Did you know clinical experience in a northern, rural B.C. community is vital retaining a newly-trained doctor or nurse to practice in the north?

Health care providers are a critical need in northern rural B.C. To help address the shortage, theUniversityofNorthern British Columbia’s (UNBC) Northern Medical Program Trust (NMPT) provides funding for medical students in the NMP and Family Nurse Practitioner students to pursue rural clinical placements as part of their training.

The NMPT is supported by northern B.C. communities and companies like Encana Corporation, Spectra Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Limited. The trust provides financial support to the tune of about $150,000 a year to students in the NMP and Family Nurse Practitioner program. Students receive cash for rural clinical placements that are part of their educational program. Today, the NMPT endowment stands at about $6.5 million.

Are you a medical or nursing student at UNBC? Interested in a clinical placement in a northern B.C. community? Nursing and medical students attending UNBC are eligible to apply for funding to pursue their rural practical experience. The level of funding varies from year to year and according to the type of clinical experience, but the top amount – about $4000 – goes annually to students who wish to complete a full year of medical school in either Fort St. John or Terrace. To learn more visit http://www.unbc.ca/nmp/welcome.html.

For more information, or to support the Northern Medical Programs Trust, visit www.unbc.ca/giving.

Automotive Service Technician

81 converged on Northern Lights College on May 11 for the annual Dual Credit Day event.

Dual Credit Day provides students with the opportunity to experience their choice of three program areas available to secondary school students for Dual Credit study. The event was held at NLC’s Fort St. John Campus and North Peace Secondary School.

Participants selected from numerous program areas, including: Applied Business Technology, Automotive Service Technician, Business Management, Carpentry, Electrician, Cosmetology, Early Childhood Education and Care, Environmental Practice, Geomatics Engineering Technology, Health Care, Heavy Duty/Commercial Transport Technician, Industrial Instrumentation, Oil and Gas Field Operations, Power Engineering, Social Services Worker Diploma, University Arts and Sciences (English, Psychology, Film, Chemistry), Welding, and Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician.

Electrician

Dual Credit Day gives students hands-on experience to discover information about specific careers. Students learned they could start the transition to a career in Grade 11 or 12, earning secondary and post-secondary school credits while still in secondary school.

It’s great to have so many of our students on the Northern Lights College campus to experience a day in the life of a college student. It gives the students exposure to different careers and helps to set goals. This day is an important part of getting our students career and college ready, said Brian Campbell, district principal of Careers and International Education for SD 60.

Event sponsors included Encana, School Districts 60 and 81, and Northern Opportunities.

The event is a huge undertaking for the College, with participation by a large number of people, including program instructors and current students who helped lead the sessions, volunteers who signed out safety equipment and served lunch to the visiting students, and personnel from Facilities, Information Technology, Food Services, and Student Recruitment departments.

For more information on Dual Credit programs, students should contact their secondary school counsellor. For more information on programs available at NLC, call nlc.bc.ca.

Automotive Service Technician, Health Care and Electrician were three of the programs in which Grade 9 students from School Districts 60 and 81 participated during Dual Credit Day at the Fort St. John Campus of Northern Lights College.

Psychology 101 Dual Credit students in class at the Fort Nelson Campus.

are taking full advantage of an expanding range of Dual Credit learning opportunities at Northern Lights College.

Dual Credit allows high school students to get a head start on their future by earning post-secondary credits at NLC while they are still in secondary school.

Dual Credit programming started in 2002, with an initial focus on trades and technology program areas.

Since 2009, Dual Credit opportunities have expanded into University Arts and Sciences

Psychology 101 Dual Credit students in class at the Fort St. John Campus.

subjects including Biology, Business Management, Criminology, Early Childhood Education and Care, English, Information Technology, Math, and Psychology.

The growth has been especially noticeable in School Districts 60 (Peace River North) and 81 (Fort Nelson).

Academic Dual Credit options began with face-to-face courses at North Peace Secondary School in Fort St. John, but now include courses delivered entirely at the College by College instructors, and even joint delivery of courses by NPSS and NLC faculty who work on a team-teaching model, said Steve Roe, Chair of University Arts and Sciences at NLC.

This year, SD 60 has 94 Dual Credit students enrolled in academic courses offered at NLC. And, through the support of Randy Pauls, Principal of the Northern B.C. Distance Education School, NLC academic Dual Credit courses are also available online.

In SD 60, eligible students must select their academic Dual Credit courses by Sept. 30; academic Dual Credit courses usually run from February to May. The School District pays the tuition; the students pay for their textbooks and student fees.

It’s an investment in our community. We’re helping students to make a seamless transition from secondary school to the world of university-level Arts and Sciences, said Brian Campbell, SD 60’s Principal of Careers and International Education.

And this year, students in School District 81 are taking full advantage of their first opportunity to enrol in academic Dual Credit courses. Fort Nelson and area students are studying in three different academic courses and utilizing three different delivery methods to complete their studies.

Seventeen students attend NLC’s Fort Nelson Campus for in-person delivery of Psychology 101; two students are taking Criminology 101 via videoconference, joining students in Fort St. John; and one student is studying English 100 online.

The Dual Credit course opportunities in University Arts and Sciences provide our students with a smooth transition from high school to post-secondary education, said Denise Stephenson, SD 81’s Career Coordinator. Our school district is very excited to have academic Dual Credit courses available and in the future hope to have an increase in student participation.

The origins of Dual Credit programs in northeastern British Columbia are linked to Northern Opportunities, whose mission is to strengthen individuals and communities in the northeast by enhancing opportunities to succeed in high school, pursue post-secondary education, and build rewarding careers.

We’re building something great here by being able to offer academic Dual Credit, said Roe. Now we want to nurture it and let it grow.

For more information on Dual Credit programming, students should contact their secondary school counselor. For more information on programs at NLC, go to nlc.bc.ca, call toll-free 1-866-463-6652 or email studentrecruiters@nlc.bc.ca.

Grade 9 students from throughout School District 59 experienced Dual Credit programs available at NLC during Dual Credit Day on March 16. Among the programs in which students participated were: Automotive Service Technician, Heavy Duty Technician, and Welding.

Dual Credit Day provides students with the opportunity to experience their choice of three program areas available to secondary school students for Dual Credit study. The event was held at NLC’s Dawson Creek and South Peace campuses.

Participants selected from numerous program areas, including: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering, Automotive Service Technician, Carpentry, Cook Training, Cosmetology, Early Childhood Education and Care, Esthetics, Health Care, Heavy Duty Mechanic, Plumbing, University Arts and Sciences, Visual Arts, Welding, and Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician.

The event included an opening presentation by professional chuck wagon racer Mark Sutherland, who also works for Encana as a public speaker. He reminded the students that Dual Credit Day was a perfect opportunity for them to try out some potential careers.

“If you don’t have an education, that closes doors for you. The opportunities are there, and there’s a thousand things you can do,” Sutherland said. “Today you are going to experience some of those opportunities and careers and you will get a good feeling if this is what you want to do… And it’s okay to change your focus, but it’s not okay to stop. That’s what today is all about. You have three sessions to try things out.”

Dual Credit Day is designed to give students hands-on experience to discover information about specific careers. Students learn they can start the transition to a career in Grade 11 or 12, earning secondary and post-secondary school credits while still in secondary school.

Event sponsors included: Encana, School District 59, Northern Opportunities, and Dominos Pizza.

The College also will be hosting a Dual Credit Day event at the Fort St. John Campus in May.

For more information on Dual Credit programs, students should contact their secondary school counsellor. For more information on programs available at NLC, call 1-866-463-6652 or check the website at nlc.bc.ca.