Why You Should Choose a Health & Society Minor
Choosing a minor to complement your degree can be a little difficult when considering whether or not it should relate to your major. There are no strings attached; no matter the faculty you are in or the major you choose, your minor can easily be a passion of yours that may be unrelated to your future prospects.
Who says a biology major cannot minor in English? Minors are intended to allow for flexibility and a way to show prospective employers, graduate school officials, and others who take a look at your transcript that you are more than just your major. It indicates open-mindedness, and creativity, and is rather impressive to actively dedicate your time to studying two academic disciplines intensively.
With a plethora of choices available, I find the Health and Society (HESO) minor as a passageway to acquiring an abundance of skills that can be attributed to the workplace no matter who you work for.
For those interested in the healthcare field, it allows for students to delve into different aspects of health whether it be mental, physical, or sexual. It does not distinctly lean into one particular perspective of health but acknowledges the breadth and depth of the field. Those looking for a career can impress employers as it indicates ones ability to look through a biological, sociological, psychological, or even a historical lens to name a few.
“With only 30 credits required and 18 of those being upper-level courses, this minor can be declared in the third year via the Student Service Centre (SSC).”
According to the HESO website, the aim is for students to learn about the “social determinants of health, health beliefs and behaviours, cultural representations of health and illness, health inequalities, and other social aspects of health” (University of British Columbia, Health and Society Minor, 2023). In relation to narrative medicine, these topics enable students to gain emotional competency, which is critical when interacting with patients and treating them accordingly. For those who do not seek a career in healthcare, the social awareness that is gained from the minor can transcend the healthcare field and be applied to different contexts.
For example, for those in kinesiology who are keen on becoming a personal trainer, emotional competency facilitates a professional relationship between the client and the employee. The employee can tailor a workout program specific to the client’s needs if they are knowingly aware of the client’s current state of health, their personal experiences, and what goals they aim to achieve.
As another example, for those in marketing, promoting advertisements to customers can only ever be effective if the promoter understands what the customers are looking for and what they are interested in. It is crucial to gauge what the target audience is interested in and how certain products are able to benefit their everyday lives. We cannot make assumptions; we need to make active attempts to hear other people’s stories first and foremost.
Luckily, the HESO minor encompasses an interdisciplinary range of different courses in Arts, LFS, the School of Nursing, and more. Here, I have listed a few out of the many there are available to students. Keep in mind that eligible courses are added or removed every year so always check back frequently to ensure you are on the right track:
AMNE 301: The Technical Terms of Medicine and Biological Science
ECON 384: Economic Analysis of Health Services
FNH 355: International Nutrition
SPPH 300: Working in International Health
NURS 280: Human Sexual Health
PSYC 314: Health Psychology
UFOR 200: Urban Forests and Well-Being
By: Saray Membreno (She/Her) | Marketing Committee Member
