. It may be a simple thing to do but it can mean a lot for such hard working people.
3. Sponsor a child or family through World Vision or a local hospital. Help make their holidays better by donating money or making a basket/ hamper filled with things they need.
9. A very unique organization to give to is Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. This organization sends shoeboxes filled by you with hygiene items, school supplies, and toys to boys and girls in need all over the world.
4. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or donate food/money to your local food bank. 5. Donate to a charity of your choice. 6. If you have a particular talent for example singing or playing an instrument, visit your local children’s hospital or seniors home so that you may share it with them. 7. Donate clothes or toys to the Salvation Army or to the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy (OFCP). 8. Bake cookies or other goodies or write a card for people you appreciate, such as local firefighters, EMT service
10. Practice random acts of kindness. Here are some ideas to try out, pay for the person behind you in the drive thru line, leave money in a vending machine for the next person, buy a homeless person some lunch, hold the door for someone. It really doesn’t take much to help others, especially to those in need. You will be surprised with how happy you can make a person with such simple acts of kindness and generosity. The holiday season is a perfect time of year to give back to your community, so don’t miss the opportunity!
Thoughts with Profs with: Dr. Anita Kothari Name: Anita Kothari (also Program Coordinator for the Joint Graduate Program in Health Information Science) Courses Taught: Health Policy, Knowledge Translation (graduate and undergraduate), Research Methods, Health Promotion (graduate) Hometown: Toronto Previous schools studied in (and what degrees): University of Toronto (BHSc, MHSc), McMaster University (PhD), and University of Ottawa (Postdoctoral fellowship) Years @ UWO: 11 Office hours: I’m pretty much on campus everyday…. Email address: akothari@uwo.ca, Twitter: @anitarena Favourite place on campus: Anywhere that sells coffee. Interests/Hobbies: Coffee, Running, Adventures Fun fact: I was a busker in Europe…for two days! Why did you become a professor? Honestly, it wasn’t something I
planned - it just kinda happened. The real question is why did I do a PhD in the first place, and the answer to that is I wanted to learn how to think deeply, and I wanted some time to sink my teeth into a topic. So I quit my job at the Canadian Medical Association to return to school. What’s the hardest part about being a professor? What’s the best part? The hardest part about being a professor is having to help students deal with their disappointments. Not everyone can get an A. Not everyone can get into grad school, or med school. In fact, not everyone can finish their Bachelor’s degree. It’s really difficult to help a student understand that there are many valuable lives in this world, and maybe the one they thought would make them happy isn’t actually available to them. The best part about being a professor is when you see, either in their writing or their eyes, that ‘ah ha’ moment when the student gets it. They understand the concept, or how to write about something, or they just get into it somehow. That’s a great moment. That’s a moment of growth.
Do you have a favourite memory of a student that you taught or something that happened in one of your classes? It’s hard to pick just one memory. I love getting cards from previous students who fill me in on their latest achievements, and how something they learned in class was key to getting the job or their career choice. I remember a student who annoyed me by reading the newspaper in class (and I called him out on it). To my surprise, he went on to do a PhD in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program. He was around for many years and we joked about his rude newspaper habits. Finally, I remember one student who graduated recently who was a ‘super organizer’. She would get the (small) class to do lots of things together, including going to hot yoga. That was a bit weird (but fun). Tell us something that students don’t know about you I haven’t taught an undergraduate class in a couple of years so I don’t think many current students know me at all...
What was your favourite course when you were a student? Do you have a crazy story from your undergraduate years you’d like to share? Most of my favourite courses were the ones I took in graduate school, like Health Policy or Philosophy of Science (3 students, 3 profs – super fun!). My undergraduate experience at University of Toronto is a hazy memory at this point but I do remember that some alumni would serve tea one day a week in a really beautiful building on campus. It was served in some lovely tea cups with cookies. That’s not really a crazy story, is it? Here’s another one: U of T used to own this farm that
groups could rent out for a weekend in exchange for doing some work on the property. A bunch of us went…okay I can’t actually tell you the rest. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen at Western University during your time here? I haven’t been here all that long but I suppose more buildings are going up. More interdisciplinary programs are on offer, and there are definitely more international students and mature students around. These are all good things. Diversity brings in new experiences and ways of looking at the world that benefit all students.
Do you ever check Rate My Profs? Urgh. I hate that site. Have you checked Rate My Student? If you could be a superhero, what would your super powers be? If I could be a superhero I would have the power of time ‘cause there’s never enough. I would give it freely. Any tips for students? Get involved in everything the university has to offer! Don’t regret your time here – it’s a very special moment in your life that will stay with you forever.
