Friday, 30 March 2012
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Monday, 26 March 2012
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Monday, 19 March 2012
Do you have what it takes to be a Personal Support Worker?
As the Ontario government announces their $40 Million provincial investment for Personal Support Worker positions in long-term care homes across the province, CTS Canadian Career College is more than ready to meet the demand from both students and employers.
August 30, 2011, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced the following:
Markham, Ontario, August 30, 2011 – The Central Local Health Integration Network, along with Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), is investing $3.97 million to enhance services for seniors who exhibit behaviors associated with complex and challenging mental health, dementia or other neurological conditions by investing in local initiatives that will improve care.
The $40 million provincial investment will allow local health service providers to hire new staff – nurses, personal support workers and other health care providers – and train them in the specialized skills necessary to provide care for these patients with dignity and respect.
The investment is part of the provincial Behavioral Supports Ontario (BSO) project, which focuses on providing quality care for individuals with these conditions, in an environment that is based on safety, high quality, evidence-based care and practice.
CTS Canadian Career College has a reputable relationship with the NACC and a history of providing quality education to students wanting to become Personal Support Workers. In fact, local employers express a strong preference for CTS graduates, as indicated by our 100 per cent employment rate.
In response to community demand, CTS offers a 24 week program with a 10 week placement.
For more information contact Bridgit @ 705 725 8776 ext 29 or bridgitm@cts.on.ca
ONTARIO QUICK FACTS
65% of long-term care home residents have dementia
By 2020 the number of persons with dementia in Ontario will increase by 40% to 220,000
34% of Alternate Level of Care (ALC) bed days are occupied by people with dementia
Friday, 16 March 2012
Death Notification Training/Workshop
.jpg)
Notifying a family of a loved one's sudden death is one of the most difficult and stressful tasks police officers perform. In these situations, officers must not only deal with the shock and grief of the family, but also their own emotions. Training is crucial for preparing police, emergency response personnel, and other support workers to communicate with survivors in an informed and competent way during a tragic situation.For several years, Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD Canada), a charitable organization committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime, has offered death notification training to members of the first response and victim support network across Canada. Recently, CPKN partnered with MADD Canada to adapt its traditional seminar-based Death Notification training program.
This program will be held on campus April 19, 2012 1pm - 4pm, Cost $45, RSVP with payment to myself no later than April 1, 2012
Bridgit @ bridgitm@cts.on.ca
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Transformation
The quest to discover and live our truth is the Hero's Journey, a sacred
pilgrimage home to ourselves. It's the high road-and a rigorous one. We may try
to camouflage our fear of the unknown with bravado, work holism, or apathy.
There's another way: Step One: Give Yourself Permission to be Passionate
Our resistance is the Refusal of the Call. Change whispers in our ear, and we attempt a high-tech tune-out: call waiting, call forwarding, on hold, voicemail. We fight change because acceding to it feels like stepping off a cliff into an abyss. Out of touch with our vital, intuitive nature, we panic and crawl safely back into the shopping center mentality. We resign ourselves to buying the leopard skin pants because we're afraid to be the leopard.
How do we answer this call to reclaim our connection to what's true for us? We start by giving ourselves permission to be passionate, to dream beyond our self-imposed boundaries. As we grant ourselves this grace, the still, small voice inside us grows stronger.
Step Two: Say the First Farewell
One "symptom" of transition is that the familiar starts to seem strange. You feel a need to distance yourself from the "ordinary world" of others. This leave-taking needn't be physical; it can occur symbolically. In the year before I left my corporate post to start my marketing communications business, I made a conscious decision to mentally "let my company go." I still completed the work to my usual high standards, and freed up enormous emotional energy I'd been pouring into job frustration, which I productively channeled into the launch of my business.
Step Three: Enter the Void
Pry those mental fingers loose! Your willingness to be in free-fall, to release one trapeze bar before the next has swung into view, is an essential step in restoring your life: looking again at the story you've created about how the world is, and seeing how this filter distorts your view of beauty-your own beauty.
The poet Rilke encourages us to "live awhile in the question." You're entering a corridor between the worlds; its okay to not know what happens next. As you allow yourself to feel safe inside the space between whom you've been and who you're becoming, the feeling of falling into an abyss will subside.
Step Four: Enlarge the Lens
Marcel Proust said, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." Look with the eyes of wonder, like a child. When children encounter the unfamiliar, they s-l-o-w w-a-y d-o-w-n; allowing their senses to absorb new information. You can do this with personal transformation. Breathe deeply into the mystery. Ask yourself, how can I expand this experience?
