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Health in the City

Next week brings George Brown College's second Health in the City open house to middle and high school students, their parents and anyone else interested in a career in health care.

DAVID CHILTON

[ 2005-11-16 ]

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There are more than 2,000 students enrolled in full-time health-care programs at George Brown. The college receives the largest percentage of applications for those positions within the public college system in Ontario.

Lori Shekter-Wolfson, dean of the Faculty of Community Services and Health Sciences at George Brown, says the Nov. 23 event is designed to highlight the role the college plays delivering interprofessional health care and community services education.

"This year's (event) theme is The Social Determinants of Health," Shekter-Wolfson says. "The reason for the theme is that George Brown understands that health, and how we educate our students in health, is not just about disease management."

An interest in Canadians' overall health helps the college educate its students so that they have a much broader understanding of their own roles in the health-care system, Shekter-Wolfson continues.

There are 17 full-time health programs at George Brown and many others offered either part time or through continuing education. There are more than 2,000 students enrolled in full-time health-care programs at George Brown, says Shekter-Wolfson, pointing out that the college receives the largest percentage of applications for those positions within the public college system in Ontario.

Rivie Seaberg, director of the Centre for Nursing at George Brown, adds that the college receives five applications for every one place available in its baccalaureate nursing program. One of the reasons for the popularity of George Brown's health-care programs is that they offer students an opportunity for an "urban experience," Seaberg says. Unlike Toronto's other colleges, George Brown's main campus is downtown. Health in the City will be held at its satellite Casa Loma campus on Kendal Avenue in the shadow of the castle Sir Henry Pellatt built.

During the morning and afternoon of Health in the City, Grade 7 and 8 students can take part in interactive health circles with college faculty from Health Technologies, Health Promotion, Oral Health and other programs.

"We're going to see students and faculty working together to highlight specific themes," Shekter-Wolfson says. "For example, you will see our students from the deaf-blind intervenor program and our orthotics-prosthetics (program) who are going to be working to help people understand what tools and services they would need to help people to remain independent and accessible in their homes."

The lunchtime keynote speaker will be Monique Begin, a former federal Minister of Health and a professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa.

In the evening, high school students, their parents and the public will be able to tour George Brown's facilities and learn more about the college's programs and services.

There will also be a tour of the new Interprofessional Learning Clinic, a $350,000 "living lab" known officially as the Applied Learning Clinic for Collaborative Practice. The lab combines faculty and students from such programs as hearing instrument specialist, fitness and lifestyle management and health information management with hands-on nursing education to provide an environment where two or more professionals can learn from each other, says Shekter-Wolfson.

The evening in particular is being devoted to recruitment, she continues, and is an opportunity for the college to tell potential health-care students about the way George Brown teaches.

There's no charge for attending Health in the City, Shekter-Wolfson says -- pointing out there will be "loot bags" for Grade 7 and 8 students to take home. She expects up to 500 people to attend the open house, which is the second in a series that will be held every fall.

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