Dan Marcil, Noel Pendergast and Dave Wilson (photo Paige Hoveling)
On September 18th, Noel Pendergast (School of Health Sciences) was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at the AGM of the Nova Scotia Lung Association. Dave Wilson, Nova Scotia Minister of Health and Wellness, presented Noel with the award for his volunteer work in the community promoting lung health. Congratulations to Noel on this accomplishment!
Ian MacIntyre (Dentistry), Laura Jewell (Health Admin.), Alison Taylor (Physiotherapy), Jennifer Egan (Human Communication Disorders), Elycia McKeand (Nursing), Ashley LeClerc (Health Sciences), Lori Walsh (Occupational Therapy)
The newly reinstated Dalhousie Health Sciences Students Association executive recently represented Dalhousie University at the National Health Sciences Students Association Conference held in Waterloo, Ontario. The conference provided the opportunity to hear inspirational and informative speakers, teach delegates how to sustain a council at their university, watch students from the host university perform emergency situation simulations (including a birthing, car fire, ice rescue and smoke inhalation), network with other delegates, and participate in a Health Care Team Challenge, among others. With regards to the Health Care Team Challenge, the students were given a brief overview of a patient case prior to attending the conference. At the conference, each team offered their prognosis of the case in a brief five-minute presentation. Once all teams had presented, the teams were provided with more information about the case and were then required to formulate a treatment plan for the patient. The Health Care Team Challenge was an excellent interprofessional learning experience. It gave students an opportunity to further understand the roles of various professions while learning how to collaborate to share knowledge and perspectives on patient care and communicate what they perceive as important in a respectful manner. The executive is currently developing a proposal to be able to host an internal Dalhousie Health Care Team Challenge in early 2013.
Valedictorian Catherine Anne Gunn addresses fellow graduates
After six years at Saint Mary’s University, Professor Catherine Anne Gunn (School of Health Sciences) received her Master of Business Administration. Gunn completed her MBA as a part-time student while teaching full time in Dalhousie University’s School of Health Science and raising a family. In her address to graduates, she highlighted many of the challenges she’s faced over the years, and the rewards she reaped at the end of the long tunnel.
“I am not sure if there is anyone that is more excited than me to be in this room today,” said a beaming Catherine Anne Gunn, valedictorian for the ceremonies.
“It’s good to be challenged,” she said. “It forces you to work harder and draw on the strengths of your classmates, teachers, colleagues, friends, and family. And it makes you dig deep inside yourself and discover skills you didn’t know existed.”