Keep a journal. If you're more kinesthetic than visual, dance your change process. What does it feel like as flowing movement? You might also paint or sculpt your journey, or make up songs describing your experiences.
Step Five: Bless the Fear
Fools rush in; the rest of us tremble. Fear is normal. It's even valuable, because it gives us something to push up against, which helps develop our spiritual muscles. This is positive resistance; Weight training for the mind. Fear itself is only a smoke screen: False Evidence Acting Real. You can defuse it with "affirmative action." Every day I look at my office and give it the thumbs-up sign. A simple, powerful, YES for success!
Step Six: Do The Work!
In the Hero's Journey, this is the Initiation. Goethe said, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it/Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Once you commit to change, a confluence of forces moves to assist you.
I draw inspiration from improvisational comedy. The core concepts are: Begin with what is. Don't manipulate the action, discover it. Never stop the action by saying "but" or "no"; instead say "yes, and" and add on to what's come before. In this way we build a story, a calling, a life.
Step Seven: Take The Tests
There's no hitching a ride to self-discovery (or a new career or relationship) on someone else's coattails! To own your power, you must be willing to scrape your psyche on the rocky road inland. It's the only way to discover and claim your unique gift. You'll encounter tests along the way, which can be innocuous or even pleasant, depending on our degree of resistance.
I saw a woman wearing a T-shirt that brings this principle home: "If you want to live life on your own terms/you’ve got to be willing to crash and burn." Now that's answering the call!
Step Eight: Humor Yourself
We can lighten up our enlightenment. A healer once told me, "One day you will hear laughter and realize it's your own voice." It seemed a strange prophecy. Yet as I peeled away layers of false beliefs and crusty attitudes that kept me enslaved, I felt laughter spontaneously bubble up from some subterranean source, and I understood. This is who we are. Let yourself feel the joy, the light, the love inside your being.
To encourage dormant humor, play with a young animal or a child. Make up nonsense words to popular songs and walk around singing them-in public.
Step Nine: Be Grateful
Gratitude and forgiveness are sisters. Be grateful for all the challenging people in your life-bosses, co-workers, children, and friends-because they're your greatest teachers. These relationships are difficult precisely because of your resistance to the teaching, which might be about compassion, self-worth, generosity, or unconditional love. We're always looking in the mirror. If we don't like what we see, we can blame the mirror, or look within. The latter is the path of personal mastery, and peace.
Step Ten: Be the Change
Heroes know that mastering change requires daily practice. I really enjoy the signs in public gardens that say, "Stay on the path." The key to integrating change in our lives is, have big dreams, take baby steps. Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." It's a lifelong process of self-actualization. And it's our reason for being here.
We are
100% responsible for ourselves!!
Monday, 12 March 2012
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Friday, 9 March 2012
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Fear of Change
In most cases fear of change stops us from
taking action. And generally it works with anxiety, self-doubt and guilt to
help it do this.
Anxiety: While
some anxiety is useful and can motivate us there are times when anxiety about
something new can severely limit us; especially if there's uncertainty about
the future.
High levels of anxiety are often brought about
by
- rumors
about change,
- self
doubt,
- uncertainty,
- disregard
for values
This can be crippling.
Identifying and addressing these issues as they
affect you or others can reduce anxiety.
Often a good reality check can be very helpful
too. Making time to find out if the rumors are true might relieve a lot of
unnecessary anxiety, for example.
Anxiety
and Fear of Change work together.
Anxiety stops us taking action in our lives and
makes us resist change by stirring up fears of what is not known. Often certainty
is more comfortable than uncertainty. The anxiety underlying our fear of change
leads to other more specific fears that support a resistance to change. You
might recognize these examples:
- Fear
of the unknown:
uncertainty about the future, especially if you are expected to take a
'leap of faith' or do not have sufficient information, can result in
anxiety.
- Fear
of failure:
tied closely to the need for perfection this fear
promotes anxiety about not getting things right. It makes sense that the
best way to avoid the pain of failing is not to do anything at all.
Yet failure is the only way
to succeed. Think of Edison's failed light bulbs before the one that worked.
Successful business owners have a list of failed attempts behind them. It's the
way we learn. John Maxwell calls it 'Failing Forward' - a useful read to
challenge your attitude towards failure.
- Fear
of success:
Marianne Williamson's words, often incorrectly attributed to Nelson
Mandela:"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest
fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our
darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?" It's as if we don't
believe we deserve success.
