CLICK HERE to see the photos from the event!

Register Now!

The Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology and the BPKSA are pleased to invite you to the annual Careers in BPK event on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019. The event will take place in the Applied Science Building (ASB) Atrium at SFU Burnaby Campus from 4pm - 8pm. 

The cost of admission is $2 and includes: 

• Employer Exhibits
• Breakout speaker sessions
• Dinner
• Draw Prizes

To Register for this event please visit:
http://websurvey.sfu.ca/survey/333793711

Questions? Contact bpk-archivesa@sfu.ca or visit www.bpk-archivesa.org

Want advice on your future career plans?
Bring your resume and questions to the Exhibitor Fair between 4:30 – 6:45 pm!

• BCAK
• Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine
• College & Association of Respiratory Therapists of Alberta
• Innovative Fitness (Port Moody & Coquitlam) combine with Innovative Fitness (North Van)

• Kintec Orthotics + Footwear
• KPU
• Life Chiropractic College West
• OzTREKK
• Palmer College of Chiropractic
• Ross University School of Medicine

• SFU Athletics & Recreation - Student Trainer Program
• SFU Career & Volunteer Services
• SFU Recreation
• Total Therapy
• University of Western States
• Vancouver College of Massage Therapy
• West Coast College of Massage Therapy

Erina Cho
Master of Occupational Therapy program at UBC

Erina graduated in 2017 with a BSc (Hons.) in Kinesiology and is currently a first-year student in the Master of Occupational Therapy program at UBC.

While at SFU, she completed three co-op terms. First, she worked as a prosthetist/research assistant at Barber Prosthetics Clinic and afterwards joined MENRVA Group, a biomedical engineering lab at SFU. Later she completed a VPR USRA as well as her undergraduate Honours with the Neuromuscular Mechanics Lab under the supervision of Dr. James Wakeling. Erina also had numerous volunteer opportunities to work directly with people with disability and learned about the vastness of how disability can have an impact on ones’ life. Inspired by the personal stories of the people she worked with through volunteering, she was drawn to the holistic approach in occupational therapy.

The biggest advice Erina has for current students is to explore a wide range of opportunities through co-op and volunteering.

Katie Yaschuk
OT Community Therapists

Katie graduated from SFU with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology in 2014. During her time at SFU, participating in the Co-op program was probably one of her best choices! It lead to several job opportunities. Katie spent a year off of school where she primarily worked as a Kinesiologist in an occupational rehabilitation program and as a movement therapist in a gymnastics program for children and youth with disabilities. She started her Master of Science in occupational therapy at Queen's University in 2015, graduating in 2017. She now works with Community Therapists as a registered OT. Katie works as an independent contractor and provides return to work, mental health and home health programs for mostly insurance sector clients.

Ermin Pagtakhan
Kintec

Director of Store Operations and Certified Pedorthist at Kintec Orthotics + Footwear in Surrey, BC.

At Kintec, thier Mission is to Keep Help People Stay Active on their feet for life. Clinically, Ermin performs biomechanical assessments and gait analysis on patients in order to determine a treatment plan and solutions to achieve their goals. This may include custom foot orthotics, footwear, and bracing products; as the Director of Store Operations, Ermin leads his team to provide the best customer service

experience for everyone who enters their stores. He is responsible for the overall business side of the stores and most importantly the happiness of all team members. Ermin always knew that he wanted a profession where he could help people. He knew that Kinesiology and Humanities would help him get there, but he didn’t know where there would be until he learned more about pedorthics in his co-op placement at Kintec.

Ermin’s education at SFU steered him towards the things he liked which were biomechanics, anatomy, physiology; while steering him away from the things that he wasn’t too interested in. And the co-op program was the biggest influence because it allowed him to see how his education could be applied in real life situations. It brought the theory into practice. Ermin’s advice is to follow your passion, explore many options, and enjoy what you do.

Quoting Saint Jerome, “Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.”

Ernest Chao
Kensington Square Physiotherapy

Ernest completed his Masters of Science in Physiotherapy, with distinction, at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, UK. Prior to this, he received his Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University. Since graduating, he has completed the Acupuncture Canada Level 1 Certification and the CyclePoint Bicycle Fitter Certification.

Ernest has worked in work rehabilitation programs, in community settings, and private clinics. His approach to physiotherapy is to treat clients holistically and to provide safe and effective tools to maximize their health and mobility. He utilizes activity-based rehabilitation and education, and supplements his practice with manual therapy, acupuncture and modalities. Ernest continues to evolve his practice to best fit his clients’ interests and needs, whether it is a sports injury, workplace incident, acute/chronic musculoskeletal condition, or motor vehicle accident. He enjoys working with clients of all ages and abilities.

For Ernest, Co-op was a great preparation for the transition out of university as it provided support with resume writing, interview practice/experience, paid work experience, having “foot in the door” by having contacts/references in the field of practice outside of academia.

His advice to students is that it is worth delaying graduation by a few semesters to gain work experience through the co-op program as the field of PT is very competitive.

Kelvin Yeung
Kensington Square Physiotherapy

Kelvin completed his Masters of Physical Therapy at the University of British Columbia in 2013 after obtaining his Bachelor of Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University in 2011. He worked as a student kinesiologist for 2 years and full time kinesiologist for 6 months prior to starting physiotherapy school. His career path has been orientated towards becoming a physiotherapist since he was 16 and hasn’t changed since. Through this experience, it has taught him two simple things:

1. To listen and focus on the needs of the patient.
2. To ensure the patient is engaged and taking an active role in their rehabilitation process.

