ACCESS: Broadening perspectives and horizons

Janine Hancock, B.Sc. 2018.

When Janine Hancock (B.Sc. 2018) applied to the ACCESS Mentoring Program at Grenfell, she knew she wanted to work in healthcare but was not sure which career she would pursue.

Occupational therapy seemed interesting to her, but she "had a very narrow view of what occupational therapy was, and wanted to learn more about the profession."

The ACCESS program (Attaining Career Connections to Encourage Student Success) helped her learn more about that field as a possible career. "When the opportunity to be involved in the ACCESS program came along, I was in my third year of my undergraduate degree," said Ms. Hancock, who hails from Corner Brook. "The program provided me with the opportunity to see the many practice areas of occupational therapy, and to get a better sense of what this career path would look like. I was able to shadow several different occupational therapists working in the community and see the impact that they were making in the lives of their clients. My experience with the ACCESS program was enough to solidify the fact that I wanted to pursue occupational therapy as my career."

"The goal of this nationally awarded mentoring program is to provide students with an opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experience as well as to develop their skills while learning from someone else's experiences," said Jennifer Buxton, regional engagement and experiential learning co-ordinator.

The non-credit, volunteer program is designed to match third- and fourth-year Grenfell students with professional mentors in their field or career of interest. The mentoring placement is a commitment of a minimum of two hours per week for eight weeks.

The mentorship placement gives students the opportunity to:

"This program is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about a career that you are interested in, and to gain advice from those who are working in that field," said Ms. Hancock, who is approaching the end of her master's in Occupational Therapy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, N.S.

She recently undertook her third work placement at the Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John's. She aims to return to Newfoundland after graduation to work for Western Health, and eventually, hopes to work as a paediatric occupational therapist.

For more information about the ACCESS Mentoring Program, contact Jennifer Buxton at jbuxton@grenfell.mun.ca.