OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME TWO
THE
APPLE NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER EDITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE HEALTH STUDIES STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME TWO
 
WHAT THIS IS The purpose of this newsletter is to help keep the students of health studies upto-date and informed of what’s happening within their faculty. Students can read about a variety of topics ranging from current health issues to studentfriendly recipes. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or articles you wish to submit, email us at: westernhssa@gmail.com
OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME TWO
ANDREA’S WALK
On Friday September 30th hundreds of students participated in Andrea’s Walk. A walk to remember Health Studies Student Andrea Christidis who we lost last year to someone’s choice to drink and drive. The walk was held to commemorate Andrea and to raise awareness around impaired driving. Students gathered on Concrete beach and walked through Gibbons Park, out Beaufort Street and up Wharncliffe Road back to c a m p u s, w i t h M o t h e r s Ag ainst Dr unk Driving (MADD) flags waving high in the sky to show passerby’s what the walk was supporting. Following the walk, students, friends and faculty were invited for snacks in HSB and then proceeded to Lambton Drive
for a memorial service at the accident location. Andrea’s friends and loved ones laid white roses and a moment of silence was observed to remember and reflect. Participants wore their red and blue ribbons throughout the day- Red to symbolize their pledges to drive sober and blue, Andrea’s favourite colour, to always remember her. $400 was raised for MADD London with solely the d o n a t i o n s o f We s t e r n Students and Faculty. After a successful first Andrea’s Walk, HSSA hopes to make the walk an annual event.
On behalf of HSSA, we would like to thank everyone that supported Andrea’s Walk.
OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME TWO
EAT Chocolate Avocado Ice-cream Recipe by Kaitlyn Tyschenko WAIT! Before you blast past this thinking “how can avocados make ice cream”… I am here to show you a whole new world. This “ice cream” is creamy, delicious, and something I made all the time. Its super easy to make on the spot and have ice cream a few hours later. Not to mention its filled with healthy fats and nutrients to power you up instead of slow you down.
Ingredients •
• • • •
6 medjool dates (pits removed, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes and then drained)*super easy to find these guys at any grocery store or bulk barn 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted 1/2 cup cacao or cocoa powder 3 tablespoons maple syrup or sweetener of choice 1 cup non dairy milk – I am a big fan of cashew milk, its creamy but not too heavy
Directions
1. Once you have soaked your dates for 20 minutes in warm water, add all of the ingredients to your blender / food processor / magic bullet (how I make mine.. student life) 2. Taste it to make sure its sweet enough for you, and add sweetener if personal preferences require. 3. It should be a thick creamy almost pudding like consistency. If it isn’t then add more of your non – dairy milk of choice. 4. Line a shallow bowl / plastic container with parchment paper and fill it up with the mixture. ** I usually do a layer of no more than an inch so it freezes faster and I can eat my ice cream asap ** 5. Pop in the freezer and do some readings (or let’s be honest watch some Netflix) 6. In about an hour and a half to two hours, check on it and see where its at freezing wise. Some freezers are different and may take longer so just check on it.
OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME TWO
EAT MORE Coconut Thai Rice Recipe by Kaitlyn Tyschenko I am giving you a ‘you’re welcome’ in advance for this amazing rice dish. My aunt brought it to a family dinner a few years back and after one bite I was at her side asking for (demanding the recipe).
Ingredients • • • •
•
1 cup brown rice 3-4 table spoons coconut oil 4-5 sun dried tomatoes (jarred, can be found at most grocery stores but definitely at Farm Boy) 2-3 tablespoons of Coconut Thai Spice – buy it at Bulk Barn, its super cheap and I honestly put it on everything. ½ cup red Spanish onions (or more if you are like me and are very passionate about onions)
Directions
1. Cook your brown rice (boil 2 cups of water until simmering, add rice, keep on high temp for one minute constantly stirring, then reduce heat to a low simmer putting the lid on, and leave it WITHOUT OPENING for 20 minutes, but do check on it) 2. While rice is cooking finely dice the onions and sun dried tomatoes 3. Once your rice is done, sauté the onions in 1tbs of coconut oil on a medium heat until the onions are translucent, adding the tomatoes about half way through. 4. When onions are finished, add the rice, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and Coconut Thai Spice, sauteeing on a medium heat to slightly brown the rice and incorporate all the spices. 5. You are done! Serve hot or cold, it is delicious either way.
SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME ONE
Cleaning with Castile By: Kyleen Wong My love for castile soap is real. As I sit and write this article, I occasionally look over at the bottle of Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Baby Unscented Pure Castile Soap sitting on my desk. For inspiration, of course. Castile soap is a genuinely ecological and simple soap that contains no deterg ents or synthetic ingredients. Made from fair trade and organic ingredients, castile soap is completely vegan and free of fragrances, parabens, sulfates, triclosans, to name a few. It literally contains nothing more than a water, citric acid, vitamin E, and a number of vegetable oils. The oils are saponified with potassium h y d r o x i d e ( KO H ) a n d sodium hydroxide (NaOH), both of which are completely used up in the reaction. If you are curious as to what traditional soaps are made of and the potential health hazards these ingredients can pose, I encourage you to Google it. Just last month, the Food and Drug Administration in
the US banned 19 chemicals found in consumer hand and body washes because the chemicals may pose health risks. The ruling was based on research that shows that chemicals like triclosan and triclocarban can disrupt hormone cycles and cause muscle weakness. I didn’t initially switch to castile soap for health reasons, however. What drew me in was Dr, Bronner’s claim of 18-in-1 uses and the idea that one soap could do it all. Over the years, I had accumulated a lot of personal care products and I was really looking to minimalize that area of my life. There was definitely a learning curve to using castile soap, especially when it came to washing my hair with it. But over a couple weeks, I really came to appreciate how convenient it was to use just one product for cleaning purposes. Secondarily, I appreciated that Dr. Bronner’s was all-natural and free of potentially hazardous chemicals commonly found in consumer care products.
Out of Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 uses, I currently use castile soap to wash my hair, body, face (including removing makeup) and to clean around the house (tub, toilet, counters, floors). I’m still using up the enormous four-pack of familysized toothpaste I bought from Costco before I made the switch, as well as the eco-friendly laundry detergent my mom keeps buying for me, so I haven’t made the switch to castile soap for brushing teeth or laundry just yet. (Although I’m not sure I would want to brush my teeth with Dr. Bronner’s because it will literally taste like soap…) And just out of convention, my roommates and I communally use ecofriendly dish detergent to wash dishes. But if I regularly practiced aromatherapy and had ants or aphids to kill, I would use castile soap. All in all, I highly recommend using castile soap as it is eco-friendly, effective, and simplifies cleaning yourself and your living space. When bought on sale and used in proper dilutions, I daresay that you might even save money on cleaning products. You could love castile soap for that reason alone.
SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME ONE
GRAD COLUMN Monthly Interviews of Health Studies alumni who are currently pursuing graduate studies or employed in the workforce. By: Arushan Arulnamby (VP Academics)
Name: Jathuson Jegatheeswaran Graduate Studies: Masters in Health Infor mation Science (MHIS) focusing on Health Informatics at Western University Undergraduate: Double Major in Health Science and Biology Favourite health sciences course: My favourite health sciences course was Emerging Trends in Healthcare [HS 2045 A/B]. The reason that it was my favourite course was because I started learning about health information technology, which is something I got interested in and that is what I decided to do my Master’s later on. W hat is health infor mation science? From my understanding, health information science is a very broad term. It encompasses a lot of things such as knowledge translation, health informatics, and health policy. There are so many different streams within health information science. It is the study of health information in a variety of sectors within healthcare.
Why did you choose this field of study, especially focusing on Health Informatics? There is a little bit of a personal story involved in this. In second year, my roommate got diagnosed with a heart condition called Brugada syndrome. Because he presented with epileptic seizures, we were given a consultation to the neurology department. In the neurology department, they placed a pacemaker inside of his chest, as they believed it was the right course of action at the time. Three months after, we went to the cardiology department and they said that he doesn’t require that pacemaker and that they can actually just monitor him externally. I believed that the problem there was no interconnectivity within those two departments. So I thought to myself, how can I change the system or what sort of research can I do to implement a system that allows more interconnectivity within the healthcare system. That is how I got involved in health information technology. As I told you, in second year I took this course, Emerging Trends in Healthcare, which is when I first learned about electronic health records and medical records and their application within the healthcare
What did you do in your undergraduate years in and outside of school to prepare yourself for graduate studies? I got involved in a lot of clinical and relevant health experience. I worked at four different hospitals over the course of my undergraduate degree. They include; Markham Stouffville Hospital, Victoria Sick Children’s Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital; and University Hospital. I did a variety of r e l e va n t wo r k a n d vo l u n t e e r experiences on the clinical side. On the healthcare side, I was a research assistant for Dr. Shannon Sibbald, the healthcare management professor, and Dr. Sandra Regan, the health policy professor. For the health policy professor, I did a primary healthcare reform study in Ontario of over 700 articles in the past 10 years through PubMed, Scopus, Hansard, and other grey literature articles. For Dr. Shannon Sibbald, I did an analysis of over 23 000 public health workforce surveys to get a better understanding of the public health workforce. I actually worked throughout the years and the summers as I did full time study and part time research.
SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE
VOLUME ONE
Grad Column Continued… H ow wa s t h e t r a n s i t i o n f r o m undergraduate to graduate studies like? Undergraduate required a lot of analysis, understanding, and technical skills. In Master’s you are taking that analysis to the next level and you are applying it to the workforce. You are doing more literature analysis and you are understanding higher concepts. For example, I am taking a course in scientific computing where I am learning a little bit more about coding and how it relates to the healthcare field. On the other side, you are also writing a lot of papers. I wrote a couple of papers on applications of big data analytics on electronic health records and medical records. I wrote a professional practice brief for the Canadian Health Information Management Association on cloud computing. You get a lot of publications in as well through your Master’s so your quality of your work has to increase compared to undergraduate because it actually gets published in papers that are read by health information managers. That is the real difference between undergrad and grad, you are actually doing more work that might be relevant within your field and so you have to increase the quality of your work. What is the structure of the MHIS program at Western University? There are two different structures, there is a thesis-based option and a course based option. A thesis based requires you to take a little bit more research method courses and it requires you to follow up on a timeline through which you have to finish a project. Then there is a coursebased option, which gives you more leeway in the courses you can take. You do a course project at the end of the whole course-based Master’s, and you don’t have the same timeline, you create your own timeline to finish that project.