Kelvin did two full years of co-op and it was one of the vital steps of his career path. It introduced him to the world of rehabilitation and the contacts he made during those 2 years of working really paid off when he graduated from physiotherapy school. He managed to secure two jobs prior to even graduating due to those relationships he formed during his co-op tenure. Co-op helped him better understand his strengths, weaknesses both as a student, and as a clinician; and played a large part in helping him grow into the professional he is now.

His advice to students is to do as many co-op terms as you can without delaying your graduation too much. Do as many resumes, cover letters, interviews as you can and as cliche as it sounds, do not fear failure. Embrace it and learn from it as this is the best time in your life/career to fail without any significant repercussions.

Cassandra Russell
Physiotherapist, Fraser Health

Cassandra graduated from SFU in spring 2013 with her Bachelor of Science (BPK Major) and Certificate in Active Health and Rehabilitation.

She volunteered with a variety of programs while at SFU (Burnaby Hospita Healthy Heart/Mental Health exercise programs, coaching field hockey, trainer for the SFU Rugby team, shadowed at Physiomoves clinic). After volunteering with the Burnaby Hospital Mental Health exercise program and helping the manager complete a statistical analysis of the effectiveness of the program, the information was used to expand the service to neighbouring communities and Cassandra was hired by Fraser Health to run program in New Westminster.

Then, she attended Glasgow Caledonian University in the United Kingdom where she graduated in April 2016 with her Masters of Physiotherapy. Cassandra had an amazing experience as a physiotherapy student in the UK.

Cassandra returned to Canada in January 2016 to complete the credentialing and exams required by the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators. She has been working as a physiotherapist at Surrey Memorial Hospital since June 2016.

Her advice is: if you know what you want to do, don’t wait!

Brandon Watson
Master of Physical Therapy UBC

Brandon Watson graduated from SFU in the Spring of 2017 as a graduate of the Kinesiology program and also played four years for the Men's Varsity Soccer team. After graduation, he was accepted to the UBC Master's of Physical Therapy program, and is now in his 2nd year of the program with a graduation date of November 2019.

During his time at SFU, he completed 3 co-op placements, two in a private clinic in Victoria named RebalanceMD, and one as an NSERC-USRA student in the SFU Laboratory for Environmental and Exercise Physiology. The first two placements he worked as a student kinesiologist, running a post-operative and hip and knee replacement rehab program, as well as supporting physiotherapists with their private patients in clinic. Brandon was able to complete a research project during his NSERC-USRA focusing on the effects of hyperthermia on repetitive anaerobic exercise performance.

His main advice for students wishing to pursue Physiotherapy would be to maintain a high GPA, obtain a breadth of experiences, such as Co-op placements and research opportunities, and use the resources available from both SFU and UBC to prepare for the application process to the UBC MPT program.

Marcus Kwan
Master of Physical Therapy Candidate UBC

Marcus graduated with a Kinesiology degree from SFU in 2017 and began his studies in physiotherapy at UBC shortly after. During his time at SFU, he volunteered for Dr. Marigold in the Sensorimotor Neuroscience Lab and as a student athletic trainer with the men's varsity soccer team. Outside of school, Marcus has worked as a lifeguard with the City of Burnaby for the last 6 years and have also held both unpaid and paid positions with Canucks Autism Network. 

Dr. Janine Roller
UBC Plastic Surgery Resident

Dr. Roller majored in Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology at SFU and graduated in 2011. During her time at SFU, she participated in 3 co-op positions including being a caregiver for a lady with disabilities and research which lead to several self-directed research classes and an honors project in the molecular cardiac physiology lab.

After graduating from SFU, Janine became a remote Emergency Medical Responder where she worked in the oil and gas industry in the winters and traveled in the  summertime. 2 years later, she started at UBC’s Northern Medical program and ultimately her love for surgery, creativity, and ability to combine form and function lead her to Plastic Surgery.

Her advice for current students is to keep an open mind when exploring career options. Participating in Co-op terms and shadowing different careers is a great way to gain insight into the profession, the training required, and lifestyle.

Lauren Rietchel
1st Year UBC Medicine Class of 2022

Lauren graduated in June 2018 with a BSc. Kinesiology, Active Health and Rehab, Certificate in Health and Fitness Studies, Co-operative Education Certificate.

She has worked as a Senior research assistant in Institutional Research and Planning and as a Student Engagement and Retention Research assistant in a Cardiovascular Physiology Laboratory.

Lauren originally joined co-op to gain some workplace research experience, without the intention of "getting into medical school", and she ended up doing a bunch of projects outside of her field in IRP and SER in student services. It was a challenging and rewarding experience. Lauren thinks the expertise and communication skills she gained during that time really helped her develop confidence in her interactions with others. She would recommend trying a co-op outside of your area of interest because there are many skills and experiences you will have and gain from trying something you are not familiar with.

Her advice to students will be that if you are thinking about medical school, do the stuff you ACTUALLY like to do! Never do anything because you think it will look good on your resume. Pursue your interests and say yes to opportunities because they will always lead to great experiences. Don't take on too much, too soon, and work to develop a capacity for a high workload. Be open, grateful, and take care of yourself first!

Nancy Lum
Medical Student UBC

Nancy Lum is a second-year medical student at UBC and a former Biomedical Physiology student at SFU. During her time at SFU, Nancy had the opportunity to spend a co-op term in the Molecular Cardiac Physiology Group under Dr. Glen Tibbits, as a recipient of the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award. She also volunteered extensively with Child Life at BC Children’s Hospital, served as a Crisis Services Responder with the Crisis Centre, and continues to engage in mental health advocacy for youths.

Her advice for students: pursue a wide range of interests early, even if they don’t seem to directly further you on your desired career path or goal. Cultivating your interests allows you to gain the skills and life experience that will tie into your work in surprising ways. She is looking forward to sharing her experiences as a speaker.