KLC College is pleased to announce the new Vice-President, Academic & Administration (College Director). Dr. Arain is an experienced academic leader with an earned Ph.D. in construction project management from National University of Singapore and a postgraduate certificate in Leadership Development from Harvard University. He has extensive experience in management and leadership in both construction and academia in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Canada.

Dr. Arain led the development of Canada’s first Bachelor of Science in Construction Project Management at SAIT, Calgary. He was appointed by the Saskatchewan Higher Education Quality Assurance Board as the chair of the quality review panel for new academic program evaluations. Dr. Arain has served as Academic Chair at SAIT, Calgary and as Associate Dean of the School of Sustainable Building and Environmental Management at NAIT, Edmonton and as Senior Dean of Niagara College’s KSA campuses. Dr. Arain recently served as Vice President, Academic at the Northern Lakes College, Alberta.

Dr. Arain has consulted, researched, and published widely with over 120 research publications, 2 book chapters, and 13 books to his credit. He also serves on editorial boards of several international research journals, is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Construction Project Management, and is also an expert member of the World Association for Sustainable Development, UK.

Dr. Arain assumes his new role with KLC College in October 2021.

When you are preparing for a career in dental assistance, the learning you do in a classroom builds a strong and substantial foundation of knowledge. For example, it is critical to be familiar with anatomy and physiology, along with the names of dentists’ tools, radiography, and infection control, among other topics. However, your theoretical knowledge must be applied in order for it to be complete.

Clinical Theory classes start you on the path to the application of classroom knowledge by giving you hands-on experiences doing things like taking x-rays, doing coronal polishing, and using an oral evacuator. The next step is vital and it is your placement internship. Here are a few reasons why this element of your education is all-important.

Get to Know Your Daily Routine

If you have thought about pursuing a dental assistant career, then you are probably familiar with a list of tasks you might be responsible for once you start working. Knowing what to expect is important, but when you start an internship at a dental office you will get a true sense of how all of these tasks fit together in a regular work day. There is variety in a dental office and during your internship you will get a chance to adjust to the pace of a professional office.

Every day of your internship you will have the chance to learn from dentists and hygienists

It is likely that within one day, or even a few hours of one day, you will rely on knowledge from several courses. You will get to practice performing your role within a team, gaining the guidance of experienced dentists and hygienists along the way. They will be like your real-world teachers who can field questions about how best to apply your knowledge.

Gain Confidence to Enter the Job Market

The benefits of an internship during your dental assistant diploma program do not end with real-world experience. In fact, one of the biggest advantages to an internship is that it can help increase your confidence. When you have a chance to see how your classroom lessons actually help people and support the efficiency of a professional office, you will gain confidence in your career choice and what it entails.

An internship will also improve your resume by adding work experience to it. When you apply for jobs and go for interviews, you will be able to reference tasks in the job description that you have already done. The internship also demonstrates your ability to adapt your knowledge from the classroom to the job, putting all the hard work you put into school on display.

Real World Complexity Solidifies Dental Assistant Course Lessons

When first learning information, it is important that the questions and answers are clear. However, the real world is much more complex. Situations with clients vary and there may be more than one way to solve a problem. First-hand experience with this kind of complexity and nuance makes your theoretical knowledge more thorough because you must apply it in different ways. Overall, your internship will transform lessons into valuable skills.

Practice makes perfect, and it’s important to put your skills to the test!

Are you looking to train for a rewarding career that you can feel proud of?

Check out the KLC dental assistant course listings today!

Knowledge of general anatomy will help a dental assistant excel in their job in many ways. Among other things, it will support dental assistants in educating their clients about oral health as well as give them confidence when working chair side with dentists and hygienists.

Anatomy is the study of body structures and how they connect. For some it might be one of the more difficult subjects to learn as a dental assistant. It requires memorization and might feel like learning another language because of all the Greek and Latin terminology. While learning general anatomy can feel like a daunting task, there are a few tips to make studying for your anatomy classes easier, and maybe even fun.

1. Write Things in Your Own Words

Are you having trouble remembering that ‘incisal’ refers to the cutting edge of the anterior teeth? Try rephrasing the information in your own words. It’s still important to highlight and underline definitions from textbooks and class materials. However, when you express something in your own words it provides a new way to access the knowledge. This strategy is based on the idea that your ability to explain something in your own words demonstrates understanding, which will serve you well on exams and in the long run.

Talking about anatomy in your own words will help you remember tough terminology

2. Know Your Learning Style

When you do the dental assistant diploma program, you should pay attention to the learning stimuli that work best for you. For example, if you are a visual learner, focus on diagrams or look for videos that show images of the anatomy. If your style is kinetic, it will be important to draw diagrams and write out information yourself. For those who respond to kinaesthetic modes of learning, physical models or even toys you can hold and examine will help move knowledge into place. Finally, if you are an aural learner, saying the information aloud and making a recording to listen to later may be the most effective. It is likely that a combination of styles will work for you.

3. Review Your Mistakes

With all of these study tips, the hope is that you won’t make mistakes on your exams, but nobody is perfect. When you get your tests or assignments back, take a look at where you missed things and remember that mistakes are an opportunity to improve.

4. Make a Study Schedule

An important part of learning anatomy is to do it in a way that makes sure you retain the information. It’s true that you might be able to memorize a lot at once under pressure, but that kind of memorization is different from learning. In order to maintain your anatomy knowledge, you must schedule practice time to repeat and reinforce anatomy lessons. Each time you study, review what you did previously and things will move from your short term memory to your long term memory.

Organization will reduce stress whether preparing for a test or your new career

5. Form a Study Group with Your Career College Peers

One of the best things about going to a career college is learning alongside a group of people with similar goals. A study group will allow you to combine resources and will likely increase your confidence for tests. As is the case with other strategies, this may not work for everyone. However, there is an opportunity to share study tricks and tips, flashcards, and moral support. This kind of social learning may help keep you motivated for your own study time because you see others going through the same process.

Ready to begin dental assistant training?

Find out more from KLC today!

Occupational therapist assistants (OTAs) work under the supervision of occupational therapists (OTs), but are still held to the same standards for acting professionally and ethically. Clients are at the centre of occupational therapy practice and OTAs will encounter a variety of clients with different goals and personalities throughout their careers. Putting the priorities of clients first is part of an OTA’s duty to act with integrity.

The guidelines and principles that outline ethical practice and professionalism for OTs and OTAs provide a guarantee to clients that they can trust those who work in this profession. Whether you are facing a complicated situation or a regular day as and OTA, you will be expected to maintain ethical and professional practice. Here is a little more information about what that means.

The Principles of Client-Centred Practice

If you wish to become an occupational therapy assistant it is necessary to recognize and respect the underpinning principles of client-centred practice. The client’s needs, wishes, and experiences come first in providing and deciding on care plans. With the supervising OT, you must communicate openly and clearly to show that you will collaborate with clients to ensure their priorities are your priorities.

Brunette woman on physical therapy. Focus on ball.

As an OTA you will be working with clients to help improve their participation in daily life and it will be important to know what gives them meaning and purpose. In order to do this, you must avoid assumptions and reserve judgement about an individual’s values and life goals. With the right training, you will have strategies and hands-on experience to uphold the principles of client-centred practice.

Respect for Autonomy Is Another Way to Centre Clients

An OT must inform the client about recommendations for services and care. The client may give consent or refuse and their decision must be accepted even if their choice does not align with the one you would make. Students who have gone through an occupational therapy assistant program will have specialized knowledge and opinions about care, but it should not be expected that this knowledge take precedence over a client’s autonomy.

The ways in which you can respect autonomy are to actively support clients in working towards their goals, respecting the confidentiality of the client, and checking in with clients about your interactions with them on a regular basis.

Ethics and Professionalism Are Occupational Therapist Assistant Course Topics

As an OTA, you may work in a variety of facilities including hospitals, long-term care homes, and occupational therapy office. Part of preparing to work in these environments includes completing a course in ethics and professionalism as part of your studies.

At KLC you will study ethics and professionalism and have a chance to apply your knowledge

Clients will be a range of ages and experience many different conditions. They may have challenges because of impairment of body structure, an injury, or barriers in their social and physical environment. The knowledge you have about exercise foundations, anatomy and physiology, and healthcare systems will be bolstered by your capacity to follow the guidelines for ethical practice.

Are you interested in becoming an OTA?

Learn more about the occupational therapist assistant course offered at KLC!

Last year, the Ontario Personal Support Workers Association told the Ottawa Citizen that there was a shortage of personal support workers (PSWs) in Ontario. In fact, other organizations have also noted an increasing need for people to fill this role. Whether in a care facility, within a community organization, or doing at-home work, PSWs are an integral part of the healthcare system.

PSW jobs are difficult but rewarding. They involve working with a large variety of people with all kinds of needs, daily routines, and challenges. Key factors in succeeding as a PSW are acquiring the right training and qualifications. However, the qualities of a PSW also play an integral role in their career progression. If you are aspiring to build a career in this field, cultivating these essential characteristics is just as important.

1. Flexible in the Face of Changes and Challenges

When you become a personal support worker you will not be able to predict all the situations that you might face each day. Also, the support needed and the care you will provide will differ from client-to-client. A client with dementia, for example, will have very different needs from a client who has mobility issues. What is required of you might even change depending on a client’s mood and the kind of day they are having. The best way to prepare for this is to embrace flexibility and be ready for whatever challenges you might face.

2. Patience With Clients and Yourself

As you may encounter in your clinical placement during your personal support worker college program, some clients face extremely difficult circumstances. They may be injured or have long-term conditions that make their need for a PSW permanent. It is critical to have patience, which will show that you are sensitive to a client’s needs. For example, they may have a condition which causes memory loss and you must be able to kindly remind them of whatever it is they are forgetting without causing any undue stress.

Some clients will require more patience than others, but all deserve it

You may also be called upon to help a client physically move around. While this requires strength, it also requires patience. If this is a frustrating activity for a client, your patience will help keep them calm and likely have a positive effect. This may be difficult, which is why patience with yourself will be important, too, as you learn and grow.

3. Compassion: An Unofficial Requirement for Those in PSW Classes

This quality is foundational. Without compassion it may be difficult to maintain any of the other qualities you need to succeed as a PSW. The desire to help people and care for those in need may be one of the reasons why you chose to enter this field in the first place.

Working as a PSW is an incredibly rewarding experience

A PSW must be conscious of clients’ feelings and want to validate them through care. Compassion shows a client you have respect for them and their situation. It is also a quality you’ll need to offer towards client families as well as co-workers, who may also feel stressed. Your compassion will instil genuine trust in you and your work. Beyond that, your capacity to be aware of what others are feeling will make patience, flexibility, motivation, and collaboration easier to maintain.

Do you want to enroll in PSW classes?

Learn more about the programs available at KLC!

Within any classroom there is a diversity of learning styles, a range of needs, and various challenges. Education assistants, who work with special education students, or students who have behaviour management needs, take on the responsibility of adapting environments for their students. One of the most important aspects to succeeding in a classroom is establishing genuine connections.

In order to help students reach their full potential, it is necessary to get to know them well. Being able to recognize students’ strengths will provide you with more options for helping to keep them engaged and excited.

Here are a few points to keep in mind as you navigate your role in students’ educational experiences.

If You Believe in Their Success, They Will Too

It may be the case that students you assist will have the idea, whether consciously or not, that success at school is not possible for them. Traditional markers of academic success may cause special education students to feel inadequate, insecure, or as if no one expects much from them. Part of education assistant training involves in-school experience, where you may even witness these feelings first-hand. Fortunately, as an education assistant, you’ll be well equipped to help students realize just how much potential they have, and help them see that they really do have so much to offer.

Education assistants enter a classroom looking for students’ strengths

One strategy that can be used to address negative feelings is positive reinforcement. For example, you want to make sure your students know when they do well and provide more learning experiences that foster those successes. If you notice that a student loves to draw, give them a chance to visually respond to a lesson. This validates their learning style and recognizes neurodiversity as a strength of differences rather than a deficit. Figuring this out for students may mean reflecting on your positive experiences in educational assistant classes because being able to recognize where you felt success will help you see it in others as well.

Provide a Culturally Sensitive Environment

Another aspect of knowing your student and nurturing their potential is recognizing their life experiences outside of the classroom. Acknowledging their cultural background, languages they may speak at home, and what their lives are like is just as important as being familiar with their cognitive and physical abilities.

Consider ways to adjust lesson plans or activities to reflect your familiarity and respect for who your students are. This may also extend to their general interests. For example if they love music, consider incorporating songs or lyrics into activities.

Become an Education Assistant Known for Their Creativity

Paying attention to what excites students will give you ideas for ways to keep them engaged in the classroom. The myriad of differences you may experience when you become an education assistant will quickly add up. One practical strategy that will leave space for your creativity to flourish is to record individual preferences, needs, and strengths of your students.

Educational assistants’ creativity will spark confidence in their students

Once you have a clear idea of who your students are, the ways to connect with them will become easier to grasp and organize. For example, a student may respond well to routine. Knowing this, you might set up a daily prompt for them to express their feelings each afternoon. Something like that would help you create an environment where students feel comfortable and able to thrive.

Are you interested in pursuing a career as an education assistant?

Learn more about the educational assistant training available at KLC!

Body language can sometimes be taken for granted as a skill. While it does occur naturally, learning to effectively communicate in professional settings with body language takes practice. Just like word choice and tone, body language affects the way others perceive and understand you. As a child and youth worker, you can provide support and strategies for families and children dealing with challenges. In many cases, these challenges are emotional, which means that it is important for you to effectively communicate in a way that is helpful. Read to learn some ways you can use body language to do this!

SOLER for Child and Youth Worker Training

The SOLER method was developed by Gerard Egan. He was a psychology professor who believed this strategy was an effective way for counsellors to communicate and practise active listening. The letters stand for sitting Squarely, Open posture, Lean in slightly, Eye contact and Relax. These elements create inviting, engaged body language. When you are relaxed, the person you are speaking with is also encouraged to relax. An open posture avoids crossing limbs, which can sometimes appear guarded or defensive. Sitting squarely facing the person you are with, leaning in slightly and maintaining eye contact all show you are paying attention.

In your career after, child and youth worker training these tips can come in handy when practising active listening. Since you will be helping people with sensitive situations, you will want them to feel reassured that you are there for them, present, and hearing what they say.

Body Language to Avoid After a Child and Youth Worker College Program

Body language has the ability to send not only positive signals, but negative ones as well. Often, these negative signals are unintentional. As you become more conscious and aware of your body language, you will be able to employ this knowledge to avoid making people feel uncomfortable.

Since you will help families who are dealing with stress, you should keep your body language neutral

One thing to watch out for is allowing your eyes to wander. When a person is speaking to you and sees that you are letting your gaze move around the room, it feels like you aren’t listening and don’t feel invested in what they are saying. Avoiding eye contact can also communicate a lack of confidence. In your profession, you will want to portray competence and trustworthiness by holding confident, moderate eye contact.

How You Can Use Facial Expressions to Communicate with Children and Families

Facial expressions are a big part of body language as well. Some people frown when they concentrate, so it’s possible that when you are very engaged, you adopt what could be seen as a negative facial expression. A furrowed brow or squinting can seem a little intimidating. Especially when working with children, monitoring this will help you keep them communicating and comfortable with you. Each child and youth worker course prepares you with skills that allow you to help families. Your body language skills enable cooperation with others to help you work more smoothly.

A neutral or friendly facial expression is best when dealing with families and their children. Many times they will be feeling tension or stress, and as a support person in their lives, you can offer a less stressful energy by maintaining command of your body language and facial expressions.

An inviting facial expression can make the difference between a nervous child and a comfortable one

Are you looking for a child and youth worker college program?

Contact KLC College to learn more.

If you are considering a career as an occupational therapy assistant (OTA), you are probably someone who wants to make a difference in the lives of other people. As an OTA, you will be responsible for providing personalized care to clients who might be experiencing a variety of difficulties. Some of these difficulties might affect what is commonly referred to as Activities of Daily Living, or ADLs.

Helping clients with their ADLs is something that you may have to do as an OTA. For that reason, it is important for aspiring OTAs to be aware of the ways that a client’s environment can impact their ADLs.

Check out our blog to learn more about ADLs, client environments, and your role as an OTA!

Understanding Environmental Impact in Your Occupational Therapist Assistant Course

To understand how a client’s environment (i.e., the space around them) can impact their ADLs, it is important to understand what exactly ADLs refer to. Although some clients might be more autonomous than others in completing their ADLs, here are a few things that the term refers to:

Ambulating — is the technical term used to describe a person’s ability to walk or move from one place to another.

Feeding — is the ability of a person to independently prepare their food and feed themselves.

Dressing and grooming — refer to a person’s capacity to choose appropriate clothing for different occasions, put that clothing on, and to manage or maintain their personal appearance.

Toileting — means going to the toilet, using it appropriately, and cleaning up after themselves.

Transferring — is the ability to move from one position to another. This may include movements like transferring from a bed or a chair to a standing position, or vice-versa.

ADLs can include the ability to prepare one’s own meals

A career training program in occupational therapy assistance will teach you that when the environment of a client is adapted to their needs, it can help the client to perform their ADLs. There are many environmental changes that can be made to a client’s living space. Some of the more common ones include: ramps, modified lighting, adapted steps, adherent floors, and wider doors.

Here’s How You Can Help Clients Manage Their ADLs

When you complete your occupational therapy assistant training, you’ll find that a client’s ability to complete their ADLs is important for maintaining their overall health and quality of life. The combination of the right environmental adaptations and a qualified OTA can help give clients a feeling of independence.

As an OTA, if your client lives in a place with adapted environmental conditions, it is important that you take the time to understand everything that has been put in place for them. Learning what your client needs is essential in being able to provide the right services. When you have a good awareness of your client’s needs and how their environment is assisting them, you can help them with their ADLs, and encourage them to perform certain activities on their own.

Your client’s environment can make ADLs easier or more challenging to complete

You might meet many different clients who have difficulty completing their ADLs. These may range from people who are recovering from major surgeries to senior citizens and to people who have incapacitating illnesses. As an OTA, you must be prepared to help different clients perform different tasks.

Are you looking for an occupational therapy assistant program?

Contact KLC College today and find out more!