What are you passionate about? Living each moment to the fullest and savoring life along the path to your passion is what it is all about. To open the doorway to enlightenment you must take a proactive approach, become more engaged and take action to find your passion at work and have the career that you have always dreamed of having.
Here are some practical steps to find your passion at work: Continue reading
Written by Karen E. Mosier
Bonnie Kraska has worked for the University of Saskatchewan in Prince Albert for almost 13 years. She started in January 2008 as a CUPE employee in an Administrative Assistant position and in 2014 she joined ASPA as the PA Campus Manager for the College of Nursing. In the fall of 2020, the new USask PA campus building opened which amalgamated a number of existing and new USask operations located in Prince Albert. Bonnie has continued her operations management role in the new facility in support of a broader stakeholder group, including the College of Nursing, the Distance Education Unit, and the College of Dentistry’s on site Dental Clinic. Continue reading
Written by Karen E. Mosier
Increasing Your Self-Confidence in the Workplace
Growing your self-confidence in the workplace can be difficult. Most people aspire to have more self-confidence not just in their job but in life. Achieving a level where we feel comfortable and confident at work takes effort and does not happen overnight. Continue reading
January 2021
Happy New Year to all of you! I hope everyone was able to get some down time over the extended break we had this year as I know we all needed and deserved it after the year we just went through.
The U of S has announced that spring and summer classes will continue to be offered mainly online and that most of us will continue to work from home full or part time depending on our jobs. ASPA has not been given any further information on when the campus might be returning to more in person instruction and opening up offices again other than what was contained in President’s Stoicheffs’ message this month which indicated they will be making a decision on the fall term in May, 2021. Continue reading
Written by the ASPA Research Committee
Introduction
ASPA Research Committee conducted an online survey in December, 2020 to gather ASPA members feedback on various aspects of the latest round of bargaining. The short survey gathered insights on level of satisfaction with ASPA’s communications during bargaining, the information sessions, the forced vote, tentative agreement, as well as what ASPA did well during bargaining and areas for improvement. A total of 432 surveys were completed, representing a 32% response rate. This article provides an overview of the survey results. All averages reported are based on a 5-point scale, where 1 equals “strongly disagree” and 5 equals “strongly agree”. Continue reading
Written by Karen E. Mosier
Kamal graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Sri Lanka in 2007. He came to Canada in 2009. He completed an internship in Large Animal Medicine in 2012 and completed a 3 year residency training in Food Animal Production Medicine in 2016 at the WCVM. Kamal is a specialist in food animal production medicine and holds diplomate status of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in Food Animal Practice. He gives credit to his WCVM colleagues and friends Dr. Ted Leighton, Dr. Lyall Petrie, Dr. Fritz Schumann, Sherry Presnell, and Jane Fitzpatrick for their support during this time. In particular, he acknowledges his mentor and role model Dr. Ted Leighton, Professor Emeritus, WCVM, and former Executive Director, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, who helped him to overcome racial barriers, financial difficulties, visa challenges, and cultural stereotyping that international students often face when they move to a different country to continue their studies and find employment. Continue reading
With the new agreement there are increases to some of the benefits that ASPA Members have available to them. These are: Continue reading
Written by Karen E. Mosier
Do you ever feel tired and worn out? Do you ever think “I’m going to fail. I’m not smart enough to do this?” Sometimes life is tough and work can be hectic. It is especially important during these times to take care of yourself. Being kind to yourself allows you to move past self-criticism and negative self-talk. Continue reading
I am very happy to report, and as you all know, the ASPA membership has voted to accept the tentative agreement with 92.5% in favour. I have personally heard from several ASPA members that they are very happy that we have settled this round of bargaining and in such a timely manner. Continue reading
We are over halfway through term 1 of the 2020-21 academic year and more than 8 months along dealing with the pandemic with most of us still working from home. As I am writing this the province is experiencing rising COVID-19 positive cases across the province with Saskatoon being particularly hard hit. The province also has announced mandatory mask wearing in all public indoor spaces for the city until at least November 28, something those of you that have been coming on campus have been doing since the beginning of September. I hope all of you are keeping well and taking the time to stay healthy both physically and mentally, as the stress and anxiety of the pandemic, working from home, social isolation, etc. can be overwhelming at times. Remember to make the effort to reach out to talk to people and access the many resources we have available to us through programs like the employee and family assistance program or just talking to a trusted co-worker or friend to get a different perspective on an issue that you may be dealing with. Continue reading