Engaging in Work-Integrated Learning For the Changing Workplace brings together business and industry from varied disciplines such as information technology, creative arts, and business. Potential employers for our co-op students are invited to join us at this conference to learn about how they can be effective term employers for our students who are required to have a work-integrated learning experience as part of their diploma program.
During this conference, we will cover important topics including the student onboarding process, how to set up a meaningful co-op student placement, how to mentor your student employees, promoting your company to students, and accessibility topics for potential student employees.
This conference will take place at our beautiful downtown RRC Polytechnic Campus on Wednesday, May 10th, 2023, for an informative and impactful full-day conference, to be held within the brand-new Manitou a bi Bii daziigae building. Please take the opportunity to join us at this conference to tour our new building and innovative learning spaces, including the ACE Project Space, where our students collaborate with entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, and corporations to bring unique ideas to life.
The conference will include a morning workshop on managing cultural differences in Canadian Organizations, lunch and networking, followed by the option of various sessions such as onboarding and mentoring students, accessibility for WIL, supporting students in WIL with ASD, creating safe work spaces, and WIL success stories at RRC Polytech.
Registration
Save the Date for this informative conference. Check back for more information, and to register.
AGENDA
Time
Item
Room
8:00 AM to 8:30 AM
Registration – Refreshments
Agora
8:30 AM to 9:00 AM
Welcome
Roundhouse
Session
Speaker
Room
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Supporting Students in WIL: Managing Cultural Differences in Canadian Organizations with Lionel Laroche, Multicultural Business Solutions *Capacity is limited,
Roundhouse
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Lunch and Networking
1:30 PM to 2:15 PM Theme: Supports and Resources
Breakout Session: Accessibility for WIL RRC Polytech Accessibility supports and resources for employers and industry partners hosting WIL students
Roundhouse
Breakout Session: Supporting students in WIL with ASD
P107
Breakout Session: Onboarding and Mentoring students on WIL (Panel)
TBD
2:15 PM to 2:30 PM
Break
2:30 PM to 3:15 PM Theme: What’s Working and Success Stories
Breakout Session: Safe Work Spaces for WIL (Session)
Roundhouse
Breakout Session: WIL Success Stories
P107
Breakout Session: TBD
TBD
3:15 PM to 3:30 PM
Closing Remarks
Speakers
Supporting Students in WIL: Managing Cultural Differences in Canadian Organizations Workshop by Lionel Laroche, Multicultural Business Solutions
*The first 80 registrants will be assigned to the main room, with the remaining accommodated in an alternative room with a live stream of the workshop.
Back on Sept 22 and Oct 12, three 2811 Community and Older Adult clinical groups from the BN Program had the opportunity to apply theory and experience community health promotion in older adults at the Pros Knows Expo!
The Pros Knows Expos are coordinated by Rick Roschuk and facilitated by Older Adult serving agencies and businesses with interactive booths in Senior Active Living Centres throughout Winnipeg over the past year. These two featured were held at the Transcona Citizens Org and Good Neighbours Active Living Centre in River East.
Students interacted with more than 200 individuals, checking blood pressure and offering healthy heart information, honing their entry-level competency skills in assessment, communication, and education.
The event provides information and connection to services that older adults may not otherwise be aware of. The students gained valuable insight: ‘it was so interesting as a young adult to see all of the resources available to older adults’ – Cameryn J. Information was gathered from agencies and resources to build their community knowledge bases and were shared in the group.
Rick had a particular impact with the students at the end of the day, sharing his appreciation for RRC Polytech Nursing students. ‘Don’t get caught up on the negativity, because there is a larger majority rooting for you, who appreciate your commitment, dedication, and all the work you do at this stressful time in health care’.
Blog post written by Karen Janzen and Tracey McCulloch – Nursing Instructors
Photos by Teresa Lopata – Photographer for Good Neighbours Active Living Centre
THANK YOU TO THE WINNIPEG JETS WHO WERE VISITING THE PEDIATRIC WARD WHILE OUR STUDENTS WERE THERE AND TOOK THE TIME TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!