The Grad Column: Sherine Fahmy By: Kyleen Wong This month, The Grad Column is featuring the Master’s of Public Health (MPH) program. We talked to Kent, an Academic Counsellor in the School of Health studies and Sherine Fahmy, a recent Health Studies and MPH graduate now working as a Health Policy Analyst at the College of Family Physicians Canada. Here is what Kent had to say about the MPH program. So Kent, could you please give us a little bit of a background as to what an MPH is and the different schools in Ontario that offer the degree? Kent: Master’s of Public Health are offered at multiple schools in Ontario and throughout Canada– for example, we’ve had BHSc. graduates from within the past 5 years complete MPH programs in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia. Specifically for Ontario, the MPH program at U. of T. has been the most popular with our graduates, with other ones including Western’s own new one-year MPH along with the programs at Queen’s, Waterloo, and Guelph. Kent: I’m happy to connect any current BHSc. students with such recent graduates if they’d like to
discuss such options with me directly. Is this a common degree that BHSc graduates from our program pursue? Kent: It is very much a common graduate degree our graduates pursue, the most popular of health-related Master’s degree focuses for our BHSc. graduates in recent years. In the interview, Sherine talked a little bit about the experience of looking for a job and the competitiveness of the field. Could you speak to this? Kent: There are great public health related jobs available, but there certainly is competition for them. Students should aggressively network and partake in activities in relation to the field, so a couple of good examples would be to become student members of the Canadian Public Health Association (http:// www.cpha.ca/en/about/students/ join.aspx ) and/or the Ontario Public Health Association (http:// opha.on.ca/Membership.aspx ) which would look great to place on their CV along with gaining other important advantages such as access to their membership directories, being able to receive journals/digests, and receiving discounts to products and professional development
opportunity events such as their annual public health conferences. Thanks for the great advice Kent. Sherine Fahmy, BHSc ’14, completed her Master’s of Public Health from Western earlier this summer. Why did you end up doing a MPH and why Western? Were there other professional or graduate schools you were interested in? Sherine: I was interested in a MPH because I was passionate about the social determinants of health in general. I felt that pursuing an MPH would allow me to experience that and also allow me to examine other aspects of healthcare that we didn’t get to cover in undergrad. Public health covers a lot of things, from health promotion, infection disease and control, health policy, environmental health. I wanted to do a Masters that was broad and could expose me to a variety of different topics. The reason I chose Western was because the program is casebased. Case-based programs allow you to develop your critical thinking skills and puts you into teams that mimic the real-world environment. You’re given a complex situation to solve within your team made up of individuals
with diverse educational and cultural backgrounds. I was able to draw on those teamwork skills once I started my job at the College of Family Physicians Canada. The program took a very practical approach and got you to think about the implications of your actions. I actually only applied to MPH programs throughout the province. I considered doing a thesis-based program but decided against it because I didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in. Like many health science students, I didn’t know what I wanted to do specifically; I had an interest in social determinants of health but I didn’t know what that would look like if I continued into a thesis-based Masters. If students know they’re very passionate about one thing, they should pursue that and become experts in it. But I knew that I wanted to get a broad understanding of everything that I could apply. I wanted to gain skill sets and I think I got that from my Masters; the ability to critically think, write, and analyze information. Could you tell us more about the structure of Western’s MPH program and the practicum? Sherine: The program is 3 terms over tweleve months, beginning of September and going all the way until August. The first 2
terms are in-class and your days are from 8am to 4pm every day. You have a variety of courses and take about 8 classes per semester. It’s a very intense workload; the program administrators support you a lot but it’s a lot to handle at once for sure. Some of the courses include environmental health, health policy, community health assessment, program evaluation, epidemiology, biostatistics, Aboriginal health, and sociocultural determinants of health. You spend your mornings in classes and you have 3 each morning and each one is about an hour and half. You have the readings for the courses for the whole semester laid out for you. Two days before discussing the case in class, you’re expected to read the case on your own and prepare for it. The next day, in the afternoon from 1pm to 4pm, you spend your time with your learning team preparing the cases for the next day. This allows for a very high level of discussion. Because you do the readings for them in advance and prepare with your group so you have a solid understanding of the topic; you’ve discussed it and helped each other out. Then you debate in class or make a decision, depending on the case. You’re having a very intellectual discussion in class and that’s something I really appreciated because my classmates were healthcare
professionals from a variety of fields so they brought a very realistic perspective. Participation is worth almost 30% of your final grade and it’s based on the idea of participating and not the quantity but the quality of your comments. Not everyone learns in the same way. By the end of the year, everyone is more comfortable expressing themselves orally. The last term is a practicum which is a 12-week placement. Some people did it internationally, like with WHO [World Health Organization] in India. I did mine with the Canadian Public Health Association because I was interested in policy. There are opportunities for people interested in epidemiology, community health, health promotion, in New York, in India, in Tanzania, Ireland. Public health is very diverse. The practicum component was a really important part of the program, especially for a new graduate like myself who doesn’t have as much experience. A lot of other students in the class already have professional experience so perhaps the practicum wasn’t as useful. But for me, it really helped to have the practical experience to talk about when applying to jobs, to be able to speak to it in interviews.
