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Category: Campus Life

  • Medical School Curricula: Traditional Medicine Vs. Naturopathic Medicine

    Medical School Curricula: Traditional Medicine Vs. Naturopathic Medicine

    Did you know that there are actually two types of medical schools in Canada? You are probably very familiar with medical schools, such as the schools at the University of Toronto or the University of Alberta, that teach traditional medicine. The other type of medical school teaches their students naturopathic medicine.

    This article gives you an overview of some similarities and differences between the two medical school curricula. They are general because even schools offering the same degree may have different curricula. If you are interested in a specific school, you are encouraged to research that specific school.

    Similarities

    1. Length of schooling

    Both conventional medical schools and naturopathic medical schools have a four-year-long program.

    1. How the first and last two years are structured

    The first two years for both types of curricula focus on teaching the student biomedical knowledge, with courses in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, immunology, pharmacology, and microbiology. Note that in addition to this, naturopathic medical students are also exposed to courses specific to naturopathic medicine: these include homeopathy, nutrition, and botanical medicine.

    Years 3 and 4 in medical schools introduce students to patient care. The students are now focused on learning clinical skills in real patient care settings. In the traditional medical school curriculum, the students apply what they learned in years 1 and 2. In the naturopathic medical school curriculum, in addition to practicing clinical skills, the last two years include studying lifestyle counselling, nutrition, and health promotion.

    Differences

    1. Emphasis

    What distinguishes naturopathic medicine from traditional medicine is the emphasis on preventing disease and optimizing wellness using holistic means. Naturopathic medical students are taught to become experts in clinical nutrition, lifestyle management, traditional Asian medicine and acupuncture, botanical medicine, and physical medicine. These topics are not considered part of traditional medicine and thus are not taught in their curriculum.

    1. The degree earned

    Graduates of either school are addressed as Doctor, but their specific degrees are different. Conventional medical school graduates earn an MD degree; naturopathic medical school graduates earn an ND degree.

    1. Practicing after graduation

    Naturopathic medical school graduates may immediately start practicing and treating patients. However, traditional medical school graduates receive further training in a chosen medical specialty. These are called residencies. They may last three to seven years, depending on the specialty, and are usually completed in teaching hospitals. In general, from starting medical school to practicing, naturopathic doctors’ training is shorter.

    If you are interested in becoming a doctor in Canada, you need to decide whether you want to become a traditional or naturopathic doctor. The kind of medicine practiced by MDs and NDs is different, so their training will be different. This article summarized some of the general similarities and differences.

    References:

    1. https://aanmc.org/resources/comparing-nd-md-curricula/
    2. http://www.ccnm.edu/future-students/doctor-of-naturopathy
    3. https://nunm.edu/academics/school-of-naturopathic-medicine/doctor-of-naturopathic-medicine-degree/
    4. http://www.md.utoronto.ca/curriculum
    5. https://www.ualberta.ca/medicine/programs/md/curriculum
    6. http://study.com/steps_to_become_a_doctor.html

  • Career Profile: Audiologist

    JPD Job Video for Audiologist:

    https://jobspeopledo.com/job-videos/?What=audiologist&x=0&y=0

    “Audiologist” is definitely a lesser known health care profession, but even to someone to has heard of audiologists, your first thought is probably that these are the people who test your hearing. You would be right, but what may surprise you is that audiologists do much more than just that. Read on!

    What is a typical day working as an audiologist?

    Audiologists are highly trained health care professionals. They are not MD physicians, but similar to doctors, audiologists interact with patients every day. In a typical day, an audiologist will treat many patients, who may present with ear, hearing, and/or balance-related issues. Patients may be of any age, from child to senior. For one patient, the audiologist may need to fit a hearing aid. Another patient may be concerned that she is hearing ringing in her ears, which the audiologist would diagnose and then treat. Yet another patient may require education and counselling because he is experiencing hearing difficulties. Audiologists are trained to treat diverse conditions.

    What are the pros and cons of working as an audiologist?   

