announced in 2019<\/a>, Sage was completing her undergraduate degree and had been wait-listed for an Occupational Therapy (OT) program at another university.<\/p>\n\u201cWhile waiting to hear if I got into OT, I heard about Brock\u2019s MAG and thought, \u2018this is right up my ally,\u2019\u201d Sage says. \u201cIt has been a great stepping-stone opportunity to help strengthen my reapplication to OT.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Master of Gerontology program, which began in January 2020, only had three months of in-class lessons before having to pivot online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the beginning, we were all very close, as all seven of us in this cohort had the same schedule,\u201d Sage says. \u201cAfter we were sent home, we maintained our connection online and it was a supportive experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of the MAG program, a 300-hour practicum placement is required. Students\u2019 goals and interests are assessed, and they are matched with community and health-care organizations that help to round out existing experience and fill gaps in knowledge and skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cPracticums are an essential part of our MAG program, providing students with an opportunity to \u2018test\u2019 theory and academic knowledge learned in the classroom in real-world work environments,\u201d says Master of Applied Gerontology Interim Graduate Program Director Pauli Gardner.<\/p>\n
Sage\u2019s placement with Niagara Health provided the opportunity to shadow professionals in occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech language pathology. She also worked on a project to help make Niagara Health more senior friendly and presented her ideas to geriatricians and members of the geriatric assessment team.<\/p>\n
\u201cMAG gave me all the experience and training I needed to be accepted into Western University\u2019s School of Occupational Therapy for September,\u201d Sage says.<\/p>\n
For Sydney Pullia (BScN \u201919), who also received her MAG degree at Friday\u2019s virtual Convocation, her passion for the field derived from her close relationship with her grandparents growing up.<\/p>\n
She was always amazed at the stamina both of her grandmothers showed in helping to take care of five grandchildren. From a young age, she was also witness to what Alzheimer\u2019s can do to a person and a family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think back to the times when my grandmother would babysit all five of us grandkids, while at the same time taking care of my ailing grandfather,\u201d Pullia says. \u201cShe would sometimes pile all of us into a car and drop him off at a respite centre. I didn\u2019t really know at the time what was going on, but she was always really great at protecting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was this childhood experience and the early passing of her grandfather when she was in Grade 5 that left an imprint on Pullia, guiding her career path first into Brock Nursing and then to the MAG program for a geriatric speciality.<\/p>\n
Growing up in Niagara Falls, Pullia witnessed the ongoing expansion of Brock and always heard wonderful things about the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to live at home with family, save money and participate in first year clinical experiences were all very attractive to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Learning about the prospect of the new gerontology program while still in third-year Nursing, Pullia instantly wanted to be in the first cohort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pandemic has shown us how important gerontology is,\u201d she says. \u201cThe elderly have experienced the biggest hit from COVID-19 being out of control in facilities that are supposed to be caring for this vulnerable population. Seeing on the news, the lack of support, shortage of personal support workers, learning of all the outbreaks and lives lost \u2014 Ontario needs to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pullia did her MAG practicum at Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre, where she worked closely with nurses but also contributed to a fall prevention policy. She is currently working as a registered nurse at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Parkwood Institute.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work in specialized geriatric services in a registered nurse role. We are focused on rehabilitation,\u201d she says. \u201cPatients come to us from acute facilities, or maybe they\u2019ve had a fall or surgery. It\u2019s my job to help make sure everything is in place for them to go home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pullia describes her MAG experiences as a \u201cyear well spent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were the first group and I hope the faculty learned from us as we learned from them to better support the older adult population and add to the program in future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Master of Applied Gerontology (MAG) professional degree at Brock University is designed for health professionals who work in the field of gerontology and recent graduates from a range of undergraduate programs who intend to pursue a professional gerontological health career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI extend my congratulations to Brock\u2019s very first pool of highly skilled graduates with gerontological competences,\u201d says Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Dean Peter Tiidus. \u201cAs each of you enter the workforce or continue your education and training in health-related professional fields, know that you are leaders with a unique interdisciplinary degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first cohort of graduates from the MAG program also includes Alison Amos, Ian Alcock (BSc \u201919), Daniella Bozzo, Carleigh Silver (BSc \u201919) and Kaitlynn Lutomski.<\/p>\n
For more information, visit Brock\u2019s Master of Applied Gerontology web page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite coming from different backgrounds, Brock\u2019s inaugural class of Master of Applied Gerontology (MAG) graduates all have one thing in common \u2014 the desire to become leaders in the field of aging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":72789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,36,9794,188,55,1,4],"tags":[3333,5521,28,156,10456,4811,5541,10459,8266,10458,15,10455,5173,34,1759,10451,10457],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72788"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72790,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72788\/revisions\/72790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}