WRITTEN BY: Jennifer Johnson – Nursing Lab Manager
RRC Polytech nursing instructor Rebecca Cameron, along with University of Manitoba nursing assistant professor Kim Mitchell, recently published the peer-reviewed journal article “Shifting Nursing Students’ Attitudes towards Indigenous Peoples by Participation in a Required Indigenous Health Course.”
Rebecca reflected on the experience and meaning of her course and this important contribution to the scholarly literature.
Why is the Health, Wellness, and the Indigenous Population of Canada course a crucial component of the BN program?
It aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation call to action 24 that recommends the requirement that all medical and nursing schools have a course on Indigenous health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Indigenous rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. The class was created by Cathy Baxter before the calls to action came out. The first class was in September 2015 and the calls to action final report with findings and recommendations was released right around the same time. When it first started in 2015 it was an elective, but now it is a required class in the BN Curriculum.
What made you decide to undertake this study?
I really just wanted to know if the students were learning the content and if their perception of Indigenous Peoples change as a result in gaining this new knowledge. As the article states, nursing students come into nursing school with various perceptions of who Indigenous Peoples are. I wanted to find out if having greater knowledge in the topics covered in class changed their attitudes and perceptions of who Indigenous Peoples are.
Why was it important for you to study the impact of your course on students’ self-reported knowledge, interest, and perception of Indigenous Peoples’ health, wellness, and history?
I feel like that when our perceptions change, our care changes. At times we don’t know how our attitudes and beliefs impact our care; there is implicit bias going on. Implicit biases can, without intent, contribute to racist behavior. When we are aware of this, our care towards Indigenous Peoples change. Some of the students stated that prior to this class they thought they were practicing cultural humility and cultural safety when in fact they were not. I wanted the students to understand how their thoughts and perceptions affect their care.
What do you hope the reader takes away from your study?
I hope that they take away that they too can implement a course similar to this into their curriculum with the right tools and support. I also hope that the reader understands that a majority of the students who learned about Indigenous issues had a change in perception and a greater understanding of Canada’s history with Indigenous Peoples.
What do you hope students take away from your course?
I hope they get a better understanding of the issues that Indigenous Peoples face. Such as racism, loss of culture due to colonization, and resiliency. Although we face difficulties in our lives, we are resilient. Not all Indigenous Peoples fall under the same umbrella.
I want them to have an understanding that their Indigenous patient’s story did not start in that bed. It did not start on admission. They have a unique story that started prior. We all have a story. I feel that if we have knowledge of someone’s story then we are more open to empathy.
I hope that they get an understanding on how to empower their patient by recognizing the power differential between caregiver and patient. When we put the patient/client in the driver seat of their own health, studies show the better the health outcomes are for that patient.
Do you plan on continuing your research, and are there any specific projects you’re currently undertaking or hope to pursue in the future?
My future study will aim to see if knowledge of Canada’s history with Indigenous Peoples actually improves the care of Indigenous People there for improving their health status. Kate Tate and I are currently working on “Racism in Nursing schools.” We have just finished up interviews with students. We are now in the analysis phase.
Anything else to share?
I am glad that this class is now mandatory. I feel like the students really benefit from the knowledge. Not only for themselves but also for their patient care. This class has some really unique activities (rather than sitting in the classroom looking at a PowerPoint) to help the students learn and perhaps gain a different perspective on the content of the class. We do things like go to the Human Rights Museum, conduct the blanket exercise, sit with the elder in sharing circles, smudge, and on several occasions even had a sweat. I wish that all faculty would take this class. I welcome any and all faculty to join in at any time.
Written by Rebecca Cameron – Nursing Instructor
Interview questions and intro by Meagen Chorney – Nursing Instructor
With the first term completed, it has been an exciting and successful return of the Nursing streaming program. Emerging Media and Production (formerly eTV) is proud to partner once again with the Nursing Department to deliver course streaming to regional classrooms in Winkler and Portage La Prairie. For the first time, the streaming program has been running symmetrically in Emerging Media’s new Connected Classroom, with two-way audio and visual communication between the on-site and regional classrooms, utilizing the WebEx streaming platform.
