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Some Past RAQ Activities: Lunchtime Guest Series

RAQ’s Lunchtime Guest Series is a popular new collection of speakers from the broader Queen’s community on varied topics in an informal lunch-hour setting.  Recent talks since the last edition of RAQNews have been on topics as diverse as healthcare in Canada to trekking around Iceland.

 

George BrandieOn Thursday, February 15, Dr. George Brandie spoke on “Travels in Iceland”. Since his retirement from Chemical Engineering, he has been active in RAQ and in the College and University Retiree Associations of Canada. He visited western and southern Iceland in 2015 and used remarkable pictures and stories from that tour to illustrate highlights of travel in Iceland.

Duncan SinclairOur March 20 guest was Dr. Duncan Sinclair, former Dean of Medicine and Vice-Principal (Health Sciences) at Queen’s and a major leader of healthcare reform in Canada.  He led a lively discussion on “Our Healthcare System??”. Pointing out that we really do not have a healthcare ‘system,’ he introduced a plethora of issues and ideas drawn from his experience and reflections on the current state of health care. One observation: care is woefully inadequate in areas of prevention and in long term management, and rural and remote areas suffer particularly.

The RAQ Lunchtime Series aims to take advantage of the extensive knowledge and expertise found among us. Please contact Sandra Olney (sandra.olney@queensu.ca) with your ideas and suggestions for future topics or speakers. 

Look for the Lunchtime Guest Series to resume in September, 2018.  You need not be a member of the University Club (or RAQ) to attend – so plan to bring a friend and join us for a sandwich lunch and discussion of an interesting topic. 

 

 

Mike CondraOn Thursday April 26, Dr. Mike Condra, retired Director of Health, Counselling and Disability Services at Queen’s, spoke on “Mental Health for Postsecondary Students—Why the Concern?”. Mike is very familiar to the Queen’s Community for his decades of caring, compassionate service that was particularly devoted to mental health. He is a leader in mental health awareness and education and a tireless advocate in matters involving mental health and well-being. Mike gave reassurance that overall student mental health appeared to be no worse at the present time than in the recent past, but underlined the importance of early recognition and treatment for those suffering from serious pathologies and emphasized the importance of compassionate caring by all people involved with students undergoing stress.

 

 

Sandra Olney, RAQ events coordinator

 

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