Concerns about the meaning
of success; leads to anxiety. We have beliefs about what successful people are
like, and our fear is that we might become like them if we are successful. We
believe that we might lose friends or exploit others, for example. To reduce
the anxiety of this fear of change means that now more than ever we need to
know our values and remain true to them.
- Fear
of loss:
loss is often associated with change. Change can mean that we lose
colleagues, our salary, or even our parking space! Less evident but
equally devastating can be the loss of known routines or the things that
define who we are (like a job title, or a position).
- Fear
of upsetting others: life coaches are taught to
explore the impact of change on other people close to their client. This
is because change can have a ripple effect on others. Of course, this can
be positive. But the fear of upsetting others can cause enough anxiety to
severely limit what we do. I've known clients who have refused promotions
rather than deal with ill feelings from colleagues.
- Fear of leaving a comfort zone: like it or not we are creatures of habit. We like our routines and don't like to be faced with uncertainty. But staying in a comfort zone can be detrimental, as one of the characters in 'Who Moved My Cheese?' discovered (I love the lessons about change in this book and recommend it to everyone).
Self-doubt: Self-doubt
usually expresses itself in phrases like "I'm...not good enough",
"...not clever enough", "...not qualified enough", or
"I'm stupid".
Not only do we start believing this about
ourselves but we fear that others might discover just how hopeless we really
are. Resistance to change becomes a natural option in order to prevent this
from happening.
Putting ourselves down in this way stems from a
lack of confidence and a fear of change that stops us taking any action. It
literally stops us getting ahead in life.
Building self-esteem and self-confidence can
counter the effects of anxiety and eliminate fear of change.
Guilt: people
that regularly put others' needs ahead of their own are likely to experience
guilt if they feel the change they need to make will affect others.
Guilt effectively creates a fear of change in
two ways: it makes us feel bad that we're putting our own needs ahead of other
people's needs, and then it makes us feel bad because we don't take any action.
You can't win!
You'll hear guilt in action in the words people
use. They use the words "should", "must", and "have
to" often. So they'll say, "I really should do
xyz", or "I have to attend the meeting". Maybe
you do this?
There's a lovely story Stephen Covey tells
in his 7 Habits CD set about a young man who came to excuse himself from a
lecture. When Covey asked why he couldn't attend the lecture the student
answered "it's because I have to attend tennis training" (or some
similar reason).
Stephen Covey asked him what would happen if he
didn't go to tennis training and the student said he'd be dropped from the
team. "So you choose to
go to tennis training rather than attend my lecture", observed Covey.
Stephen Covey makes the point that we need to be
aware of our language, and change our "I have to's" into "I
choose to", or our "I should's" into "I want to" or
"I would like to...”
While resistance to change is not abnormal,
understanding people's natural fear of change can help in your planning and
change management strategy.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Characteristics of A Top Teacher
There are many
characteristics, techniques, etc. that make for a successful teacher. These may
be
as varied as the teachers themselves. However,
there are certain time-tested attributes,
characteristics, and
practices which contribute immensely to teacher success.
The following list contains items that
students have used to describe their best teachers.
1. Enthusiasm
1. Enthusiasm
§
Students can feel the
excitement
§
Students easily detect
the teacher's love for job and subject
2. Preparation
§
Teacher knows the
subject
§
Teacher plans and
prepares lessons daily
3. Punctuality
§
Always arrives on time
§
Begins and ends class
on time
§
Expects and encourages
students to arrive on time
4. Support and concern
for students
§
Lets students know
that he/she cares about their success
§
Takes time with
students
§
Allows for creativity
§
Is friendly and
courteous
§
Is supportive and
encouraging
§
Is smiling, caring,
and loving
5. Consistency
§
Does not miss class
§
Is consistent in
attitude and dealings with students
§
Is always well
prepared to teach class
6. Politeness
§
Treats students with
respect
§
Does not condescend
§
Avoids embarrassing
students in class
7. Firmness and
control
§
Is firm in a kind
manner
§
Avoids tangents in
teaching
8. Does not play
favorites
9. Provides personal help
9. Provides personal help
§
Takes time to explain
concepts
§
Gives individual
attention
10. Accepts individual
differences
11. Employs an effective delivery
11. Employs an effective delivery
§
Clarifies for
understanding
§
Creates a sense of fun
with the learning task
§
Eliminates bad,
irritating, and/or distracting habits
12. Does not make
students lose face
§
Avoids criticizing
students
13. Has high
expectations of class members
14. Is humble
15. Is fair
16. Uses variety
14. Is humble
15. Is fair
16. Uses variety
§
Uses a variety of
learning activities
§
Experiments
§
Allows for spontaneity
17. Has a sense of
humor; is relaxed
18. Use of engaged time
18. Use of engaged time
§
Sets a good pace and
provides for a change of pace
§
Avoids engaging
students in "busy work"
19. Use of text
§
Is not a slave to the
text
§
Uses text as a road
map
20. Keeps within 1-2
days of the scheduled course outline
21. Field trips and other activities
21. Field trips and other activities
§
Applies student
experiences to class work
22. Does not always
teach from a sitting or leaning position
23. Interpersonal relationships with students
23. Interpersonal relationships with students
§
Does not allow
students to call him/her by first name
§
Does not try to win a
popularity contest
§
Maintains a healthy
teacher-student relationship
§
Respects students
(remember that sometimes what you think is healthy, fun joking with students
may be interpreted by them as disapproval and dislike.)
