Articles tagged "Health and Social Development"
Early childhood educators partner on Outdoor Play guide
March 24, 2025
Growing up in a small town in British Columbia, Okanagan College educator Linda O’Donoghue recalls a time where she and her friends created a store out of leaf bouquets and headed out around the neighborhood going door to door to sell the bouquets.Their efforts would catch the attention of the local newspaper who thought it was interesting enough for a short story.It was an example of many of the childhood memories that O’Donoghue would reflect back on years later as she worked as an Early Childhood Educator. During those years she ...
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Okanagan College research initiative aims to support students recovering from concussions
December 12, 2024
After suffering a concussion while pursuing his research degree, Okanagan College professor Colin Wallace faced profound challenges — from intense fatigue to difficulty concentrating — that reshaped his perspective on recovery.Now an educator in OC’s Department of Kinesiology, Wallace often finds himself supporting students navigating their own journeys of healing from mild traumatic brain injuries. Driven by his personal experience and professional insight, Wallace has launched a groundbreaking research project aimed at transformin...
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Health grads and more set to enter the workforce after Â黨´«Ă˝Convocation and Commencement ceremonies
October 4, 2024
When Â黨´«Ă˝student Vaneet Verma steps to the podium on Saturday to speak to his colleagues at Okanagan College’s Fall convocation, he will be representing more than 450 graduates, including a large proportion that will enter the workforce in different health care fields. More than 130 graduates are from health care programs including Health Care Assistant, a program Verma graduated from earlier this year. The course teaches the skills necessary to work in continuing care such as in home support, adult day care, assisted living an...
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Post-secondary partners to unite early childhood education faculty, policy groups, and others from across Canada to discuss outdoor pedagogy in college ECE programs
April 5, 2023
How does playing outdoors support children’s development and wellness? Why is outdoor play such a powerful conduit for learning? How can we advance curriculum in college programs to empower current and future early childhood educators (ECEs) to view outdoor play as an important part of the children’s day, in all kinds of weather? How are colleges integrating and advancing outdoor pedagogy in their ECE programs? These and other questions will be explored during a unique virtual conference next month that will bring together early c...
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Health care students in the South Okanagan Similkameen are about to breathe a sigh of relief thanks to a new bursary fund
February 23, 2023
Local philanthropists Yasmin and Rick Thorpe have partnered with Summerland’s Penny Lane Legacy Fund to create a $50,000 bursary fund to help bolster the future of health care in the South Okanagan Similkameen. The Caring for Health Care Students Fund will provide $750 - $1,750 awards for eligible students studying at Okanagan College’s Penticton Campus. “We know if we educate healthcare professionals in Penticton, there’s a good chance they’ll stay and work in the region,” says Yasmin John Thorpe. “We want to help increase ...
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Â黨´«Ă˝increases access to early childhood education in the South Okanagan
February 22, 2023
Okanagan College (OC) is opening new spaces for people interested in working in early childhood education, as childcare facilities across the region and British Columbia continue to face staffing challenges. The Early Childhood Education Certificate program starts at OC’s Penticton campus in mid-March and runs through May 2024. The intake will have space for 24 students, adding to the more than 145 Early Childhood Education students studying at Okanagan College in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton this year. According to the province’...
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Plasma donor drive campaign boosts Â黨´«Ă˝nursing student with $3,000 bursary
February 22, 2023
Okanagan College nursing student Taylor Hubick learned a valuable lesson this year: persistence with plasma donation pays off. Hubick is the recipient of the Canadian Blood Services bursary of $3,000 for her studies in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, for recruiting 23 plasma donors between May and October last year. Hubick says she originally got recruited to donate by a friend who was studying on Vancouver Island. “She pulled out of the challenge because she was going travelling, and that’s when I realized I s...
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Â黨´«Ă˝improves access to childcare training for infant-toddler care
October 5, 2022
Training to care for infants and toddlers in childcare settings has never been easier to access. Okanagan College is holding a special intake for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Infant-Toddler Certificate program that is designed to enhance access for those already working in the field of childcare. Classes are part-time and held online, making it easy for those to balance work and training. “Okanagan College has heard from people working in the childcare sector that they want to expand their professional scope to include infa...
