And just like that, everything changes!

I came into work this morning ready to really start to tackle the project I've been assigned. This project is a social marketing campaign on increasing vegetable and fruit consumption. For the past two days I've been trying to wrap my head around the population I'm going to be targeting.
The organization is very keen to incorporate the five pillars of health promotion from the Ottawa Charter [creating supportive environments, develop personal skills, strengthen community action, reorient health services and build healthy public policy] in all their programming. It's actually refreshing to see something I've used in classes actually being put into play in the real world! Anyhow, I had been thinking about what areas I wanted to focus with the campaign and had actually started to put some ideas to paper when my preceptor came to talk to me.

The project that she's been working is on a rather tight deadline and she approached me to see if I would be willing to step away from my assigned project and instead help her with hers. Her project is a program on weight loss/management offered over an eight week period. I told her no problem, I'd be more than happy to switch and so, just like that I'm no longer working on the vegetable and fruit campaign!

My focus now will be to develop a module (one of the weekly sessions) on three areas: eating out, alcohol (and all the calories associated with it) and how mood and environment can affect eating habits. I'm actually quite excited about this and can't wait to get started on researching these areas!

I am also a bit relieved. While I was excited to work on the social marketing campaign, as I started to read more into the population and speak with individuals more familiar with the organization, I couldn't help but feel that the project was larger than I could handle in just a four week time frame. I could have come up with some nice handouts and perhaps an informational poster or two, but I don't really think that would do the program justice nor would it be a good use of resources.

Tomorrow I'm going to watch a session from the current program so that I can get a better idea idea on how sessions run and to perhaps have a chance to pick the brain of the facilitator on her views of the program and any suggestions that she may have on the module I'm working on.

Alright, enough shop talk for now. I'm currently watching the playoffs (it's 5-1 for Boston) - gotta love Don Cherry's jacket!

Getting excited for the weekend so that I can start to explore the city!!!

Cheers,

T