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Google

Search Inside Yourself Training: Register by January 5, 2018

Search Inside Yourself Training: Register by January 5, 2018

By Miranda Massie on December 7, 2017

In support of UBC’s commitment to workplace health and wellbeing, HR has secured special, one-time funds to subsidize the costs associated with offering a unique professional development opportunity to UBC Vancouver faculty and staff.

Developed at Google and founded in neuroscience, Search Inside Yourself (SIY) is a unique training program that uses emotional intelligence and mindfulness to optimize performance, build leadership skills and increase wellbeing. The SIY program consists of:

  • 2-day, in-person, cohort-based training taught by SIY-certified instructors (January 15 and 16, 2018 at UBC Vancouver)
  • 4 weeks of follow-up exercises, content and cohort conversations via email (approx. mid-January to mid-February)
  • 1-hour debrief session via webinar to integrate learning, answer questions and provide direction going forward (approx. late February)

Cost: $50 per person (eligible for PD funding). Registration deadline: January 5, 2018.

Spots are limited and are filled on a first come, first served basis. Register now!

For more information, including program benefits and what’s included in the cost of the program, visit the Search Inside Yourself webpage.

Posted in Events | Tagged education, emotional intelligence, event, Google, leadership, Mindfulness, professional development, program, Search Inside Yourself, training | Leave a response

Free Events This Month: December 2017

By Melissa Lafrance on December 7, 2017

QPR Suicide Prevention Training | December 11 | 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (Location: Point Grey)

QPR Training is an internationally recognized suicide prevention program designed to help you question, persuade and refer. QPR acts as an emergency mental health intervention designed to save lives, much like CPR or other methods of emergency medical intervention. Learn to recognize suicide warning signs, how to approach someone who may be at risk, persuade the person to seek appropriate health services, and connect the person to resources that will help resolve crises. Suicide is preventable. Find out more and register now.

Sit-Stand Desks & Platforms | December 11 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Location: Point Grey)

This workshop will provide important information about different types of sit-stand desks and platforms available on the market. Understanding the pros and cons of each will assist departments, staff and faculty in deciding which option is most suitable. Product samples will be available for participants to try out in order to get an idea of how the different models impact positioning and workflow. Find out more and register now. 

Building Career Resilience in Change (three-part series) | December 12, 2017 – March 1, 2018 (Location: Point Grey)

Changes in the workplace continue at a rapid pace. How do we not only respond to the changing workplace, but also engage with it in ways that support our career development? Join UBC’s Career Navigation & Transition Consultant Pooja Khandelwal in a group coaching series on Building Career Resilience in Change.

Attend this three-part, lunch-hour series to gain insights and skills about career resilience, including the ability to access appropriate resources. Find out more about the series and register now.

  • 12: Part 1 – The Changing Workplace and its Impact on Careers
  • 18: Part 2 – Career Wellbeing as a First Step to Career Resilience
  • 1: Part 3 – Career Resilience Framework

Office Ergo Rep Training | December 19 | 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Location: Point Grey)

If your department is looking for more efficient response and support with regards to ergonomic issues for staff, consider taking the three-hour Office Ergo Rep Training. Learn basic ergonomic risk factors and assessments, as well as proper computer workstation set-up, and get resources to take back to your unit. Find out more and register now.   

Search Inside Yourself Training Program | January 15 & 16, 2018 (Location: Point Grey)

In support of UBC’s commitment to workplace health and wellbeing, HR is offering a unique professional development opportunity to UBC faculty and staff at the Vancouver campus. Developed at Google and founded in neuroscience, Search Inside Yourself (SIY) is a unique training program that uses emotional intelligence and mindfulness to optimize performance, build leadership skills and increase wellbeing.

The cost is only $50 per person (eligible for PD funding). Spots are limited and are filled on a first come, first served basis. Register by January 5, 2018. Find out more and register now.

Coming in January 2018:

January 22 – March 25: UBC’s Annual Walkabout

January 31: UBC Suicide Awareness Day

February: Annual Travelling Health Fair (dates to be announced in January)

Posted in Events, Healthy UBC Initiatives | Tagged career resilience, Change, emotional intelligence, Ergonomics, Google, Mindfulness, QPR, Search Inside Yourself, suicide prevention training | Leave a response

The Dangers of Dr. Google

The Dangers of Dr. Google

By Miranda Massie on May 6, 2014

Happy spring everyone!  The tulips and daffodils have come out to greet us and UBC’s summer semester is almost in session.  Things around campus will gradually slow down over the coming months as preparations begin again for the fall.