    Audiologists get to help people every day. Sometimes, audiologists see the patient immediately benefiting, such as when the patient gets fitted with a hearing aid. That is a tremendously gratifying feeling and a definite pro of working as an audiologist. One con is the difficulty of the work. For example, assessing auditory function and prescribing a treatment may be more difficult if the patient is a child who doesn’t want to cooperate. It can also be frustrating to try various treatments that all fail to help the patient.

    How do you become an audiologist?  

    In Canada, audiologists are required to have a Masters’ degree in Audiology, including a practicum where you must accumulate at least 350 hours of clinical training. There are five such programs across the nation, and they may be completed in two to three years.

    What is the expected salary range?

    An entry-level audiologist can expect to earn an average $70,000 a year. More experienced audiologists, with more than 20 years of experience, earn an average $95,000 a year. Depending on where the audiologist is working, their pay may be increased via bonus, profit sharing, and commission.

    The only way to know if this is the right career for you is to shadow a working audiologist. Ask questions not just about that specific audiologist’s job and benefits, but also general questions about this career choice. The field is small but the job prospects for this field are positive: as the population ages, more and more people will need an audiologist’s help.

    References:

    1. http://www.sac-oac.ca/audiology/becoming-audiologist
    2. http://www.sickkids.ca/communicationdisorders/What-we-do/Audiology/index.html
    3. https://www.osla.on.ca/en/Audiologist?mid=ctl00_LeftMenu_ctl00_TheMenu-menuItem000
    4. http://www.sac-oac.ca/public/what-do-audiologists-do
    5. https://www.shmoop.com/careers/audiologist/typical-day.html
    6. http://www.healthcarecareers.org/audiologist/
    7. http://careers.alot.com/career-paths/pros-and-cons-of-being-an-audiologist–3207
    8. http://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Job=Audiologist/Salary
  • Career Profile: Social Media Coordinator

    Career Profile: Social Media Coordinator

    The internet is the most important frontier for business right now, which makes the world of social media detrimental to companies and other hopeful money-makers. With online advertising revenues steadily rising in recent years, and many people—including, evidently, political heavy-hitters—getting much of their news and daily information from social media, the job of social media coordinator is a big one right now.

    A social media coordinator develops original content for the company they work for—whether that’s full-time or as a freelancer—and suggests creative ways to attract customers. It is the job of a social media coordinator to promote the brand of the company they are representing, increase web traffic and customer engagement, and gear their online presence to parallel that of their organization’s marketing strategies

    Education

    If you are in school and are considering this career, a Bachelor’s degree related to advertising, writing, marketing or promotions is always a plus. Some people who are doing degrees in business also go into social media once in the work force, as that often helps them understand how to attract customers. When businesses are looking to hire social media coordinators, they look for experience. A lot of applicants that are successful have successful personal online followings. This means that they have a successful blog with high ad revenue, or thousands of Twitter or Instagram followers. Employers want to see that you know how to market yourself and the content. In the end, the real necessary education is hands-on social media experience. Companies hiring will of course look for your experience with online marketing campaigns for previous companies.  So, get tweeting, and make those tweets count.

    Duties

    A social media coordinator develops relevant content topics. They do so in order to reach the company’s target customers, and potential different types of customers. They always have to be thinking about the future: how do you keep your following growing as technology and platforms change? This is actually one of the most important aspects of the job. The internet and platform technology is ALWAYS changing. What might be a great tool for your business right now—like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram etc.—may be obsolete in the future. Social media coordinators need to be skilled at evolving with the times and the changing technology with ease. They also curate, create and manage published content like written work (features, tweets, blurbs, listicle articles etc.), images, audio and video. Oftentimes social media coordinators have all this content on timers, planning their social media schedule ahead of time. They know when to publish something (the time of day that features the highest traffic), what types of hashtags to use, and what platform to go the heaviest on. It’s a packed, no-breather type of job. But you have a pulse on the interests on the internet community, and that’s pretty darn cool.