Can we ask you about how you got your practicum placement? Was there a lot of support in securing a placement? Sherine: The program actually sets up the placements for you; you don’t do any outreach yourself. So at the beginning of the school year, the administrators have you fill out a survey ranking organizations you want to work for. In January, they release a placement list. In my graduating class of 41 people, there were there were over 60 placements available. The placements are reserved for Western students so that if you had to interview them if there was demand for it, it would only be between you and other classmates. One of the advantages of this program is that there is a Career Coordinator onsite. Not only does she help you with finding a practicum placement, but she helps with writing resumes, updating LinkedIn profiles, and doing mock interviews. I was definitely working a lot with her throughout my practicum and during the last semester of school while I was applying for jobs. She provides job listings for you as well, which I found very helpful. Other schools have Career Coordinators onsite, but not all schools help the students with finding placements. There are pros and cons to that. Students have to find their own placements and compete with the general public, but the placements they secure are usually paid while ours generally are not. But for me,
I was willing to sacrifice threemonths of pay for the experience. I appreciated the opportunity to get this job I probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. The practicum wasn’t just about going to work for 12-weeks. There’s an integration component with your learning. At the end of your Masters, you submit a case. So the case is based on what you’ve learned in your practicum and cases that are well-written and relevant will get published in Western’s casebook and will get taught to future students. There is no thesis component to this degree, but we had this culminating case project and then a poster presentation. Even when we were doing our practicums, we weren’t just working from 8am-4pm; we were also working on our cases and posters. Is it true that you can’t receive OSAP funding to cover the tuition of this program? Sherine: Yes. The MPH administration has applied for OSAP funding; however, OSAP is currently frozen by the provincial government. So tell me about your position as a Health Policy Analyst with the College of Family Physicians Canada. Sherine: I work in a department of health policy and government relations. I support them by doing health policy research, writing research papers or reports or
briefing notes, and sometimes editing publications. I do research analysis of provincial, territorial, and federal policies and legislation. I conduct research on physician statements, discussion papers. I also do correspondence with key stakeholders. I have two groups of physicians that I correspond with. For example we had an elections website up, doing a lot of government relations. We were looking at what the parties were releasing in terms of their commitment to healthcare and updating the website so our members could be educated voters. Now that we have a new government, we’re looking at the legislation that is being passed. For example, the Carter case—the Supreme Court announced that they would give the government a year to come up with legislation that would permit physicianassisted suicide. So we came up with a guiding document for physicians. We see what the current political climate is like and respond with health policy briefs. We also do advocacy work. Recently, we did a release in support of national Pharmacare.
How did you obtain the position? Sherine: There was a listing on the organization’s website. I drafted my resume, I interviewed for the position twice, and I got it. It sounds easy, but it wasn’t. You have to be dedicated to the process. I applied to over forty jobs in the span of four months and I got two interviews, Yes, I was one of the lucky ones who got a job before we even graduated, but it wasn’t an easy process. Overall, there are a lot of jobs out there, but also a lot of competition. It’s up to the students to distinguish themselves with the experiences that they have and bring across their passions. We learned about the importance of networking and maintaining contacts with people in the field. In terms of distinguishing yourself, we were wondering if there was anything you did in particular in your undergraduate years to prepare yourself for graduate school. Were there any particular classes or extracurricular activities that shaped you on your current career path? Sherine: So one of the things that I did that I really enjoyed was volunteering at the London Intercommunity Health Center. I started in my second year and volunteered throughout my third and fourth years as well. In my fourth year, I did my practicum there. It was really great to get
firsthand experience working with marginalized populations. It fueled my interest in the social determinants of health. That was really downstream work and now I’m doing very upstream work in policy. But all my knowledge and the reason why I’m passionate about policy is because I saw is in the frontlines. I learned so much from the people who worked at the community center and through my practicum placement there. I definitely spoke about that experience in my letters of intent to graduate schools. In terms of distinguishing yourself in undergrad, go beyond the classroom and do something that isn’t in a textbook. Volunteering really helped me decide what I wanted to do.
