The Michener Institute – What is a “Michener” Anyway?

What is the Michener Institute? Where is the Michener Institute? As students here at the Michener Institute, we get these questions a lot! So let’s start with a brief introduction. The Michener Institute is located right in the heart of the Toronto hospital district, just behind Princess Margret Hospital. It is an applied health science establishment specializing in many health related disciplines. These include chiropody, respiratory therapy and radiation therapy, just to name a few. Jennifer Vuong, Gordon Wang & Ori Wiegner, the three amigos, are all part of the Radiation Therapy program!

People have many misconceptions when it comes to radiation and its applications. The first thoughts that come to mind usually relate to atomic bombs or microwaves. People rarely think of the medical applications of radiation, such as cancer treatments, diagnostic x-rays and CT scans. The variety of uses for radiation is astounding!

This summer we are all excited to take part in our first ever clinical placements! Jennifer and Ori will be attending Princess Margret Hospital and Gordon will be attending Kingston Regional Cancer Center. We will continue to blog about our student experiences at Michener and very soon about our individual hands on experiences at our placements!

For more in information regarding the radiation therapy program visit: The Michener Institute – Radiation Therapy



Jennifer, Ori, and Gordon.

Interview with the (research) Devil

Interviews, the most loved and hated type of activity for all, from the powerful, skeptical, God-like interviewers seeking information to the innocent, intimidated and incapsulated interviewees, seeking a break. So many emotions happen when two people meet for the first time, in the interview setting. I definitely know what it’s like to be put in the hot seat, as the one word I felt coming into my own interview with the University of Toronto for this program – terrifying. I was completely terrified. New offices in the heart of Toronto, I felt like a small town girl moving to the big city alone. It was almost a coming of age experience – one small step into the building, yet one giant step for the adolescent-adulthood phase I am now transitioning into. 


         As I went up the elevator and pressed the fourth floor button, I almost could not contain myself. But the scariest part of the whole ordeal was probably the moment before I found the right office. Of course, I stumble into the wrong office, and when asking the woman working there for Dr. Tyrrell, the interviewer, when I saw the look on the woman’s face that I was in the wrong place, my heart dropped. Of course, when finally meeting with Dr. Tyrrell and discussing the program, all of this fear and anxiety disappeared at the drop of a hat, but the point is, interviews are a type of research, so research can be quite adventurous! 

Stay Adventurous and Keep Reading!  

Faith Balshin