    Salary

    The starting rate for inexperienced social media coordinators would be around $25,571, and the median salary would be $35,686 in Canada. When you have gained a significant amount of experience in the field, you can earn up to $46,661 or more, depending on company or independent contracting.

  • Understanding Your Overscheduling

    Understanding Your Overscheduling

    Lectures. Tutorials. Study groups. Volunteering. Hangouts. Part-time job. There are so many things that a post-secondary student can do. You might even tackle all of those in a single day. The problems with overscheduling yourself can sometimes be obvious. Other times, walking the fine line between seizing the opportunities each day offers and not overstuffing your schedule can be a delicate balancing act. In a world where technology moves everything along at a breakneck pace, it can convince you to push yourself harder, with subtle side-effects.

    The hectic nature of a busy schedule spreads through every facet of your life and permeates in unsuspecting ways. Part-time jobs and volunteer shifts look great on a resume and will help you in the future. If they are cutting into your studying time, your grades are sure to suffer, and now that work experience is ironically harming your future prospects. With less time to complete an essay, you are likelier to rush it in order to hand it in on time. You may not even notice you are doing this with so many things going on.

    When an overscheduled person does finally have time to relax, whether it be on their own or with friends and family, it can be harder to truly enjoy that time. With the mind focused on work already completed and tasks that are coming up ahead, the present moment is robbed of its joy. This can cause issues with the family and friends who may feel hurt when you seem distracted.

    Grades and relationships are far from the only negative repercussions. University College London researchers found that people who work in excess of 55 hours per week are 33% more like to experience a stroke, as well as 13% likelier to fall victim to a heart attack. This damage to your cardiovascular health is a slow killer that may not affect you today, but will slowly and surely sneak up on you. Even before a heart attack or stroke, the strain on your body is going to manifest in other ways, such as trouble sleeping or overeating.

    Overscheduling is unhealthy, but so is an empty schedule. This leaves us with a conundrum: When is one’s schedule busy enough? At what point are there one too many things to do? Take a look at your own schedule by making a list of the different tasks that occupy your time. For each item, analyze exactly how it benefits you and how happy it makes you. Do the same for new tasks, classes, or work you are considering. The only activities that belong on your schedule are ones that provide very clear benefits. They should either make you happy now, such as time with friends, or will contribute to your happiness in the long-term – courses may be stressful, but that education will lead to great things. Finally, the deadlines of each item should not cause great conflict with one another, and should all be achievable.

    By taking time out of your busy schedule to critique that very schedule, you can determine current activities that need to be dropped and potential ones you need to decline. Tackle that revised schedule, and then decide if further changes are needed. This is a balancing act that will not only continue to be tricky, but is bound to only grow in complexity as you progress in life. The sooner you start practicing a better life balance, the better and longer lasting the benefits will be.

    Sources:

    Ross, John. “Only the overworked die young.” Harvard Health Publications. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/only-the-overworked-die-young-201512148815

    Tran, Havannah. “3 Questions to Ask If You’re a Chronic Overscheduler.” PayScale. http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2017/09/chronic-overscheduler-take-back-time-3-questions

  • Where to Find Volunteer Opportunities: Part 1

    Where to Find Volunteer Opportunities: Part 1

    High school students in Ontario are required to put in 40 hours of community service in order to graduate and earn their diploma. For many students, volunteering is not just something they have to do, it is something they genuinely enjoy. Volunteering not only benefits the general community, it benefits students by allowing them to form relationships, gain skills, and explore career options.

    Your high school

    You do not have to go far to find volunteer opportunities, because believe or not, your high school already has many! Students may volunteer in the library, assisting with book check-in and check-out and shelving. Students may volunteer in the front office, assisting with errands and paperwork. Students may volunteer as peer tutors. All of these opportunities likely take up just one or two hours a week, perhaps during your lunch period or after school.

