Life's work revolves around family

Commitment is to teaching and developing caregivers

The dynamics of caregiving across generations sparks Nursing Assoc. Prof. Clarissa Green's compassion and curiosity.

Educated as a nurse with a background in family therapy, Green was initially attracted to UBC because she wanted to teach adult learners as well as family nursing.

"My students appreciate my professional experience in the area I teach," she says. "I've maintained a professional practice with families throughout my academic career."

Her clinical practice and research focus on intergenerational stress, a growing demographic circumstance that spawned the term "sandwich generation" to describe middle-aged adults raising children as well as caring for aging parents.

Experiential and interdisciplinary learning have been the hallmarks of her teaching as she has involved students in interdepartmental projects designed to address emerging community needs.

One such endeavour is the certificate program she co-developed in 1996 -- Counseling and Working with an Aging Population. The seven-month, part-time program is offered by Continuing Studies Women's Resource Centre (WRC).

She is currently co-developing Widowed Journey, a community-based project to address issues faced by growing numbers of widows and their families.

She also helps others improve their teaching through the UBC Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth.

Among the most striking and positive changes she has noticed at UBC is increased age, race and gender diversity among students.

A less positive change, she feels, has been the manner in which communication technology and larger classes, while essential, also tend to reduce contact with students.

"I miss that," she says. "Lively face-to-face interaction with students ensures that I keep learning."