Courses to Take Before You Graduate

As classes start back up and we approach the final year of our undergraduate careers, we have been reminiscing about some of our favourite Queen's courses from over the years. We've listed our top choices below, along with brief summaries of each course and why we love them!

Danielle’s picks:

MOHK 101:

As a Life Sciences major, this course was completely out of my comfort zone. However, Beginning Mohawk Language and Culture I is the most interesting course I’ve taken at Queen’s thus far. This course provides students with a beginner’s level understanding of speaking, writing, and reading the Mohawk language. In addition, students actively learn about the richness of the Kanien’kehaka culture. Furthermore, as someone who lives in Canada and benefits from its resources, I believe it’s critical to learn about those who inhabited the land long before settlers. In doing so, this class offers you a chance to develop your cultural competence and acknowledge this country’s troubling past.

GLPH 271:

This course is a must for those interested in working in the healthcare sector! Of course, it is vital that we learn about topics such as pathology, anatomy, and physiology to view diseases on an individual level. However, Global and Population Health, tackles various ailments on a population level through the exploration of the social determinants of health. In this course, an emphasis is placed on the health of the overall population, thereby prioritizing resource sharing and partnerships. It explores the realm of advocacy in healthcare - an important trait for all providers to have. Bonus: you get to create your very own health intervention plan! Overall, this is a great course to expand your view on healthcare beyond the health of individuals and unilateral relationships.

Brittany’s picks:

BMED 373 (now IDIS 373)

As someone hoping to pursue a career in healthcare, I was incredibly intrigued by the content of this course. Health Ethics, Law, and Policy provides an overview of the various ethical dilemmas one could be faced with as a healthcare professional. The course forces you to consider difficult scenarios, and with the use of relevant policies and laws, describe how you would proceed as a particular individual within the scenario. BMED 373 provided me with a much greater understanding of patient rights, how laws in healthcare work, and the responsibilities of a physician that are often overlooked. This is easily my favourite course of my undergrad!

PSYC 332

This was one of the most impactful courses of my undergraduate career. Despite always having an interest in healthcare, it wasn't until taking Health Psychology that I understood the different ways that health can be influenced by psychological factors. This course stressed the importance of maintaining good physical and mental health and emphasized how the two are linked - a topic that I believe is becoming increasingly important with all the stress and anxiety that many people have been feeling. The formatting of lectures and coursework allows you to research the healthcare status of marginalized populations, global health statistics, alternative medicine, and more common healthcare stressors which can influence one's day-to-day life. Overall, this was one of the most applicable and relevant courses I've taken to-date!