24. Does not allow one
or two students to monopolize or dominate the class
25. Keeps accurate records of
25. Keeps accurate records of
§
Work completed
§
Attendance
§
Test results
Grades
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
10 Habits of High Effective Students
1. Don't try cram all your studying into one session.
Successful students typically space their work out over shorter periods of time and rarely try to cram all of their studying into just one or two sessions. If you want to become a successful student then you need to learn to be consistent in your studies and to have regular, yet shorter, study periods.
2. Plan when you're going to study.
Successful students schedule specific times throughout the week when they are going to complete their studying -- and then they stick with their schedule. Students who study sporadically and whimsically typically do not perform as well as students who have a set study schedule.
3. Study at the same time.
Not only is it important that you plan when you're going to study but that you also create a consistent, daily study routine. When you study at the same time each day and each week you're studying will become a regular part of your life. You'll be mentally and emotionally more prepared for each study session and each study session will become more productive.
4. Each study time should have a specific goal.
Studying without direction is not effective. You need to know exactly what you need to accomplish during each study session. Before you start studying set a study session goal that supports your overall academic goal (i.e. memorize 30 vocabulary words in order to ace the vocabulary section on an upcoming Spanish test.)
5. Never procrastinate your planned study session.
It’s very easy, and common, to put off your study session because of lack of interest in the subject, because you have other things you need to get done first or just because the assignment is hard. Successful students DO NOT procrastinate studying. If you procrastinate your study session, your studying will become much less effective and you may get everything accomplished that you need to. Procrastination also leads to rushing, and rushing is the number one cause of errors.
6. Start with the most difficult subject first.
As your most difficult assignment or subject will require the most effort and mental energy you should start with it first. Once you've completed the most difficult work it will be much easy to complete the rest of your work. Believe it or not, starting with the most difficult work will greatly improve the effectiveness of your study sessions and your academic performance.
7. Always review your notes before starting an assignment.
Obviously, before you can review your notes you must first have notes. Always make sure to take good notes in class. Before you start each study session and before you start a particular assignment review your notes thoroughly to make sure you know how to complete the assignment correctly.
8. Make sure you're not disturbed whiles you're studying
When you're disturbed while you're studying you (1) lose your train of thought and (2) you get distracted -- both of which will lead to very ineffective studying. Before you start studying find a place where you won't be disturbed.
9. Use study groups effectively
Ever heard the phrase "two heads are better than one"? Well this can be especially true when it comes to studying. Working in groups enables you to (1) get help from other students when you're struggling to understand a concept, (2) complete assignments more quickly, and (3) teach others whereby helping both the other student and yourself to internalize the subject matter. However, study groups can become very ineffective if they're not structured and if groups members come unprepared. Effective students use study groups effectively.
Monday, 5 March 2012
Creating a Career Vision
If you’re like me, once you decide to make a career change
(or any kind of change, for that matter), you want it to happen now. You’re
ready to start figuring out “how” you’ll get there. But until you’re clear
about the “why” part of it, you’ll be moving ahead without a clear sense of
direction or purpose.
In The 7 Habits of
Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey suggests beginning with the end in
mind. You can figure out the “why” by creating a vision of where you want to be
and then working your way backwards.Your vision tells you your “why.” It’s the big picture that
helps you understand who you are and the sort of work that would be a good fit
for you, before you get into the details of exactly how you’ll get there.
Your career vision:
~Is an expression of your values and accomplishments as
defined by YOU rather than by other people or circumstances.
~Provides focus and a sense of direction, as well as
inspiration and motivation. It represents what you want to accomplish in your
life and what contributions you wish to offer the world.
~Pulls you toward the work that gives your life purpose.
Being pulled is a lot different than feeling pushed from behind to get ahead or
to make more money at the expense of career satisfaction.
