MyLife at BCIT

All about practicum

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Tiffany Fong

Sorry but I have been having some technical difficulties since last week. My laptop decided to die on me. I have to be creative so I’m writing the posts on my cellphone :( My posts won’t have any wonderful images for now….I also have a really interesting post I wanted to write on part 2 of the ultrasound workout stay tuned for it at the end of June! (I will fix my laptop in Van and the pics for that post are in the comp)

Wow I can’t believe that it’s week 5 of the practicum already! I’m 1/3 of the way there! I have been getting many questions about practicum recently so I decided to make a mini guide of it.

Clinical coordinator:
Nancy Chouinard (your go-to person)

First month of school:
-We were given a form to fill out for our top three preferences of where we will be sent for out of town placements
-At least one clinical placement will be outside of the lower mainland
- the lower mainland stretches from N Van to White Rock and Point Atkinson to Chiliwack
- Consideration was given to those who had free housing outside of the lower mainland

Two months before practicum:
- After Xmas break we were told our placements
- Most placements were in town

One month before practicum:
- We did our fit test (found our size for face masks)
- We met our clinical liaisons when they came to BCIT for their training

Before practicum started:
- Found housing and transportation (we are responsible for this)

Length of practicums:
4 terms (11-12wks long)
Terms are split into two separate rotations 8 rotations (incl. 2 5-6 week cardiac rotations)

Preparing for practicum:
- Clinical prep class during level 2 taught by Nancy
- We were told what to expect, how to act professionally, how to fill out forms, what was expected of us….etc. – Level 2 labs concentrated on time efficiency and fine tuning skills
- Level 2 intro us to pathology and scanning babies
- Nursing class in level two taught us how to move patients, safety, what to do in emergencies, how to care for patients….etc.
- Clinical manual and binder given to bring to the placement

Paperwork:
- Weekly performance forms filled out by sonographers
- Log of every case we scanned
- Mid and end of rotation forms
- Site evaluation

Schooling during practicum:
- there is none! Yay!
- Studying to keep material fresh in our minds
- Studying for end of term exam :-(

During practicum:
- Working with the clinical liasons and other staff
- Learning as much as we can :-)
- Learning to work the computer, fill forms, scan (of course), answer the clinical question, how to work with patients/staff/sonograhers…etc.
- Sucking up….hahaha well ok more like making a good impression
- 2 visits from a member of the faculty to see how far along we are progressing in relation to our targets

After practicum:
RELAX!!!!!!!! We get July and Aug off! :-)

* please note that the timing and information above may change. This is just a guideline.

Posted in Everything Else, My Program, Off Campus | 2 Comments

Open house fallout and other thoughts…

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Barry Warren

We won!! Open house went off without a hitch, and the SRMT program walked away with the most coveted prize of the affair, a second place ribbon for team spirit. I’m more proud of this award than I ought to be, but I am also strangely reminded of the ‘participant’ ribbons I would invariably earn at elementary school track meets. It’s nice to receive a bit of recognition, as the first and second year classes really did put a lot of energy into the event. The most enjoyable part of the weekend was getting out and seeing some of the other displays around campus.

Had I been aware that the Environmental Health program gets to make freeze dried ice cream, I may have ended up on a very different academic path. This stuff was delicious, and probably my highlight for the weekend. Anything which allows me to consume sugar while pretending I’m an astronaut is a winner in my books.

Hey look, some highly infectious bacteria. This is quite cool but I’d have been a little more comfortable if I had known this was in the room before I ate a copious amount of ice cream.

I lost about 15 minutes of my day when I was inadvertently hypnotized by this wacky wave machine. Yes, it was interesting, just not interesting enough for me to go to the room and find out what the heck it was.

I am very disappointed that I didn’t get to see anything fired from this trebuchet. If there is anything I enjoy more than pretending I’m an astronaut, it’s pretending I’m a knight.

So now that the glamour of open house is behind us the SRMT crew is back to the regular grind, both in the classroom and the woods. This photo was taken last Friday on our geohazards field trip in North Van. It’s certainly becoming harder to focus on school as the weather gets nice and the program comes to a close. I am pleased to report that this final semester seems to have some the most interesting courses yet. There has been one recent development on campus, however, which has displeased me greatly.

The awesome xlerator hand-dryer in the new SW1 restroom has been replaced with this flashy piece of junk. Where I could previously have the water blasted of my hands in a mere two seconds I’m now left thrusting my arms back and forth like a stooge into the dyson airblade. Not impressed, BCIT. Not impressed.

Posted in Campus Life, My Program | Leave a comment

Today is the half way point for internships…

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Amy MacDonald

And if it’s the half way point for internships, then yes that’s right – graduation is just around the corner!

This begs the question: If we’re graduating in five weeks, where does life go after that?

From meeting so many unique people in my program I’ve realized we all will be moving on with our lives by taking very different, but fitting paths – all according to our backgrounds, experiences and future goals. There really isn’t a “right” path to take or a specific mold that we will all come out of upon graduation.

A lot of students already have bachelor degrees or years of work experience. For them, BCIT was a way to jump start their careers. So, upon graduation their goal is to find an amazing job to begin their careers. Often this can stem from the internships they are in right now.

Others may have completed a couple of years of university prior to BCIT and still want to complete their degree. Some will go right into the BBA (Bachelor of Administration) here at BCIT or may transfer to another school to complete their degree in another field.

Then there are other options. Travelling, volunteering, studying abroad are all great things to do, especially if you are unsure of where to go next. One thing is for certain, you never know where the skills you have learned from this program will pop up!

That’s what I love about my program and marketing. There is such a variety of options for occupations and ways to use what you have learned in everyday life.

So yes, remembering that #000000 is black in Photoshop or how to do a correlation analysis in marketing research may be useful for down the road, no matter what direction life takes you.

Posted in Graduation, My Program | Leave a comment

Speak Up Speak Out

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Tiffany Fong

It is mental wellness week at BCIT and from April 16-20th, the BCIT Student Association and BCIT Student Services have organized a series of events, classes and workshops. They aim to reduce stigma around the topic of mental health and increase awareness.

Vist the Great Hall (SE2 @ Burnaby Campus) everyday from 10am-2pm to find the Speak Up Speak Out team. Of course there are incentives like getting valuable info, getting freebies, and entering a contest.

It is nice to see that BCIT really values their students. They want us to be healthy so we can succeed. It’s rare to see a holistic view of health.

“Mental wellness is a fundamental contributor to the educational, career, and personal successes of our students,” said Don Wright, president of BCIT. “I encourage all students to take part in Speak Up Speak Out and to learn about the support services BCIT offers.”

for more information check out

http://www.bcitsa.ca/wordpress/?page_id=1858

some supermodels…oops I mean DMS instructors showing their support -it's very easy to confuse the two :)

(special thanks to Anne for the picture!)

Posted in Everything Else | 2 Comments

Pictures from the Open House

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Tiffany Fong

For you who missed it….including me! Unfortunately I was not there for the Open House but I heard great things about it. Hopefully many of you were able to make it and checked out the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program :D