Academic News

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF!

December 22, 2022

MAY THE HOLIDAYS BE FULL AND BRIGHT!

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

PHOTO BY: Monica Nash – Nursing Instructor

Learn Motion Graphic Design

December 20, 2022

The Digital Media Design program teaches motion graphic design, which nicely complements many of the other skill sets taught in the program: graphic design, 3D animation, videography, photography, and web design. Below some examples of motion graphic design assignments, which tasked the students to illustrate and animate a simple fact.

Here is another student motion graphic sample. The assignment was to create a 10 second motion graphic that starts and ends with a square. What they did in the middle was up to them. Students were told to focus on using simple shapes, great design, and audio/video synergy to create a compelling motion graphic.

Shifting Nursing Students’ Attitudes towards Indigenous Peoples by Participation in a Required Indigenous Health Course

December 15, 2022

First Nations, Metis, and Inuit

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.”

Read the full text here: https://qane-afi.casn.ca/journal/vol8/iss3/3/

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

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/appaloosa/52258436436

Emerging Media and Production: Nursing Streaming

November 17, 2022

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

Students’ Association Holiday Hampers

November 10, 2022

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.

Look forward to helping others this Christmas!

Post written by: Jennifer Johnson

Nursing Lab Manager

Happy Halloween

November 3, 2022

Hope everyone had a great and safe Halloween as our Nursing students did working on the Pediatric ward on Halloween!

Written by: Jennifer Johnson – Nursing Lab Manager

Photos by: Monica Nash – Nursing Instructor

Learning in Times of Crisis: Digital Stories Created by Nursing Students Have a Powerful Impact on Faculty

October 20, 2022

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

Part-time “Business for Communicators” Program Widens Job Horizons

October 20, 2022

Just over a year ago, RRC Polytech launched Communication Management, a post-graduate diploma program to help professional communicators boost their business acumen and leadership skills. The program’s first cohort is a mix of professionals who specialize in various communication disciplines.

Their common link is that they’re all now working in organizational communications, and came to the Communication Management program to build experience that will open more professional opportunities.

“I have already put my new skills into practice in my work at Manitoba Hydro,” says Kathleen Hodgson, Community Investment and Public Safety Specialist at Manitoba Hydro. “The course content is designed specifically for people like me, who may have mastered the fundamentals of communications but are still eager to learn more. I believe the confidence I gained from taking Business for Communicators 1 gave me the edge I needed to bid on an exciting new role within my organization, and get it.”

“The program has really helped boost my confidence and renewed my passion for my work, which is great for me and Manitoba Hydro,” says Hodgson.

The Communication Management program is offered online, on weekday evenings. The courses cover traditional business topics ranging from operating fundamentals (finance, governance, reporting, labour law) to professional project management and leadership skills. In addition to those, courses provide deeper dives into skills particularly relevant to mid-level communicators, from stakeholder engagement to change management and digital content marketing.

To complete the program, each student will complete a capstone project that puts their skills into practice for a real-life client of their choice – either an employer or another organization they want to help.

“Our Creative Communications grads develop strong communication skills in their diploma program, but we just don’t have the time to build the extensive business knowledge, project management and leadership skills we’d like to,” says Melanie Lee Lockhart, M.A., APR, who coordinates the Communication Management program. “Having taught Public Relations and Communication Management in CreComm for more than a decade, I know the vast majority of our grads find industry jobs quickly. But some eventually need additional training to help them move up.”

“We developed the Communication Management program to connect CreComm grads’ communication skills with the business knowledge and management skills they need,” says Lee Lockhart.

The Communication Management program comprises 12 courses. This coming winter term (January – April 2023), the program will offer its Managing Major ProjectsDigital Content Marketing, and Labour Law and Management courses.

Communication Management

To enrol on a part-time basis in an upcoming course in Communication Management, you first need to submit an application. Learn more about the benefits of the program to apply with confidence, and get ready to advance your career.

Explore program

Communicators Leveling Up Project Management Skills in New Course

October 19, 2022

Between pandemic-related changes in the way we all work and the evolving influence of technology, professional communicators are doing more and more project management. Project management programs and designations are growing out of this need, and are equipping professionals to move up the ranks as they can handle more responsibility. The Managing Major Projects course aims to fill that gap for professional communicators in the Communication Management program.

Team planning a meeting with calendar on computer, search time slot between events, tasks, and appointments, busy business people using time management tool to organize work, colleagues in office

While programs like RRC Polytech’s Creative Communications equip their graduates for the communications side of their roles, they don’t have enough time to develop extensive project management practices and skills.

Enter Managing Major Projects, a course in RRC Polytech’s new post-graduate diploma in Communication Management.

“The fact is, you can’t possibly learn everything you need to manage communications for an organization in a two-year program,” says Rose Regier (CreComm 2015), who has managed major projects for clients, including the Canada Summer Games, and will be teaching the evening course in the Winter 2023 term. “And besides that, you really need to have experience in an organization before you can really understand how project management should properly work.”

“This course was designed for people who are working as professional communicators. We build on what they already know and do, to develop high-level project management skills that will help them successfully play more important roles,” says Regier.

Like all courses in the new Communication Management program, the Managing Major Projects course develops related professional project management skills and picks up at the skill level its students achieved in a communications-related diploma or degree program. The students learn principles and best practices and then apply them to real-life client situations, in their own workplaces where possible.

“[Communication Management] is an innovative, industry-driven program,” says Joey Pothe, Communications Officer, Association of Employees Supporting Education Services (AESES), who is pursuing the post-graduate diploma in Communication Management and took Managing Major Projects in the Winter 2022 term. “It has small, flexible online classes; instructors are knowledgeable industry experts, and the real-world assignments can benefit your current employer.”

Managing Major Projects classes begin the evening of January 3, 2023, online, and are open to anyone with a diploma or degree in business communications, advertising, marketing communications, public relations, or communication management, or who has worked as a professional communicator.

Register for this course

Managing Major Projects is a course that can be taken on a part-time basis as part of the Communication Management program. Once you apply to the program, you’ll have the chance to enroll in this and other courses available in the upcoming Winter term.

Learn more about communication management

Nursing Simulation

October 6, 2022

The Sim family is happy to see everyone in person again! It has been an exciting term so far with everyone back in the labs and simulation. In-person simulation is expanding into courses that have not had simulation in the past. Simulation participants (actors) are back and interacting with students, giving them real life experiences. This allows students to have a unique learning experience providing them an opportunity to increase knowledge and skills with increased authenticity.

Virtual simulation continues to be integrated into courses within the curriculum. This allows students to begin transferring their theory to practice. Our research continues in virtual simulation through the CI Can Virtu-WIL grant with new virtual simulations being developed and more opportunity for upcoming paid research participation for students.

The research study that many of the Nursing Students at Red River College Polytechnic participated in will now be published. The link is below, and we thank you for your participation and continued support of furthering nursing research.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876139922000743?dgcid=coauthor

Allyson Cooper & Kim Pinel – Nursing Instructors

RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

Learn more ›