Island university offers degree in study of old age
Boomers aging differently, expert says
Where so many commentators are raising warnings about the aging of Canada’s population, Vancouver Island University is offering an opportunity.
The university is offering a two-year, post-degree diploma in gerontology, the study of old age. It’s the only program of its kind on the Island and one of only two in the province, the other being at Simon Fraser University.
“There is a growing need on Vancouver Island in a variety of different situations for people who want to work with older adults,” said Louise Stern, chairwoman of the VIU gerontology diploma program and professor of social work.
Stern said the university hopes to have 25 students enrolled in the program in September. Recruiters are working with organizations such as Island Health to attract the right people.
The program is a good demonstration of several long-standing strong commitments at Vancouver Island University, she said.
VIU wants to grow in place as a mid-Island university. Centres such as Nanaimo, Parksville, Duncan, and Powell River (not on the Island, but served by a VIU campus) are attracting large numbers of retiring seniors.
The program will invite seniors to take part in workshops and talks, and will develop in relation to mid-Island conditions and capacities.
Community members and elders from mid-Island First Nations have been invited to assist with the program.
“What’s going to make us really unique is that we will be grounded in the community,” Stern said.
The program will be multidisciplinary, offering perspectives on aging from a variety of professional communities, including medical, social, psychological, recreational and intellectual.
Stern said demographic groups not only age at different times, but also in different ways.
Baby-boomers, those born after the Second World War to the early 1960s, are not aging like their parents or grandparents, she said.
“[Baby boomers] want to remain active, vital and involved in our communities,” Stern said. “We want a say in what’s happening in our communities and we want to be included and maybe we want to even keep working.
“Our students will have to learn about that.”
The gerontology diploma program is designed like a graduate program. Students are expected to have at least one degree, whatever the subject.
A liberal-arts graduate who has, perhaps, gone back to college, earned a diploma in a subject such as nursing, and now works in a seniors’ centre, would be an ideal student for the gerontology diploma
Those already with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and working as registered nurses, but wanting to switch to working with older adults, would also be ideal candidates.
The program has a large online component, with face-to-face encounters on weekends, so it is suited to people who are working, but wish to upgrade or specialize in a new field without losing their income or the chance to be a parent.
Those already working with seniors will bring valuable knowledge to the program, Stern said.
“Unfortunately, right now in our society, whether it’s people in health or social care, they have some difficulty in thinking about working with older adults,” Stern said. “But it’s a fantastic career.”