Academic News

Abstract: A discussion about spirit and soul in an adult learning scenario should start examining the definition and purpose of adult learning. The approach to this term involves many learning theories such as: behaviorism, humanism, constructivism, and critical theory. In addition, many types of adult learning like: instrumental, communicative, and emancipatory learning (Nesbit, Brigham, Taber, & Gibb, 2013, pp. 95-100). Per instance, if we just consider UNESCO’s focus: “… educational processes, whatever the content…whereby people regarded as adults by the society to which they belong: develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge…turn them in a new…development” (Spencer & Lange, 2014, p. 8). It will be difficult to find the role of the spirit and the soul in such consideration.

Date of Publication: July 2015

Author: Miguel Guzman, Department of Accounting and Computer Education

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Julia’s farewell cake from the BIT Space team

Coming from almost as far from Winnipeg as her team member Anderson Pires Pereira (10,000 km), Julia Chiarello Passamani also hails from the Brazilian sub-tropical state of Rio Grande do Sul, but from Passo Fundo, a city of about 180,000 people some 9,300 kms south of us. Following two academic semesters of Business Information Technology, Julia is just days away from completing her year-long stay here and her current project with Bit Space Development. The good news for her team members is that she will maintain a virtual connection to the project and continue to contribute after returning to her university in Brazil.

Read More →

A lover of technology, reading, travelling, and games, Douglas Modena’s first kick at coding was in his high school computer technician course. He then moved on to carpentry at the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI) before returning to Systems Analysis at the Federal Institute of São Paulo, Brazil. Now, thanks to a scholarship from the Canada/Brazil Science Without Borders program, he is wrapping up a year in the Web Development stream of RRC’s Business Information Technology (BIT) program. Interestingly, Douglas’s current development project combines his love of both information technology and carpentry. The interactive game environment he is helping to build for Apprenticeship Manitoba is a platform to introduce young adults to the skilled trades. Read More →

Eva Brown presents Kathryn McNaughton with a Certificate in Social Media Expertise. Congrats and Good Luck to Kathryn!

On May 6th, the RRC Nursing department hosted a diabetes panel discussion as supplemental information for students. The intention of the panel was to educate students by putting a human face to the disease, in order to improve understanding and raise awareness of the challenges diabetics face.  The panelists, consisting of both diabetics and diabetes educators, emphasized that diabetes is a serious disease that nurses need to be educated on.  The nursing students took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and voice their comments and concerns to the panel.

Lori, a nurse manager with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Health Sciences Centre Diabetes Research Group and current National Chair of the Diabetes Educator Section – Executive/Steering Committee Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines, emphasized that people with diabetes need support more than they need education.  She hopes students now understand that nurses should provide both and not assume that diabetics have been previously ‘taught.’

“Diabetes is a chronic disease.  People live with it every minute of every day and they need to become self-managers.” – Lori

Kelly, a CFP – Financial Planner for Goodwealth Financial – IPC Investment Corp., has been diabetic since age 9.  As an active participant in diabetes awareness and research, Kelly hopes students took away the message that diabetes is manageable with assistance, expert tutelage, and guidance.  Kelly is a strong advocate for diabetes research and believes that continued research will assist in the present and future well-being of diabetic clients.

“Feeling sorry for yourself because of diabetes is not an option.  A great attitude goes a long way in diabetes control.  Balance and control now can assist with issues related to diabetes in the future.” – Kelly

The RRC Nursing department would like to thank the panelists for sharing their knowledge and experience with our students.

The 9th Annual Partners in Education and Integration of Internationally Educated Nurses (PIE-IEN) was held in Regina on April 30th and May 1st of this year. One of the highlights at the conference was a presentation from a group of Manitoba nurses with a Red River College connection. Unit Managers Gus Castaneda and Reid Love from the Victoria General Hospital (VGH) partnered with two of their staff who had been through bridging programs here in Manitoba to present how the VGH has actively participated in the development and support of internationally educated nurses over the last 10 years.

The VGH provides clinical placements for students in the BPIEN program at RRC to complete their Level 3 Clinical Practice requirement. Shamaine Ramos, one of the presenters, completed the BPIEN program at RRC and is now a clinical facilitator on one of the units at the VGH for these students. Her husband Niko, an LPN, is a clinical facilitator at the VGH for IENs going through the LPN bridging program at Assiniboine College. The group spoke about how engaged managers can change culture and facilitate IEN acceptance and successful integration onto units and added that it can take several years for this successful integration. The strategies they shared included meeting frequently with students, providing open honest feedback, ensuring safe practice and creating a work environment that appreciates cultural diversity. Shamaine and Niko spoke about how skills learned through bridging education helped them to become active participants on their units, specifically mentioning critical thinking and clinical decision making skills, along with delegation and assertiveness.

Did You Know…

On their road to becoming a nurse in Canada, IENs may spend more than $10,000 meeting various requirements before they reach the point at which they can write the NCLEX?

The Accounting and Computer Education department awarded 33 awards to students in Business Information Technology, Introduction to Business Information Technology and Applied Accounting.  On Wednesday, June 17 the award winners and their guests attended the Awards presentation at Roblin Centre to receive their awards.

Thank you to our Business Information Technology Advisory Committee Chair, Gerry Glatz, for helping to hand out the awards.