Is there any other advice you would like to share with current undergraduate Health Studies students? Sherine: I’ve probably already said this, but make the most out of your experience. You’re going to miss the time you spend at Western and it’s always going to be a part of you, so take the time to really get involved on and offcampus and make friends and take the words of your professors seriously.
In terms of classes I took, I tried to take classes that I was genuinely interested in. You would be surprised how far you go when you pick a class because you actually like it. It’s really about what you’re interested in. I really enjoyed my Advanced Health Policy class and International Health Systems Comparisons course.
If you are curious about the MPH program and would like to learn more about the program from past students, please contact Kent Robinson, an Academic Counsellor in the School of Health Studies, at krobin42@uwo.ca.
So where do you see yourself in five or ten years? Sherine: I would love to see myself taking on health advocacy initiatives at the policy level and continuing to make upstream changes that influence patient care on the front lines.
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Sherine. We really appreciate it and we know that a lot of students will find your perspective as a recent Western Health Studies and MPH graduate insightful.
Past events in November CHARIT & CHIL OPEN MIC NIGHT HSSA's Charity & Chil event was a huge success! Student's came out to Chil Frozen Yogurt Bar on Nov 17th for some froyo, board games, live music, charity and good company! While devouring delicious frozen yogurt, students were constantly being impressed by the talented and beautiful singers Megan Davis and HSSA's very own Vanessa Omoruna! Later on in the evening Cameron Lee surprised everyone with his Sax and performed various jazz numbers which provided the perfect ambiance. You may be wondering how all this fun translates into charity? A portion of the proceeds from frozen yogurt purchases were donated to Team Shan Breast Cancer Awareness for Young Women. Charity & Chil >
FALL PREVIEW DAY Fall Preview Day took place on November 15th. The health science building had very high traffic of prospective students considering the health studies, kinesiology, and nursing programs. Students from all around Canada visited Western and were greeted by student volunteers, affiliated association members, and health sciences administration. It was a very nostalgic experience to speak to dozens of highschools students about their education paths and journeys. It was particularly interesting to see how much all the volunteers have grown in their understanding of health studies, how their passions may have changed or sparked, and how much Western has played a role in preparing them for the next steps in their lives. Eight hours and a sore throat later, the event was a complete success! Yay!
Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to improve sleep quality By: Jennifer Helen Lee With exams around the corner, stress levels are on the rise again—and may be affecting your sleep. Anyone who has had sleep issues knows the frustration of being unable to fall or stay asleep, and feeling like a zombie during the day due to poor quality sleep at night. Sleep deprivation can negatively affect both your mood and concentration, which can in turn affect your quality of life and maybe even your marks. With that in mind, getting your sleeping problems under control is a key step in managing your life. Fortunately, there are simple techniques that can be used to improve sleep quality. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that was originally designed to treat depression, but is now used for a number of mental disorders. While actual CBT requires a psychologist, acting on the core principles of CBT in your daily life can definitely help reduce sleep problems. Essentially, CBT is about learning new ways of thinking to manage your symptoms.
But what does this mean for people with issues sleeping? First, it requires relearning what your sleep environment means to you. Many people (especially students living in cramped rental houses) work from their bedroom or on their bed. This can create an association in your mind between your bedroom and being awake, making it difficult to “turn off” your mind when you actually want to sleep. Using your bedroom only for sleeping can help rewire that association. When you do go to bed, another important factor is mindfulness: are you lying in bed thinking of all the work you need to do? Are you tense or gritting your teeth? Paying attention to the thought patterns that contribute to your stress can keep you from sleeping well. An effective coping mechanism is keeping a To-Do list, so that you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything important. Other simple modifications in behaviour can also have a positive impact, such as being mindful of caffeine intake, having regular bedtimes, keeping your sleeping
environment distraction-free, and finding a way to physically relax before bed. Using the principles of CBT can help locate the behaviours and thought patterns that are preventing you from sleeping well, but at the end of the day, every person has different issues with sleep and will consequentially have different solutions to the problem. However, the key traits necessary for success are openness to self-examination and willingness to change. Happy sleeping!
Student Opportunity Fund (SOF) 2016
Calvin and Hobbes: Christmas Edition