    Local hospitals and nursing homes

    If you live close to a hospital or nursing home, these are also excellent places to volunteer! Search their websites for current openings or contact their volunteer coordinator. Volunteer positions can be quite diverse. For example, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto have volunteers in the gift shop, on nursing wards, as escorts, in wheelchair service, and in pet therapy, just to name a few! Because of the diversity of roles, you are bound to find one that suits you.

    Non-profit organizations

    You can probably name three charitable organizations right now off of the top of your head. For example, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and the Red Cross are the ones I came up with. Next, search their websites for volunteer opportunities. More well-known charities tend to have a lot of interested volunteers, so if you do not see an opening, do not be discouraged: check back again or ask to be put on an email list to be notified about future opportunities.

    In this article, I covered three major places where you may find volunteer opportunities. This article is Part 1, and Part 2 will give you a few more ideas for finding volunteer opportunities- stay tuned!

    References:

    1. https://www.ontario.ca/page/volunteering-ontario
    2. http://www.volunteertoronto.ca/networking/opening_search.asp
    3. http://www.volunteertoronto.ca/?WhyVolunteer

    http://sunnybrook.ca/content/?page=volunteer-program

  • Misconceptions About Getting a Job Right Out of Post-Secondary School

    Misconceptions About Getting a Job Right Out of Post-Secondary School

    So, you’ve got that shiny new degree from university or college, and now you face the task of getting that first job that will lead to the career that you always wanted; however, there are a few things you should know before you head off on that career path…

    These days, finding a full-time job is rather difficult. You’re more likely to get part-time or freelance contractor opportunities than full-time. (If you do manage to find full-time work, consider yourself incredibly lucky.) Some sectors are more difficult to get a foot into the door than others. As a result, that belief that you are “guaranteed” a job within a year of graduation, isn’t entirely true. It requires some luck, some negotiation, and a lot of reality checks. You may be required to move away from home, or get a second part-time job to in order to make rent.  In addition, you may have to consider returning back to school in order to make yourself ‘more’ employable.

    Pay ranges do not often meet the level that new graduates might expect. Most likely, you will not make as much as you expect because you are now entry-level, a freshman within the company; and for that reason, you will not be paid as much. The more experience you gain, the more amount (at least in theory, this can change due to changing jobs). Benefits may be low, and health insurance probably non-existent. It depends on the company: bigger companies tend to offer better benefits than smaller ones.  So, if you do have a job offer, and are looking for job benefits, focus on what you can get from the job in terms of personal growth, instead of what you have heard or what you thought you would get after graduation. Are you getting the benefits you wanted? Are you on a path where you can learn from your experiences to move towards the career you want? (I say this because you may not find yourself in the career path you would prefer, but if there is some opportunity to use your skills or learn new ones, it can still be beneficial). You may also be able to acquire the skills that employers value by taking additional training or classes – this also works for your benefit as well through expanding your résumé.

    Ignore the ideal picture of your first day of work and learn to accept what you can negotiate, and what you are more likely to earn as an entry-level position. I would strongly encourage you to keep believing in yourself and your abilities – there will be a job available for you that is a perfect fit for you and your career.

  • Decorate Your Dorm Room for Comfort and Function

    Decorate Your Dorm Room for Comfort and Function

    It’s true that a lot of dorm rooms have a bit of an institutional feel – cinderblock walls, plain white paint, unexciting carpet.  And you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your room studying, even though overall it’s only a temporary living space each year.

    So, if you want your new home-away-from-home to feel like home, then it’s time to figure out what you need to set up and decorate your room to be both comfortable and functional.

    There are four main points to consider when deciding how to arrange and decorate your dorm: room style, lighting, workspace, and storage.

    Room Style

    The type of dorm room you have will affect what you can do, and how much space you have to work with.

    To start with, if it’s possible to move furniture around, try out a couple different arrangements to see what works best in the space.  If your room is a single, you will have a bit more flexibility than if you’re sharing a double room with another student.

    Next, what kind of walls do you have – cinderblock, plaster or drywall?  This will affect what you can hang or attach to the walls, such as posters or shelving.  There’s also a good chance you won’t be allowed to paint or install anything using nails or screws, so sticky hooks and freestanding shelves will be your best friend.