The Connected Classroom is purpose-built to live stream and record presentations and events synchronously, featuring multiple cameras, enhanced lighting, audio, and presentation technologies to capture detailed demonstrations and student/teacher interactions. Symmetrical communication between all Nursing campuses has been a goal that both Emerging Media and Nursing have been striving toward for many years. The ability to see and hear all students creates a greater sense of community and brings everyone the same opportunities for inclusion and participation in the classroom.
Emerging Media and Production is always innovating and expanding the capabilities and technology of the Connected Classroom to enhance teaching and learning for all students.
Post written by Dan Feriolo – Supervisor, Emerging Media and Production
It’s that time of year again, and the gift of giving is in the air!
Instead of sponsoring a family, the Nursing Department is looking for donations of non-perishable food items, toys, or money (which can be donated online).
**ALL DONATIONS NEED TO BE IN BY NOVEMBER 24th or via the SA website by November 25th**
Toys and food can be put in a box in the lunchroom on C6. A box will be there by Thursday November 10th.
The SA is also collecting monetary donations through their website (https://rrcsa.ca/product/holidayhamper) to provide grocery vouchers to our students.
Rather than collecting cash donations, we ask that you donate online through the SA website above.
Would you like to work at a place where you can make a positive, direct impact on the next generation of professionals in your field?
Learn about exciting employment opportunities for instruction and curriculum development in Information Technology at Red River College Polytechnic. Join senior academic leaders and faculty:
We have full-time, part-time, or contract employment opportunities.
Learn about the many benefits of being an RRC Polytech employee. We are looking for people with experience in information technology, application development, data science, machine learning, and security experience for the following programs:
Please share information about this event with people in your network who may be interested in attending. Register to let us know you are attending this in-person event.
On September 23, 2022, in the Black Lecture Theatre, we hosted a video premier event from a digital storytelling workshop held with four nursing students in the RRC Polytech BN program. The students were invited to share the digital stories they had created, including their challenges and success with learning to be a nurse during the pandemic. The video workshops and the research were funded by the RRC Polytech STAR grant fund. Four nursing student volunteers participated in the workshops and produced the videos linked below: Brynn Clifford, Lami Omidele, Nengi Shadrack, and Donna (Wenying) Wang.
The Video creation was the final phase in a study conducted by Breanna Sawatzky, Campus Mental Health Specialist, and Kim Mitchell (formerly of RRC Polytech, now Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Manitoba). The study began prior to the pandemic in fall 2019 as a way to test the impact of several mental health interventions on student wellness and resilience. After the pandemic-related shut-down, however, we pivoted the study focus to the entire student body of nurses and conducted several surveys from June 2020 to June 2021. In the fall and spring of 2021, we held several focus groups with faculty and students.
The digital storytelling workshops were held both virtually and in person during the month of July 2022. Special thanks to Deb Gural who gave her support and expertise with WeVideo during the workshops. Breanna, Kim, and Deb all participated in the StoryCenter digital storytelling workshop in preparation for this phase of the study.
The first workshop with the students included topics such as the principles of storytelling, scriptwriting, and use of the WeVideo platform for video creation. We shared the focus group findings with students as inspiration for the video creation, but invited them to tell any story they felt willing to share. The second workshop focused on perfecting their scripts in preparation for recording. We then sent them off to spend two weeks finding images, music, and video clips that would support the telling of their stories. During the third workshop, students shared their rough video edits and worked on editing their videos.
The videos produced are moving renditions of the lives of students learning to be nurses in the midst of a pandemic while navigating parenthood, marriage, jobs, supportive and unsupportive instructors, mental health issues, and English as a second language. Each story is its own unique journey and reflects common issues we heard about from students during the survey and interview phases of the research.
Nengi Shadrack: The Tunnel of Dreams
Donna Wang: Nursing Adventure
Lami Omidele: Unexpected
Brynn Clifford: Behind the Smile
Post written by Kim Mitchell – Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Manitoba
