Humber College nursing student Jenny Livingston believes that end of life and palliative care should be on everyone’s mind. After all, she says, “we’re all going to need it someday.”
Livingston is looking for a job once she completes the Practical Nursing to Bachelor of Nursing bridge program.
She attended a career fair at Humber’s North campus hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness focused on long-term care and community.
“The Rekai Centre kind of caught my attention because they do things differently,” said Livingston.
The Rekai Centres are long-term care homes in downtown Toronto which use a holisitic approach to patient health. The homes provide regular services like access to RPN and BSCN nurses, and personal support workers, as well as less-common services like massage therapy, traditional Chinese medicine and occupational therapy.
“We’re always looking for new ideas from students who are academically inclined, unlike [people like] myself who have been out of academics for a little bit,” said Barbara Michalik, director of community and academic partnerships at Rekai Centres.
The long term care homes’ booth was busy throughout the event, with a lineup of students waiting to hear about potential work placements and career opportunities from company representatives.
“We had a conversation about end of life care and palliative care,” said Jenny Livingston. She was pleased to see her own values reflected from a potential employer.
'Humber stands out'
Other employers within the long term care sector offered information pertinent to nurses and personal support workers as well as students taking courses in culinary, food and nutrition, and continuing education programs. 
“Humber stands out in particular,” said Michalik, “They have [...] responsibility, creativity, and they really open our eyes to what’s happening in today’s world.”
She says Humber “stands in a league of its own” in terms of students’ creativity and innovation.
The Rekai homes accept 250 Humber College students each year.
“We’re that sort of bridge between academics and real life and whether this career is going to work for you,” said Michalik.