    Most dorms will have a bed, desk, shelf and dresser, but in some cases only a bed is provided and students have to bring any other furnishings they need.  This information should be readily available from your school upon making residence arrangements, so be sure to ask!

    Lighting Needs

    Obviously, your dorm room will have at least one window, but depending on the size and the arrangement of the room, this may not provide enough light during the daytime, and you will need light at night.  If the ceiling light in your dorm isn’t enough for you, assess the space you have to find a lamp that will fit and still provide enough light for studying at your desk or reading in bed.

    Work Space

    If a desk comes with your dorm, take some time to arrange it to ensure you can work comfortably.  If you need to provide your own work space furniture, get something that suits the way you prefer to work, such as a comfy chair if you like to curl up and work on your lap, or a cafe table and chair for a coffee-shop feel.

    Storage

    What you need will depend on the furniture your dorm already has.  Many dorms come with a closet and built in shelves; others may provide dressers.  Baskets and boxes that can fit beneath beds and desks, or on closet shelves, will help keep you organized.

    Think about what you own, and plan your storage needs around that.  Lots of books? Maybe get an extra shelf.  Lots of shoes? Hanging pockets or shoe racks can maximize closet space.

    Lastly, don’t be afraid to get creative!  Have fun with setting up your space and decorating: try out some funky curtains, colourful storage boxes, and fun or unusual artwork and posters, to make the dorm room your own.

    SOURCES:

    https://www.newswise.com/articles/making-the-most-of-home-away-from-home-the-dorm-room

    http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/20-chic-and-functional-dorm-room-decorating-ideas-pictures

  • Work Learning Positions and Research Assistant Positions

    Work Learning Positions and Research Assistant Positions

    Finding a university job that will help build your resume in your field while in school is a great advantage to the post secondary community. Colleges and universities are highly functional institutions that not only provide education, but also jobs for hundreds to thousands of people depending on the size of the institute. Why not make your part time job work for you? There are so many benefits to Work learn positions (where you learn on the job), and Research Assistant (RA) and Teaching Assistant (TA) jobs. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages.

    Experience

    RA and TA jobs and work learn positions are considered to be experience by potential and current employers. If you are going to school to be a librarian for example, and you TA for data collecting and literature classes and work as a stocker in the university library, in the future that counts as actual on hand experience within the field.

    Thinking of the future

    If you do a good job, your mentors can write you solid and valuable recommendation letters. These RA and TA jobs also transfer well to other universities if you are making the jump to a Masters or Ph.D. program. This could mean a better university and more scholarship opportunities are in your future. The more experience you have, the more a school is likely to give you grants. It also builds your reputation as a keener and a hard worker.

    Money, money, money

    Everyone needs some extra bucks. Work learn positions (such as PR, organizational, secretarial, and research job placements) do tend to pay pretty decent depending on the university. The best part is that you are doing something in your field (rather than the typical retail and service related jobs), and you’re sticking around the campus. This makes less stress for you and more chances to network within the community of professors, working professionals and students. We all need money, but it’s extra sweet if you can get it doing something that is related to your career choice.

    Knowledge

    Ever heard of learning on the job? Well RA/TA and work Learn jobs are an example of that where the mentors are actually expecting and willing to teach you as you go along. Hence the ‘work’ and ‘learn’. There is patience and moulding involved, making this a truly great experience for a student hoping to fully immerse themselves in the world of their chosen career.

  • Changing Your Major in Post-Secondary

    Changing Your Major in Post-Secondary

    We don’t all know exactly what we want to do professionally as soon as we get into university. Often times new students pick a major on a whim, or as their education goes on they either realize they are in the wrong place or they have discovered a new love for another subject they were not familiar with before. But that’s okay, because that is what university is for—growing, making mistakes and learning from them, and figuring out what you want out of life. How exactly do you change your major when you’re ready to make an academic change for your future?