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Â黨´«Ă˝pathways pilot provides better access, supports students needing prerequisites
September 2, 2022
People considering health care and trades careers have new options thanks to a pilot program at Okanagan College that offers applicants help with course prerequisites. The pathways program supports students interested in going back to school to receive training in high-demand fields, but do not have the requirements needed for their desired program. Whether students need Adult Upgrading or English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, they’ll be able to receive educational supports. “By investing in new programs such as this on...
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Caylee Donovan
September 1, 2022
"I found out I’d received the Marcia J. Aitkens Memorial Bursary in Practical Nursing in the middle of lab. I was so shocked I pretty much dropped to the floor. At the time, I was a full-time student in Okanagan College’s Practical Nursing program, and I was working up to five days a week. The workload was just too much to handle, especially as a mother of a child with special needs. My eleven-year-old had recently been diagnosed with autism and needed more of my tim...
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Â黨´«Ă˝pilots tuition-free work-integrated learning for Early Childhood Education
July 26, 2022
Okanagan College is offering tuition-free Early Childhood Education (ECE) training with an innovative approach – providing students the opportunity to become certified during work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences as they provide education and care for young children. “Okanagan College is keenly aware of how many trained ECEs are in demand across the sector. This pilot project, with support from the Government of B.C., will increase access to education for people seeking certification, going a long way to meeting that need,” sa...
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Okanagan College welcomes new Dean, Health and Social Development
June 8, 2022
Okanagan College is welcoming a provincial and national leader in health care to its academic team. Carly Hall will be joining Okanagan College as Dean, Health and Social Development, which offers nine programs training the next generation of healthcare and social development professionals. “Carly brings extensive experience leading curriculum development provincially and leading professional bodies nationally as the health care sector experiences rapid change. We are confident she will quickly become a valued leader to Okanagan ...
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Meet Haley Chapman, Pharmacy Technician Student
February 28, 2022
Q: What is your name? A: Haley Chapman. Q: What program and year of study are you in at Okanagan College? A: I am in enrolled in the Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program and am about to enter my third month of classes. Q: Which campus do you primarily study at? A: The Kelowna Campus. Q: What drew you to that program? A: I have been working as a Pharmacy Assistant for five years now and I wanted to further my knowledge and capabilities within the Pharmacy...
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Okanagan College to graduate hundreds of new Health Care Assistants through innovative provincial program
February 24, 2022
When 29-year-old Shanise Scherk graduates this month as a Health Care Assistant (HCA), she is excited to start caring for seniors and other clients living in their homes. While working full time since high school, Scherk had always dreamed of having a career in health care. So, when she learned about a new Okanagan College program that offered paid training and work experience to become an HCA, she jumped at the chance to follow that dream. “It was such an incredible opportunity to receive an education and get hired right away,” s...
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New year brings new career by starting studies in January
November 15, 2021
The coming year brings new career training opportunities for Shaylyn Douglas. Douglas will be returning to the classroom in January with her sights set on training to advance her career in health care at Â黨´«Ă˝ In addition to beginning the Practical Nursing Diploma program at the Penticton campus, Douglas received a financial boost to aid her studies when she won the $5,000 Â黨´«Ă˝Tuition Giveaway Contest. “I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to pursue until I had the opportunity to interact with patients in the phys...
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New LPN Orthopaedic Program at Â黨´«Ă˝Set to Start in January 2022
September 22, 2021
Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) will have a learning option for advanced orthopaedic knowledge and skills that keeps them closer to home. The new LPN Orthopaedic Certificate offered at Okanagan College (OC) is the first of its kind in British Columbia. Launching in January 2022, the online certificate program is set to increase access to advanced orthopaedic education for nurses throughout the province and minimize travel requirements. “This program will meet the provincial need for a local solution for training opportunities...
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