OCNews

Articles tagged "Health and Social Development"

ECE Conference
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 childhood ...

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Caring for Health Care Students Fund
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 the number of ...

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ECE
OC 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’s Labour M...

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Taylor Hubick
Plasma donor drive campaign boosts OC 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 should do th...

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ECE
OC 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 infants and to...

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Vernon student with a colourful shirt stands in front of the stairs overlooking the Kal View Cafe.
OC 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 one at Okana...

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Caylee wearing her nursing scrubs holding a graduation cap and a photo of her late child
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 time.  Receiving ...

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Early Childhood Educator working with children
OC 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,” says Yvonne...

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Carly Hall
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 College st...

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Haley Chapman and Bailey
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. I’ve fallen in lov...

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Shanise Scherk
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,” says Scherk...

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Practical Nursing student, Shaylyn Douglas
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 Okanagan College. 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 OC 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 physician’s off...

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LPN Jim Fishley
New LPN Orthopaedic Program at OC 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 to build t...

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Ty Sideroff story
Ty Sideroff

September 3, 2021

“I have always been interested in our anatomy and exercising so I enrolled in OC’s Kinesiology Diploma program. My first year was going really well, then COVID-19 hit. I was able to finish the first year in an online format. However, starting school in September completely online, I was struggling to stay engaged with my studies. Before COVID, many of our classes would be active and in the gym. I found it hard to stay present with everything online and not having the same convers...

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Gary and Sharmaine Powell in the dental clinic at Okanagan College's Health Sciences Centre.
Gift from dentalcorp to support critical skills shortage

August 27, 2021

With shortages of Certified Dental Assistants (CDAs) across Canada, dentalcorp is investing in a local solution with a gift to the Our Students, Your Health campaign. Canada's leading and fastest-growing network of dental practices, dentalcorp is giving $35,000 in support of a new dental clinic inside Okanagan College's Health Sciences Centre. The modern clinic will educate CDAs for the Okanagan and beyond. “It’s important to our network and our industry as a whole to foster innovative, best-in-class professional development, among our next...

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Skoglund Family
Skogie’s 50th anniversary adds shine to student experience

July 28, 2021

Skogie’s car washes are celebrating 50 years of business by making the ride for Okanagan College students a little easier. For every year the family-run business has been in operation, Skogie’s is donating $1,000 to Okanagan College — for a total of $50,000 in honour of their half-century anniversary. “We've hired a lot of Okanagan College students over the years,” says David Skoglund, who founded the company in 1971. “We want to support young people and help them get ahead and we also wanted to give back to our community.” The gift will su...

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