Today marks our second official week of online training and from all accounts, that aspect of this emergency is going well. There are still many unanswered questions concerning many of your clinical rotations, but I know each program is working with both accreditors and clinical sites to see what’s next. We will keep everyone posted as we get new information about this. I cannot thank you all enough for your flexibility and professionalism as we work through all this. Yesterday, Governor Wolf announced that his original mandate of closures up to 27 March has been extended indefinitely. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given the progression of the pandemic. We will all work through this together.
With all this swirling around us, I’ve had the time to reflect on our current situation as a nation, as well as some of the things I’ve been reading and seeing on television. After reading an op-ed by Admiral Bill McRaven, who drew parallels to his time as a Navy Seal, I was inspired to look back to my days in the Navy when I was going through the primary flight training portion of my aerospace optometry program.
For any Naval Aviator to complete flight training, they have to first complete about 3 weeks of water and land survival courses. The water survival includes jumping off a 12-foot-high tower into a 12-foot-deep pool and then having to swim under water for 25 meters and touch a wall, swimming a mile in full flight gear, successful egress from the infamous Dilbert Dunker, of “An Officer and Gentleman” fame (for those of you old enough to have seen it), and then successful egress from a helicopter crash simulator both with and without blindfolds on. If you survived that, then you were brought out to Pensacola Bay, where you parasailed until the instructor told you to release the lines and you floated towards the cold water (I did it in February) while at the same time, going through all the procedures to release your parachute and inflate your life vest prior to hitting the water. I didn’t think I’d ever get through all that. It took me about 5 attempts to successfully touch the wall underwater, but eventually I did it and the Dilbert Dunker was terrifying to watch, but not too awful once actually doing it. Once that was all over, it was off to land survival training where we were literally left in the middle of nowhere with no food or shelter and told to survive for 3 days. Throughout all of this we remained in the same group. In the beginning, it seemed like we’d never get through it but eventually, it was over and we survived. We got our leather Naval aviator jackets (the prize at the end) and our Wings of Gold. When I was selected for the program, it never occurred to me that the Navy would continually try to drown me (at least that’s how I felt) and then be left out in the middle of nowhere to survive. What got me through this was teamwork, trust in my instructors and knowing that the Navy wouldn’t be doing this to us unless it was necessary to save our lives in the eventuality we needed to fall back on all this training.
So, the coronavirus has thrown every one of us into the water and is trying to drown us. We’re all scared, we’re cold, wet, hungry and the end seems a long way off – if at all! While it’s important to understand how serious the coronavirus is, it’s also important to realize that this too will end. Our feelings of fear and possibly, despondency that accompany the pandemic, should not paralyze us as a nation or even as an institution. There are many reasons to be hopeful and optimistic.
We have the world’s best researchers and research infrastructure. Our academic and federal medical institutions are aligned and are working overtime on potential treatment options and eventually we’ll have a vaccine. Today, our dedicated medical teams are working overtime to save lives and make a difference. I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal a friend had recommended entitled, “Make America the Medicine Chest of the World” by Arthur Herman. Drawing a parallel between what we’re experiencing now and World War II, Herman quoted Lt. General William Knudsen, a former CEO of General Motors, who said “We won because we smothered the enemy in an avalanche of production, the like of which he had never seen, nor dreamed possible”. I am hopeful the same will happen as we tackle this pandemic. Our pharmaceutical industry, along with other industries, will mobilize to confront this emergency. As I noted in last week’s message to you, as Americans, we have always been able to come together in a crisis, and this time will be no different.
So, yes, we’ve been thrown in the water and left out in the wilderness to starve. Now it’s time to work together, show compassion, and trust one another to get through this. Things will get worse before they get better, but it will get better.
Social distancing, hand washing and protecting those around us is essential.
We are Salus Strong – we will get through this together! Remember to check our website here for the most up-to-date information.
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment