Tuesday, May 12, 2020

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• Celebrating healthcare providers during Nursing Week
• Safety abroad comes first at Waterloo International
• CEL, Pharmacy, Professional Development win online programming awards
• Healthy Warriors at Home and other notes
• This just in: there are more Good Buddies of the University

Celebrating healthcare providers during Nursing Week

A message from Dr. Clark Baldwin, University medical director, Health Services.

Nursing Week is the annual celebration of the Nursing profession, and is scheduled this year for May 11 to 17. It is held every May to coincide with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Nursing Week 2020 marks the 200^th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday. As well, the World Health Organization has declared 2020 as The International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

Ontario nurses work in all sectors of health care – in hospitals and long-term care facilities, in community and public health, home care, clinics and even in private industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has especially put the spotlight on the critical importance of nursing care.

We are proud to recognize the dedicated registered nurses, practical nurses and nurse practitioners who provide quality care for their patients, clients and long-term care residents. From the bedside to the classroom and the boardroom, they make the world a healthier place each year. 

Nursing Associations ask members of the public to thank a nurse. Please join me in recognizing the tremendous work nurses do, and celebrate the contributions that nursing expertise and compassion makes in meeting the changing needs of patients and families. 

Safety abroad comes first at Waterloo International

A message from Waterloo International.

Every year, thousands of University of Waterloo students, faculty and staff, leave Canada for study abroad, field and research trips, and other travel. In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended these types of international activities. 

With the Government of Canada advising against all non-essential travel outside of Canada, as well as the cancellation of in-person classes at universities around the world, border closures and travel restrictions, the University of Waterloo urged travelers to return to Canada or their home countries, in the case of non-Canadian citizens, cutting short many student mobility programs. Many experienced challenges returning home, some even found themselves stranded. 

Fortunately, Waterloo International’s Safety Abroad team was able to assist over 1,400 students, faculty and staff on exchange and other university-related business to return home, get to safe destinations or to take appropriate precautions to remain where they are until the situation improves. 

Safety Abroad works collaboratively with units across campus to offer resources to support international travel and enhance the safety and security of University travelers

“The Safety Abroad team was able to offer resources and support to travellers to help them navigate their way home during this fast moving and complex situation by communicating updates regularly regarding the University’s responses and actions related to the coronavirus,” says Elissa Cressman, Safety Abroad Manager. 

In addition to many tools and resources to help ensure your safety and security while on international travel, the University of Waterloo also subscribes to a third-party provider, Anvil Group (Anvil), to quickly and efficiently provide travelers with emergency assistance in the event of an incident or crisis abroad. 

Though we don’t know when international travel will resume, now is the time to think about how you can ensure your own safety while on University business abroad, be it an exchange term, a field trip, a visiting professorship, or research. Waterloo International strongly encourages all University travelers to register their travel with Safety Abroad to receive information on a variety of risk mitigation resources and travel support. The process is easy and can go a long way in keeping you informed and safe while abroad.

“Safety Abroad is committed to help you prepare for your trip before you go, while you are away, and after you return. Whenever University related travel resumes, our resources and support will be available to you,” says Cressman.

CEL, Pharmacy, Professional Development win online programming awards

The Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE) has chosen two Waterloo programs for this year's Awards of Excellence. The awards recognize excellence in university continuing education programs in Canada and aim to nurture the concept of the scholarship of practice inherent in the program development process. 

Winner - Credit programming under 48 hours

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Primary Care

Winners: School of Pharmacy and the Centre for Extended Learning, University of Waterloo, Public Health Agency of Canada and the Sunnybrook Heath Sciences Centre

This series of multimedia modules, directed at community-based practitioners, provides current information about the consequences of use of antimicrobial agents, general principles for antimicrobial stewardship in primary care, as well as strategies to optimize antimicrobial use in a variety of common clinical scenarios.

Winner - Non-credit programming over 48 hours

Data Science Certificate

Winners: Waterloo Professional Development and School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto

This online program includes 4 courses and provides an opportunity for students to work with industry experts on advanced statistical modelling, machine learning and natural language processing.

Healthy Warriors at Home and other notes

Athletics and Recreation has launched its "Healthy Warriors at Home” campaign to encourage students, staff, faculty and alumni to stay active and healthy during their time at home. "Warrior Recreation is pleased to offer a variety of online programming for the Spring 2020 term," says an article on the Athletics and Recreation website. "Please click on one of the following two links to find out more about the content listed:

• Physical Activity at Home (Online Fitness/Personal Training, Health Webinars, Personalized Nutrition and more)
• Activity and Your Mental Health (Tips and Resources for looking after your mental health)

Finance now accepts payment by debit or credit card for the return/settlement of outstanding travel cash advances, or for returning refunds received after the travel claim/settlement has already occurred, using our Shopify ecommerce solution, according to a recent note circulated by Finance. This replaces the former process of returningfunds via cheque or in person. 

"Outstanding travel claims, cash advances and related settlements must be submitted in Concur or electronically following the procedure for submitting expense claim forms," says the Finance note. "Within 7-10 business days after receipt in Finance, the Claimant will receive an email from University of Waterloo AP do-not-reply@shops.myshopify.com indicating the amount due and a link to the Shopify store. From here, the Claimant can enter their personal information and credit or debit card details to complete the repayment process."  

"There is no limit on the amount that can be repaid via Shopify, however, the cardholder’s daily transaction limit may impact their maximum amount repayable in a single transaction. If this is the case, please contact your financial institution to request a one-time daily limit increase. For more information on what the University is doing to protect your payment card information, please visit the Finance Resources Ecommerce and PCI Compliance websites."  

If you have questions, please contact your Department/Faculty Financial Officer. 

This just in: there are more Good Buddies of the University

"Our retired racing greyhound Magnify demonstrates the importance of fresh air and stretching after long hours spent working online," writes Professor Bill Anderson of the Department of Chemical Engineering.

"This is Lily, an 11 year old pup," writes Shari Carter, payroll and exam coordinator in the School of Accounting and Finance. "Her favourite activities are chasing squirrels from the yard and going on walks. She either sleeps under the desk or she searches out a patch of sunlight on the carpet to nap."    

"This is Treecko, the crested gecko," writes Emma Dare, laboratory coordinator in the Department of Kinesiology. "He sleeps all day so he is no help to me, but he's still a good buddy."

"This is Snowy my 16 year-old cat patiently waiting for break time in hopes of snacks falling from the sky above," writes Donna Joudrey, faculty services/financial assistant in the Dean of Arts office.