Jenika Ebing
Communication student
Describe the work that you presented at the UGC
My presentation was on medicine and modernity, and the development of modern healthcare administration. Importantly it was highlighting the ways in which modern healthcare administration and architecture was influenced by modernism during the 1860s and 1930s, especially by scientific management, specialization, and rapid development in clinical science. It then analyzed these changes within a narrative of the development of Royal Columbian Hospital based in New Westminster, using primary archival sources.
What was the process like to prepare for your presentation?
Working with the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation and building the historical narrative with them, I was very comfortable with the content - I think the trickiest part was narrowing down my paper (which was 40 pages) into a 10 minute presentation that still broke down some of the heavy medical jargon and historical concepts. I found I had to go through my content often to try and trim things out yet still keep a flow, I wanted to keep my audience interested and remind them of the importance of establishing a political economy narrative for the development of modern medicine.
Describe your experience of presenting at the UGC
Overall, I learned a lot presenting to an audience that may not be as well versed in your area of interest as you are when creating. Another huge thing, the time goes by fast! I appreciated the supportive faculty, and I loved doing the panel, that's where I felt I could give more detail about the history.
Would you recommend that students participate in the UGC?
I would recommend that students participate in the UGC if they wish to do graduate studies, it is great to help you connect with the faculty and have the experience of a more intimate conference before going on to do other ones that may have larger audiences - I was able to take what I learned and apply it to my presentation on the same subject for the UGRS taking place a few weeks after.
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