Quinoa Breakfast Bowl at Sprouts

Your New Year’s resolutions may be a distant memory by now, but it’s still important to keep up with healthy eating and exercise – and not just because your mother told you to eat your greens. There are numerous benefits to taking the time to look after your physical well-being, such as an increased mood, better focus and enhanced memory (to help you ace those exams). Here are some simple ways to incorporate healthy eating and exercise into your lifestyle on campus:

Running

Looking for a free way to get some exercise in between lectures and studying? Take a break and go for a run! Our campus sits on the beautiful endowment lands, which also include Pacific Spirit Park. The Ubyssey have compiled a handy trail guide here.

Going to the Gym

If working out in the gym is more your style, UBC has you covered. On the lower (free) end of the spectrum there is the Aquatic Centre which boasts swimming pools and a small gym downstairs, all free with your student card. Next up is the Bird Coop, which offers a large selection of exercise equipment (and a climbing wall!) all for the low price of $30/term. Gold’s Gym in the University Village also offer a range of membership options.

Eating Out

Head over to the SUB basement for some healthy and tasty food from Sprouts. This vegetarian, student-run cafe serves delicious, healthy, local, organic and fair-trade meals throughout the day, and even provides a by donation lunch on Fridays!

Cooking

Whip up healthy meals at home using the local, organic and affordable produce from the UBC Farm. Start out by sampling goods at one of the many farm markets held throughout the year. You could also enrol in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where you’ll receive a weekly box of fresh produce straight from the farm. You could even consider splitting the membership with a friend.

Any other ideas for healthy living on campus?

– Ivan Yastrebov, Communications and Marketing

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Sefanit Habtom

With the Entry-to-Practice PharmD application process starting, you might find yourself communicating with a member of Pharm Sci Student Services team. This four-part post series will introduce you to the individuals behind the emails. This week, we’d like to introduce you to Sefanit Habtom, Recruitment and Admission Officer.

Tell us about yourself and what brought you to your role with Pharm Sci Student Services?

My name is Sefanit Habtom – more commonly called Sef – and I’m excited to be the Faculty’s first Recruitment and Admissions Officer.  I’m a lover of coffee, captivating books that help pass time on my morning commutes, and trying new places to eat – specifically brunch (and suggestions are welcome).

I’ve recently completed my Undergraduate degree from UBC, studying Kinesiology and Sociology.  Throughout my degree, I enjoyed the many student-positions I held here on campus, and it ultimately excited me to work for the university post-graduation.  Lucky for me, an amazing opportunity with this Faculty had just opened up!

What is your role within Student Services?

As the Recruitment and Admissions Officer, I plan recruitment events, respond to admission inquiries, assist prospective students in course-planning for admittance into our E2P PharmD program, and also do some advising for current Pharmacy students.

What do you enjoy most about your position?

I love interacting with students on a day-to-day basis.  It’s also exciting to be admitting the first set of students into our new E2P PharmD program!

What do you do in your spare time?

I try new restaurants and cafés with friends, and also enjoy reading – my favorite genre is historical fiction.

How do you stay dry during the rainy Vancouver winters?

Born and raised in Vancouver, but I still haven’t gotten used to this rain.  I’m sure to always have layers on and an umbrella close by.  Plus, an extra pair of shoes under my desk comes in handy.

Do you have any advice for students?

Take what you learn in the classroom into your experiences outside the classroom & find ways to engage with Pharmacy in your extracurricular activities to add greater meaning to course concepts!

Do you have any questions you would like to ask Sef? Feel free to leave them in the comments below or shoot her an email at sefanit.habtom@ubc.ca.

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With assignments, midterms and reports all around, flu prevention might be far from your mind. But there is good reason to make it a priority. With a common cold you could miss a day or two of school and the chance of complication is low – but with the flu that is not so. Flu is characterized with high fevers, body aches and pains, exhaustion and fatigue that can last anywhere from 7 days (for fever) to two weeks (for exhaustion). Could you afford that much time off of school or work?

Luckily there are a few simple ways to help prevent the flu:

1. Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water
2. Keep your hands away from your face
3. Cough and sneeze into your arm, not your hand
4. If you get sick, stay home until your symptoms are gone
5. Keep common surface areas clean and disinfected
6. Last but not least, get your annual flu shot!

There are a few easy ways to get the flu vaccine. If you’re a student, staff or Faculty member you’re eligible to attend UBC Risk Management’s flu clinics (where shots are administered by Medicine, Nursing and Pharmaceutical Sciences students). The clinics run from today until November 27^th and flu shots are free. Registration is easy and getting the shot won’t take more than an hour out of your day. Compare that to the week you could spend sick in bed and it seems like a manageable trade off!

If you’re not a student, staff or faculty member then you can either drop by your local pharmacy or our own Flu Clinic run by the Pharmacists Clinic. Registration is easy and getting the vaccine is even easier.

If the above reasons weren’t enough to convince you, contemplate getting the flu shot for the safety of others. It is those that can’t receive the immunization that are most at risk for flu complications. Thereby getting the vaccine will help keep them safe by helping to prevent you from contracting the flu and passing it along to others.

Do you have any questions about our immunization clinics? Ask them in the comments below!

– Ivan Yastrebov, Communications & Marketing

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