Tag: bp_docs_comment_access_anyone
Types of Post-Secondary Degrees
It may be helpful to know the different types of degrees you can get when you’re deciding what you want to do after high school. Here is a description of each:
Diploma/Certificate Programs: Degree programs may be two-year or four-year degrees. Community colleges are government-regulated post-secondary institutions offering one- to two-year certificates, diplomas, two-year associate’s degrees (i.e. Early Childhood Education) and even three- and four-year specialized degrees (i.e. Engineering). You can also usually transfer a Certificate Degree from a Community College to a different institution if you want to study further or get more qualifications.
Undergraduate – Bachelor’s Degree: These may be anywhere between three-five years, and take place at a university. Some universities offer partnerships with colleges, where you usually spend 2 years with the college and 2 years with the university to get your Bachelor’s Degree. A high school diploma is required to apply to these types of programs. If you are applying to university from high school, you will be looking in to undergraduate programs.
Postgraduate – Master’s Degree/Doctoral Degree: A master’s degree in Canada typically requires two years of study after successful completion of a 4 year bachelor’s degree. A doctoral program usually requires successful completion of a master’s degree. A doctoral degree, AKA a PhD, will take a minimum of three years and up to four or five years of study and research.
Transgender
Gender identity is the personal sense of your own gender. It can match the sex you were assigned at birth or it can be different. Cisgender is a gender identity that means your gender identity and the sex you were assigned at birth are the same (i.e. you are born with male genitalia and feel that you are a male).
Transgender is a gender identity meaning a person’s gender at birth does not match the way they feel about themselves on the inside (i.e. you are born with male genitalia but feel that you are a female). People with female genitalia who transition to become males are transgender males, and people with male genitalia who transition to become females are transgender females. There are also transgender people who feel that they are not either gender, which can be called gender non-conforming or gender non-binary.
Youth who are transgender feel very strongly that they wish to be or are a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth. They may feel uncomfortable in their body and wish that it looked like the gender they are on the inside. Through hormone therapy or surgery, these youth can change their bodies to align with their gender identity.
Transgender youth are at a higher risk for bullying, rejection from family and friends, anxiety, depression, and suicide. Consider how you can make your school or community feel safer and more welcoming to people who are transgender! I’ve attached an infographic with some great ideas.
Crohn’s & Colitis
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease and can greatly impact someone’s quality of life. These inflame the lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and disrupt the body’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrition, and eliminate waste in a healthy manner. They are lifelong diseases, but people can experience periods of active symptoms (flare ups) or other times when their symptoms are absent.
Crohn’s Disease
Inflammation from Crohn’s can strike anywhere in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from mouth to anus, but is usually located in the lower part of the small bowel and the upper colon. Patches of inflammation are often found between between healthy portions of the gut, and can penetrate through intestinal layers from inner to outer (see red patches in photo). Crohn’s disease can be controlled with medication and reduce the chance of a disease relapse. In severe cases, surgery of the small or large intestine may be required to manage the disease.
Crohn’s occurs more in females than males and affects all ages, although it’s most commonly diagnosed between 15-35 years of age. There is currently no cure for Crohn’s disease.
Symptoms: Diarrhea, fever, sores in the mouth and around the anus, abdominal pain and cramps, anemia (low iron), fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss
Ulcerative Colitis
Typically, UC affects the colon (large intestine) including the rectum and anus, and only inflames the inner lining of bowel tissue. Colitis can be controlled with medication and in severe cases can even be treated through the surgical removal of the entire large intestine.
Colitis equally affects both genders and is also found in all ages. It’s most commonly diagnosed between 15-45 years of age. The only known cure is surgery for the removal of the colon (colectomy).
Symptoms: Bloody diarrhea, mild fever, abdominal pain and cramps, anemia, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss
Indeterminate Colitis
A term used when it is unclear if the inflammation is due to Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Collège de I’Île
Location: Wellington, PEI
Website:
https://www.collegedelile.ca/en/
Programs of Study:
https://www.collegedelile.ca/en/programs-and-courses/college-programs
Accessibility:
https://www.collegedelile.ca/en/future-students/l-arc-your-resource-centre
Holland College
Location: PEI
Website:
https://www.hollandcollege.com
Programs of study:
https://www.hollandcollege.com/programs/#programList1
Student accessibility:
University of Prince Edward Island
Website:
Programs of study:
https://www.upei.ca/programs?field_program_level_value=undergraduate
Student Accessibility Services
https://www.upei.ca/accessibility
Asexuality
Ace Week is a campaign for raising awareness and educating others about asexuality. The word ace can be used as a short form for asexual, which is traditionally defined as someone who does not experience sexual attraction for other individuals. This definition can be limiting, though, as asexuality can be considered a spectrum, with some asexual people experiencing desire for varying types of physical intimacy. This desire may also fluctuate over time.
Here are some other terms to be aware of related to asexuality:
Gray-asexual (or graysexual): Sexual orientation where person experiences sexual attraction rarely, under specific circumstances, or without any accompanying sex-drive. Also describes someone who fluctuates between periods of experiencing sexual attraction and periods of not experiencing sexual attraction.
Demisexual: Sexual orientation where person can only experience sexual attraction is strong emotional bond is present. While this bond is required for attraction, it doesn’t guarantee that attraction will occur.
Asexual people face issues from others involving a lack of awareness, confusion, isolation, invalidation, misrepresentation, and inappropriate healthcare. They are also sometimes excluded from the LGBTQ2S+ community because of a lack of understanding.
Coping Styles
Why is it that some people like to look when they get a needle, while others like to look away?
Coping refers to the processes that you use to adjust or adapt to a stressful event, such as a needle. Coping responses are influenced by many things such as your age, personality, previous experiences, and how stressful you personally find the situation to be.
There are many different ways to classify coping styles… two of which are vigilant and avoidant.
Vigilant copers:
- Have an awareness of their condition and procedures
- Seek out information
- Acknowledge fear and worries related to the stressful situation
- Want to know what they can do
Avoidant copers:
- Restrict knowledge and awareness about their condition and procedures
- Avoid talking about the stressful event
- Deny fear and worries
- Can emotionally detach from the stressful event
Which one do you think you are?!
Ostomy
WHAT IS AN OSTOMY?
An ostomy is a temporary or permanent opening created through surgery that brings a part of the bowel from inside the body to the outside of the body on the abdomen. Ostomies are typically needed when stool can no longer pass the normal way though the digestive system and out the rectum. This procedure can be an option for people with Crohn’s or Colitis, for example, who have inflamed sections in their bowels.
WHAT IS A STOMA?
The opening of the bowel on the outside of the body is called a stoma. Stoma’s are usually pink or red in colour, moist, and round or oval in shape. Stoma’s become the new place that the body gets rid of solid waste. People with ostomies do not have control over passing gas or stool because there is no muscle at the opening of the stoma like there is in the rectum. The stool output that comes out of the stoma will look different than the stool a person may be used to seeing from their rectum because the stool is bypassing certain parts of the digestive tract.
Stool comes out of the stoma into a pouch that sticks to the skin around the opening. Pouches come in different sizes and different options to best suit each person’s needs. Part of getting an ostomy is learning how to care for your stoma, empty, and change your pouches!
TYPES OF OSTOMIES
Colostomy: Created when a part of the large intestine (AKA the colon) is brought to the surface of the abdomen. Stool output may be thicker, since the large intestine absorbs water.
Ileostomy: Created when the end of the small intestine is brought to the surface of the abdomen. Stool output may be loose since less water is absorbed in the small intestine.
WHAT CAN/CAN’T YOU DO WITH AN OSTOMY?
If you have an ostomy you can eat whatever you want, although some people will find certain foods make them gassier than others (and this may be different from how your body reacted before having an ostomy). People with ostomies can do most activities that other people can do once their body has healed from the initial surgery! Caution should be exercised with heavy contact sports, though, as they could cause damage to the stoma. You can wear any clothes you want, although some may be more comfortable than others (i.e. tight waistbands). With a little pre-planning, you can also go wherever you want!