    Do your research & get help

    Be well read on the major descriptions in your university’s general catalogue. The trick is to know exactly what you are getting into so that you can minimize stress later on in the degree. Talk with a college advisor to make sure that you are in a sound place to change your major, or to simply get educated on what changing a major means at this point in your university career. They will let you know how many credits you need, what extra classes you may need to take, and possible professors to talk to in order to facilitate the move. Speak with department advisors—they are there to help you and, as this is a big change, you need all the advice you can get to make the process smoother. Also, talk career options with your counselor. That way you can figure out what you expect of the degree and how you want it to affect your future.

    Finances

    Changing a major is all about talking to advisors. One major thing you want to consider is how much more money it will take to switch a major—this all depends on what year you are in and how far along in school with your courses you are. Understand the impact this major change will have on your debt status, or those who are helping you out financially (I.E. parents, sponsors, etc.). Reconsider your graduation time. If you want to graduate at the same time you originally planned, this will mean packing your semesters tighter than before and possibly adding in summer semesters.

    Are you good at the major you are switching to?

    Make sure that when you make this big change, it’s something you truly want. Maybe you are unhappy with the major you currently have, but will you be happy with the new one? Just be sure that you are switching for the right reasons: you have talent or passion with the new major and truly are interested/see a life for yourself in the careers that having this major can bring about.

    Once you have done all of this research, thinking and seeking out advising, you can switch majors with your advisor. Oftentimes you will have to directly contact the faculty of your new major—each major will have its own process. Much of what you do will be online in your student services menu.

  • Post-Secondary School Stereotypes

    Post-Secondary School Stereotypes

    Nothing about college life is truly stereotypical. It will never go the way you think it will. There are certainly stereotypical tropes that you can get lost in at the beginning, but you will soon find that post-secondary is your personal journey and you’ll stray from any preconceived caricatures of post-secondary life. Let’s address some typical college stereotypes that have both elements of truth and hyperbole to them:


    Cramming

    Oh, you will cram. You will cram a lot. There will always be people on campus who come off as being prepared and well read, but you never know what happens outside the class. While university is packed with classes, assignments, and social opportunities, many students feel that they have a lot of free time. They think that there is plenty of time to read those chapters in class—‘I can get caught up,’ they think. ‘I’ll just read an extra chapter next time’. Time mismanagement is one of the biggest problems in university and everyone runs into it. While you may spend most of university cramming, you will get better at time management due to lessons learned; you learn from experience.

    College students eat unhealthy food

    It’s true that college students are on the run and this often leads to poor eating habits. However, universities and colleges are very progressive in their healthy eating and lifestyle initiatives; healthier food options are becoming more prevalent on campus. When given a quick healthy eating option, many students will take it. Universities are also working with their budgets to make healthier foods more affordable—hence the growing presence of sushi and salad bars on campus. Fast food is no longer strictly unhealthy food. You can now get a balanced snack and/or meal lickity split.

    Too much caffeine

    Something about the routine, comfort and promised buzz of caffeine makes jumping from class to class and cramming more mentally achievable/bearable. But students do begin to find that too much caffeine starts to have the opposite affect on them; they instead begin to crash. Energy supplements like green tea and kombucha are becoming more and more popular on campus. While caffeine will never be more popular with you then in university, you won’t be dependent on it forever. But to cut down on costs in the meantime, buying a French press instead of hitting up Starbucks multiple times a day is advisable.

    Party too much, drink too much

    College is where you make new friends fast, and the sudden freedom from home/family life can lead to some prevalent party lifestyles. However, it does get old fast. While many students party hard and drink to excess in their first year, they soon realize that the lifestyle is not compatible with studying. Hangovers only get worse as the years go on, and as the years go on those term papers and exams get more and more important. You may find that those five beers a night in first year turn to five a week in second. While, in the first place, you need to be of drinking age ( 19 in Canada) to acquire these habits.  Unfortunately, some students start drinking before they are allowed to by law and it becomes a real problem that interferes with progress in school.