Thank you to our award sponsors, Eileen Penner, the Huhtala Family, Gladys Bell, Paterson GlobalFoods, Ricoh Canada, MTS, and Great West Life.

Awards Program 2015

BIT Space bad boy Diego Santos

Diego Santos is an enthusiast of web/mobile technologies, programming, and all things cool. Though more focused on backend PHP and JavaScript/HTML5, he also has solid Java skills for Android and is starting to get into Cordova apps development. A self-proclaimed “authentic Brazilian guy”, Diego loves soccer, both on the field and, because he’s a bit of a nerd too, of course in video games.

He also happens to be a really nice guy. Read More →

Faculty’s Annual Curriculum Day was another great success!  Consisting of a couple great group activities to explore, reflex and learn what others are doing in their courses and demonstrations of the Prenatal Development Module, Portfolio use and Scholarly Writing.

Teaching Excellence Day at our Princess Campus was a great day to reflect on how to find that happy medium of stress vs work vs leisure.

The day included presentations on self care by RRC Nursing graduate Jennifer Thomas and clinical psychologist Dr. Jason Ediger. 

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion looking at different perspectives of self care.  RRC Nursing instructor Cheryl Adam shared her own personal journey, art therapist Darci Adam spoke of the therapeutic benefits of the arts, and Cole Skinner from RRC athletics introduced different recreational services available to faculty. 

The afternoon included World Café group activities where everyone joined different tables to brainstorm topics such as rest, leisure, exercise, and nutrition. 

Pat Gregory finished up the day with a presentation on CV writing.

**A Shout Out to all who helped and organized these two great days! Great Job!!**

RRC Nursing Graduates, Chantal Fortney, and April Graham talked with RRC Nursing students who were about to enter their senior practicum. They told their stories and shared the information that “they wish someone had told them” as they were embarking on the transition to senior practicum and then Registered Nurse.

From classes to Senior Practicum

They spoke of how “building a relationship with your preceptor” is fundamental and takes effort. One tip was to have a five minute debriefing at the end of each practicum shift to help define and work towards a positive working relationship. It is important to set your expectations, boundaries, and have the preceptor assess your skills. An integral piece of advice was to know your facility’s policies and standards. Learn the routines on the unit. “Think of yourself still as a student and try to absorb as much as you can. The practicum RN is there to support you.” April reflected on the first days of senior practicum, when she was still getting used to three twelve hours shifts in a row in her rural hospital setting. She said it’s a good idea to do a few “shadow” shifts and even spend some time shadowing the unit clerk to truly understand how to be efficient in the specific setting. She said in those first shifts, you are learning and transitioning into “who you are as a nurse”.

Chantal shared an experience from one of her first days on her acute medical unit, observing an overwhelming wound dressing change. Her reflection was: “I don’t know if I can do this”. Through perseverance, she later commented that during the last weeks of her 3 month practicum, she had learned to trust her gut instincts. She observed an acute situation and anticipated all of the actions the interdisciplinary team should have been taking to help the client. She found herself “thinking like a nurse”, and proud of her ability to critically analyze, and anticipate nursing implications and interventions.

A strong message to the current students was “90% of what we get tested on in the BN program, we should still do”. For example, when administering medications, don’t take them out of the packages until you get to the bedside. Safety checks are extremely important, every time you give medications.

Although you may only be at your practicum site for three months, it may be a place that you would like to work after the experience. Chantal and April emphasized taking time to build connections. They told the students to make an effort to get to know the staff and the unit manager.

They discovered more about the other disciplines on the units as well. They spoke of consulting with these disciplines to advocate for clients, and how important it was to know your scope. For example, the practicum student cannot sign off on doctor’s orders. Taking time to learn about the paper work and charting involved, was essential to becoming proficient with care.

Through sharing of stories and humour, the RRC graduates talked about adjusting to twelve hour night shifts. Their bodies had to adjust to being functional through the night, and then attempting to sleep in the day. When one works long night shifts and has children at home, those days must be organized ahead of time. Some tips when beginning a stretch of night shifts might be to stay up very late the night before, and sleep in for as long as you can, or another strategy might be to take a very long nap in the afternoon before you go into work. When sleeping after the night shift, make sure your phone is turned off, and you have no distractions.

From Senior Practicum to working as a grad nurse

As the required shifts for senior practicum come to an end, the entry to practice Registered Nurse can prepare to take the RN licensure exam. April and Chantal both agreed it is best to take your time to study for this exam. They advised buying the books, and practicing writing NCLEX style questions.

Before completing your practicum shifts, ask your manager if they could be a reference for you if needed in the future. They spoke of preparing for interview questions that that might arise during the job search process.

Having experience with twelve hour shift work, the former RRC students fully understand the importance of self care. They recommended going through your MARRs at the end of each shift to ensure everything is documented, and how it’s often important to separate work and personal life.

They said once you are hired somewhere, even if it’s the same place as your practicum experience, take a full orientation. It is important to learn the role in which you will be working from the perspective of new employee and not only a student.

April and Chantal shared some challenges, such as learning to delegate as a nurse, and consulting with doctors to advocate for your patients. They shared how important it is to continually develop tools to maintain organization such as worksheets and having the equipment you need in the pockets of your uniforms.

The Students entering their senior practicum valued the information provided by Chantal and April. Thank you to these two graduates of the RRC BN Nursing program for taking the time to share their experiences, and advice.