To create your career
vision:
Step Away
Take time away from your usual routine for some reflection
and introspection. Find a quiet place, away from distractions or interruptions.
It’s vitally important that your vision come from you, not from the other
people in your life. Explore what’s most true about you; clarify what’s most
important to you. Take a close look at your values and the themes that run
throughout your life. Allow yourself all the time you need to understand who
you are and what you really want.
Look Ahead
Now imagine yourself at some point in the future, living the
way you’ve always wanted. Take a look at yourself – really see yourself, your
true self. What does your ideal lifework look like? What are you doing, what
have you accomplished, what’s important to you? Who are the people in your
life, how much are you making, where do you live?
Describe your career vision clearly and in as much detail as
you can. If you leave it too undefined or hazy, chances are good you won’t get
there. Suspend all judgment – don’t allow yourself to dismiss possibilities as
“too impractical” or “unrealistic.” Let your vision come from your heart.
See the steps forward
Come back to your life as it is now. Where are you currently
in relation to your vision? When you know where you want to be, you’ll see your
current situation much more clearly. Once you know the “why”, the action steps
you’ll need to take to reach your vision (the “how”) will become apparent, even
if it’s just one step at a time.
Put it on paper
Now make it “official.” Create a vision statement that you
can keep in front of you at all times. It can be either written or visual. Some
of my clients like to create a collage to remind them of their vision. Others
write it out and post it where they can see it every day.
With a clear vision as your guide, you’ll be better able to
evaluate opportunities and decisions in terms of how well they align with the
things that are important to you. If something doesn’t fit with your career
vision, you’ll have to ask yourself if it’s worth it.
Creating a vision for your career and life allows you to
consciously choose how you wish to use your talents and honor your values.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
COLOR QUIZ
Color Quiz is a free five minute personality test based on decades of research by color psychologists around the world. There are no complicated questions to answer, you simply choose colors with a click of the mouse! Your test results are completely confidential and we do not keep the results.
This test is based on the work of Dr. Max LĂscher and is used worldwide, most notably in Europe, by psychologists, doctors, government agencies, and universities to screen their candidates. Since the 1950's the test has been given to hundreds of thousands of people.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Personal Support Workers In Demand!
As the Ontario government announces their $40 Million
provincial investment for Personal Support Worker positions in long-term care
homes across the province, CTS Canadian Career College is more than ready to
meet the demand from both students and employers.
August 30, 2011, the Ontario Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care announced the following:
Markham, Ontario, August 30, 2011 – The Central Local Health
Integration Network, along with Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks
(LHINs), is investing $3.97 million to enhance services for seniors who exhibit
behaviors associated with complex and challenging mental health, dementia or
other neurological conditions by investing in local initiatives that will
improve care.
The $40 million provincial investment will allow local
health service providers to hire new staff – nurses, personal support workers
and other health care providers – and train them in the specialized skills
necessary to provide care for these patients with dignity and respect.
The investment is part of the provincial Behavioral Supports
Ontario (BSO) project, which focuses on providing quality care for individuals
with these conditions, in an environment that is based on safety, high quality,
evidence-based care and practice.
CTS Canadian Career College has a reputable relationship
with the NACC and a history of providing quality education to students wanting
to become Personal Support Workers. In fact, local employers express a strong
preference for CTS graduates, as indicated by our 100 per cent employment rate.
In response to community demand, CTS offers a 24 week program
with a 10 week placement.
For more information contact Bridgit @ 705 725 8776 ext 29
or bridgitm@cts.on.ca
ONTARIO QUICK FACTS
65% of long-term care
home residents have dementia
By 2020 the number of
persons with dementia in Ontario will increase by 40% to 220,000
34% of Alternate
Level of Care (ALC) bed days are occupied by people with dementia
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Death Notification Training
.jpg)
Notifying a family of a loved one's sudden death is one of the most difficult and stressful tasks police officers perform. In these situations, officers must not only deal with the shock and grief of the family, but also their own emotions. Training is crucial for preparing police, emergency response personnel, and other support workers to communicate with survivors in an informed and competent way during a tragic situation.
For several years, Mothers against Drunk Driving (MADD Canada), a charitable organization committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime, has offered death notification training to members of the first response and victim support network across Canada. Recently, CPKN partnered with MADD Canada to adapt its traditional seminar-based Death Notification training program.
This program will be held on campus April 19, 2012 1pm - 4pm, Cost $45, RSVP with payment to myself no later than April 1, 2012
Bridgit @ bridgitm@cts.on.ca
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