What do you like best about your program? It gives me so much room to develop because it gives me conferences that I can go to. I actually got the job that I worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital as a Policy Coordinator and Clinical Statistician through my Master’s program as one of my super visors referred me to that job. It is what you take out o f a M a s t e r ’s a n d Western offers a lot in terms of opportunities, that is what I really liked about the program. What is a typical day of graduate studies? A typical day of graduate studies is very similar to what I believe I experienced in undergrad. You go to your classes, come back, you do all your homework, and you start writing ideas for papers. After that I personally spent a lot of time looking up jobs, what their qualifications are, and then analyzing that [information]. I also prepared myself for the workforce. After, I just have fun; going to the gym, working out, and stuff like that. What do you plan on pursing after completing this program? What are your future career goals? I definitely want to go into implementing electronic health records and medical records at a hospital level. My three step plan is starting with that, then going into a director level at local health integration network or community care access centre. Finally I want to become the Chief Information Officer at a hospital. I know it is an extremely big position but that is my three-step plan after graduating.
Is there any advice you would like to share with current Health Studies undergraduate students? Academics are extremely important; however, I believe chasing opportunities to get experience is also ver y important. Nowadays in the workforce, a lot of people are looking for relevant work experience and they are asking for at least a minimum 2 or 3 years [of] experience for even entry-level jobs. You just have to prepare yourself by trying to maximize on all opportunities and developing connections at work rather than focusing on the academics.
VOLUME ONE
SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE
Take Care of Yourself, Each Other, & This Place By: Richard Truong It’s that time of the year again when leaves change colours, cozy knitted sweaters wrap around you, and everyone is holding a steaming hot beverage. The joys of autumn should be enjoyed while walking through a forest of fallen red, yellow, and brown leaves. When in reality, only a glimpse is captured mid-studying while gazing above the cubicle wall at Weldon Library. Psychological Services Individual, drop-in, and crisis psychological counselling, groups, and psychoeducational lecture series (519) 661-3031 Student Health Services Appointment-based medical clinic, includes counselling and psychiatry (519) 661-3030 Sexual Assault Centre London (519) 438-2272 Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Centre 24/7 walk-in crisis assessment and support (519) 433-2023 or 1 (866) 933-2023
It’s midterm season. One of the most stressful aspects about university as we juggle tests, papers, assignments, exams, all on top of ongoing class. But, this isn’t an article about how stressful this period is, because we’ve all been there. Rather, this article is to remind you and everyone around you to take care of yourself and each other. “How are you? No really, how are you?” As students who belong to the Western community, we need to check in with each other and start initiating these difficult conversations about mental health. A genuine curiosity about someone’s wellbeing could get them the support they need.
Good2Talk 24/7 post-secondary student helpline 1 (866) 925-5454
But it’s also important to check in with yourself. I know how intimidating and frightening it is to ask for help. It might seem easier to try to “deal with it myself,” but trust me, it’s not. And the great thing is that you’ll never have to deal with it yourself. There are plenty of resources on- and offcampus to help you get through any issue.
Wellness Education Centre Offering Western students a safe, comfortable environment to get connected with wellness resources. UCC room 76 or call (519) 661-2111 x87127
To the left are frequently used wellness resources. If you have any questions regarding the resources presented or wish to know about other potential resources, the Wellness Education Centre would be more than happy to assist.
VOLUME ONE
SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE The Student Opportunity Fund, a.k.a the SOF, applications are now out. Essentially, the SOF financially supports students and student groups in the Faculty for activities and events that are outside of those typically covered by their tuition costs. So you might as well apply if you think there is a fit! Here are some examples of what has been supported in the past:
Student Opportunity Fund (SOF)
Guest speakers CPR classes at reduced prices Leaders of the Future conference Undergraduate Convocation receptions The Health Care Challenge Canadian Nursing Students’ Association Regional Conference Health Achieve Conference Canadian Undergraduate Conference on HealthCare Apply through OWL! Applications are due November 1st! Health Studies: http://www.westernhssa.com/sof Nursing: http://www.wfnsa.com/student-opportunityfund Kin: https://www.facebook.com/UWOKIN/ Questions? Go to HSB 8!
WRITE for US If you’re looking for an opportunity to get published, consider becoming a writer for The Apple Newsletter. We’re looking for writers who are interested in the topics of health & wellness, food & nutrition, and student life. If you wish to have your article reviewed for publishing, please submit it to Richard (rtruong5@uwo.ca).
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