We train nurses, personal support workers, dental health, health-care administration, hearing services, and behavioural science professionals who stand ready to work with people across the lifespan and tackle challenges facing the sector.
Practical Nursing student Susan Kihara came to George Brown College (GBC) to make an impact. After working in the retail industry, she decided to pursue a career in nursing after moving to Canada from Kenya in 2022. As part of her program, she completed a clinical placement at a rehabilitation clinic at Toronto's University Health Network (UHN), where she works with stroke survivors. Kihara said this real-world experience helped her develop confidence and prepared her for challenges in the sector.
“The first few weeks of the placement, you're nervous. What if I make a mistake? But our clinical instructor is always there,” Kihara said. “The experience gives you more confidence to navigate the future of health care.”
Cutting-edge health-care training facilities and tech
GBC's Centre for Health Sciences comprises four specialized schools: the Sally Horsfall Eaton School of Nursing, the School of Dental Health, the School of Health Services Management, and the School of Health and Wellness. Programs run out of the Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences at Waterfront Campus, a stunning building equipped with the latest health-care technologies and sophisticated lab and clinical spaces.
These spaces include our accredited Simulation Centre, a high-tech facility that spans nearly 24,000 square feet, where students practise responding to real-world situations in a safe and controlled environment. George Brown was Canada's first college, nursing program, and simulation centre to earn accreditation from the international Society for Simulation in Health Care in teaching and learning.
“Working in the Simulation Centre helps you with critical thinking,” Kirhara said about interacting with responsive mannequins and live actors at the facility. "It opens your mind on what you will do in the field.”
We are investing in re-imagining our learning spaces as the digital nature of dental health professions becomes more prominent.
Newly expanded and updated dental suites
The Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences also houses GBC's WAVE (Wellness, Applied Research and Visionary Education) Dental Clinic and hearing services, where students provide low-cost services to the public.
In 2022, the School of Dental Health completed a bold expansion project at the 40,000-square-foot WAVE Dental Clinic, constructing 24 stand-alone and fully enclosed dental suites equipped with increased air ventilation to reduce the risk of virus spread from aerosol-generating procedures. Prepared to navigate future public health challenges, the school now has one of the largest clinical dental spaces in the Ontario college system.
“We are investing in re-imagining our learning spaces as the digital nature of dental health professions becomes more prominent,” said Bethanie Huen, Associate Dean of the School of Dental Health. This includes increased adoption of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) processes for dental prostheses such as dentures, crowns, and bridges.
The School of Dental Health has two high-precision 3D printing machines and a milling machine.
“As we educate future dental hygienists, dental assistants, restorative dental hygienists, denturists, and dental technologists, we must balance the prevalent and upcoming digital technology with their analog counterparts, positioning students to excel in the changing landscape of their chosen profession.”
Preparing professionals for care across the lifespan
Centre for Health Sciences programs prepare graduates to work with diverse populations of all ages, from children to older adults. Beverly Calliste, a Recreation Management in Gerontology program student, came to GBC to impact seniors’ lives, inspired by her family's care of her father.
Calliste said she appreciates that the program focuses on helping people age well and age in place and on developing programming based on older adults’ abilities and not their limitations.
“There’s this notion once we get older that we’re automatically going to face decline and ailments and illnesses, but this program has shown us that’s not necessarily the case,” Calliste said.
“It’s about being proactive as opposed to reactive, and there are a lot of pieces in the program that speak to that.”
Students looking to improve the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum, including children and their families, can pursue training in the Autism and Behavioural Science, Behavioural Science Technician and Behavioural Analysis programs at the School of Health and Wellness.
Real-world experience and employer-embedded programs
Nearly all Centre for Health Sciences programs provide at least one experiential learning opportunity thanks to more than 1,000 industry partnerships, with some programs embedded in industry settings. The Orthotic/ Prosthetic Technician and Clinical Methods in Orthotics and Prosthetics programs are delivered at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and taught by professionals in the field.
“George Brown continues to adapt and invest in transformative education opportunities to prepare Canada's future health-care workforce. The pandemic highlighted the many complex challenges facing the Canadian health-care system, and we are excited to see our graduates making change in their fields,” said Patricia Chorney Rubin, Dean, Community Services and Health Sciences. "If you want to pursue a career where you will make a difference, now is the time to start.”
This paid advertisement appeared in the Saturday, December 9 edition of the Toronto Star and online at healthinsight.ca.