In speaking to colleagues in past years, this seems to be a time when staff and faculty feel that they have more time to invest in their own health and self-care.  With this in mind, I would like to share a cautionary suggestion for improving our collective health literacy this spring: Just say no to search engine diagnosis: Avoid Dr. Google.

Outside of my role at UBC, I am a volunteer contraception counsellor at a local sexual health clinic.  I would describe a large majority of the clients that I meet as “Googlers”.  These clients come into the office, their brains overflowing in information, convinced of a diagnosis and terrified by chat rooms filled with side effects and worst-case scenarios.

It is important to know that I whole-heartedly believe in arming ourselves with information and in using the internet as a tool to empower, to learn and as a way to facilitate support networks with respect to health.  It is great to do research before meeting with a health care provider or to understand how a type of medication works; however, obtaining this information from a trusted and validated source is paramount.

Reading information from un-validated sources can lead to inaccurate self-diagnosis, and  high anxiety provoked by reading horror stories about medication side effects.  This anxiety can be further elevated by often frustrated, first-person experiences that are more of a venting opportunity than practical solution.  The truth is, everyone’s body is different, and has  the possibility of reacting differently depending a myriad of factors.

Research shows that we are far more likely to recover quickly and successfully if we are positive about our outcomes. Turning to Dr. Google can in fact raise our anxieties instead of assuaging them.  We read about unsuccessful outcomes and possible eventualities and we convince ourselves we have all of the answers.  As humans, we have a tendency to catastrophize (try saying that three times fast).  We assume the worst and can become unwilling to take a second opinion, even when it comes from a medical professional.  This type of information can actually hurt our recovery time and quality of life through the treatment process.

The best advice that I can suggest to clients and our readers is this: don’t Google when it comes to your health.

  • Turn instead to reputable sites run by governmental organizations, well-established non-profits and health authorities. 
  • Make sure the information presented to you is cited and sourced. 
  • Look for the number of participants in a drug study instead of the percentage of participants (if 50% of people had side effects, but there were only 10 people in the study, that is not a large enough sample to be conclusive).

There is nothing wrong with wanting a second opinion or to look into a recommended treatment, but turning to specialists, other doctors or trusted sources can assist with confusion, doubt and anxiety.

This month, I invite you to raise your health literacy by finding trusted and well documented sources of health information.  When you do, bookmark them so that you can easily find them again without having to ask Dr. Google.

All my best,

Miranda

Check out this new way to connect with your family physician or GP, online!

Medeo:  Wherever you are, you can quickly and easily visit your BC doctor. Connect via computer, iOS or Android devices.  Services available in BC with a valid Care Card.

_________________________________________

References:

Agarwal, M., Dalal, A., Agarwal, D., et al. (1995). Positive life orientation and recovery from myocardial infarction. Social Science & Medicine, 40 (1), 125-130.

Lench, H. C. (2011). Personality and health outcomes: Making positive expectations a reality. Journal of Happiness Studies,12(3), 493-507.

Scheier, M., Matthews, K., Carver, C., et al. (1989). Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: The beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology. 57(6), 1024-1040.

Posted in Editorial, Mental Health, Miranda Massie, Physical Health | Tagged community resources, e-health, Google, health, medeo, mental health, online, recovery, Research, resources | 2 Responses

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Upcoming Events

  • Nov. 5: Office Ergo Rep Training
  • Nov. 14: Boosting Your Positive Outlook
  • Nov. 20: Ergo Your Office: 1hr Tutorial
  • Nov. 20: Sit-Stand Desks & Platforms
  • Nov. 21: Mental Health First Aid Training
  • Nov. 25: The Working Mind: Workplace Mental Health Training for Faculty & Staff
  • Nov. 26: Getting a Restful Sleep
  • Dec. 3: Ergo Your Office: 1hr Tutorial
  • Dec. 3: Sit-Stand Desks & Platforms
  • Dec. 3: Relaxation Techniques to Help You Thrive
  • Dec. 11: Office Ergo Rep Training
  • Dec. 11: Understanding Your Travel Benefits
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