Helping You to Manage Stress: Week ok August 25, 2023

 

Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,

Good morning from our verdant Elkins Park campus where everything is vibrant and green helped by summer rains! It’s been a busy week around campus with all of our new students beginning lectures and labs and returning students heading back to clinics and didactic schedules. Our South Building construction project continues to make exciting progress as newly completed areas are already actively used by students, faculty and staff. Here are some other items of interest:

MOBILITY MEET UP: Salus University and the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center at The Eye Institute (TEI), recently celebrated Orientation and Mobility (O&M) interns, patients and support persons. Click here to read more about the “Mobility Meet Up.”

SEESHORE FEST PREVIEW: Seeshore Fest 2023, an annual event that raises money for the William Feinbloom Rehabilitation Center and Foundation Fighting Blindness, will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, in Dewey Beach, Delaware. Click here for details.

STUDENTS WELCOMED FROM TAIWAN: Salus University recently hosted its on-campus clinical education program in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP). Three Audiology students and five SLP students from Chung-Shan Medical University in Taiwan attended the four-week certificate program enhancing their knowledge within the professions and getting an up-close look at graduate-level training in the United States. The program was coordinated through the Academic Affairs Division of Global, Interprofessional and Specialized Programming (GISP). Read more here.

OAT TEST PREP COURSE: The Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) is designed to assess candidates’ knowledge base and aptitude in several key content areas relevant to optometry school curriculum. Currently, no optometry program in the country offers a prep course for the OAT. But, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University is about to change that. Click here to read more.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As I mentioned during Orientation and White Coat ceremonies, there’s a great deal going on around us, and there’s also much to get accustomed to in school – between new schedules, new living environments, new subject matter to learn and working with new friends and colleagues.

I want you to know that you’re not alone. If you’re having difficulty with a specific subject I can guarantee that many of your classmates are experiencing the same challenges. For our first-year students, I can remember my first year at PCO, sitting in Dr. Lorraine Lombardi’s anatomy lectures trying to figure out how I was going to remember all that stuff. Throw in ophthalmic and physiological optics and my head was spinning. It took a little over a semester both to realize I had this and also that I wasn’t alone. Most of my classmates were feeling the same way. Your deans, program directors and faculty all realize the stress you’re experiencing. Please, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of them for help. While there is no simple answer and everyone copes with stress a bit differently, here are a few suggestions to help you through this that have served me well over the years:

Stay focused on your studies - Keep up with your studies and try not to fall behind.

Develop a routine you can stick to - Sounds basic, but it will make a world of difference. Get up, make your bed (now you’ve accomplished at least one thing!), do some exercise, have breakfast, etc.

Get enough sleep – This also sounds pretty basic and to some, maybe it seems like “mission impossible” but the better rested you are, the more capable your body and mind will be at handling things that come your way, to include stress. Prioritize sleep over other things and you’ll be more productive, resilient and attentive.

Get outside and enjoy the fresh air – There are so many places very close to campus you can go and enjoy nature that will help to calm your mind and present opportunities for some exercise at many levels. Alverthorpe Park is five minutes away!

Make sure you have what you need for the next day - Check the schedule, lay out your clothes, make your lunch, etc.

Use social media purposefully and not nonchalantly – Limit your screen time and refrain from posting for “likes” or for the sake of making the “best content”. Use social media to connect with some new classmates or the people you miss seeing every day.

We all understand how difficult these programs are. It’s important to remain focused, healthy and optimistic, which is the most difficult task. We have skilled counselors in our Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) who are there for you. I strongly encourage you to contact them, if you feel like you need to. All you need to do is make an appointment here.

Finally, Covid cases are once again on the rise, both nationally and in our region. It is prudent for us to be aware of this and take appropriate precautions, such as social distancing and consider masking around crowds, especially if you are immunocompromised or have a chronic disease.

If you are not feeling well, please stay home and test yourself for Covid before returning to campus. If you’ve been exposed to someone with Covid please follow CDC guidelines, which include masking for at least 5-days when around others and testing at the 5-day interval, even if you are symptom free, to ensure you do not spread the virus.

This is also a good time for everyone to think about getting their annual flu vaccine as flu season will be here before we know it.

As you prepare for the weekend, please try to get outdoors, enjoy the late summer weather and recharge mentally and physically as I want you all to remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Welcome to All of Our New Students: Week of August 18, 2023

 

Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,

Good morning on a rainy, hopefully soon to be sunny, August morning from our Elkins Park campus where, later today, our new students will celebrate their first professional milestone moving from layperson to healthcare professional at one of our three White Coat ceremonies. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Hafter Center.

Here are some other items of interest:

COMMUNICATION CONFIDENCE: The Speech-Language Institute (SLI) of Salus University has used some of the funds from an Eagles Autism Foundation grant to provide a client with an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. And, it appears the client is happy learning how to use it to communicate with others. Click here to read more.

VALUABLE EXPERIENCE: Nine optometric professionals affiliated with Rangsit University in Thailand gained diversified knowledge and skills to take home with them after a recent one-month program hosted by the Academic Affairs Division of Global, Interprofessional and Specialized Programming (GISP) at Salus University. Read more here.

FIRST-YEAR ADVICE: Graduate school can be challenging and sometimes intimidating, particularly for first-year students. But Salus University students have created an environment for themselves that is focused and friendly. We recently asked some students what they wished they knew during their first-year to help adjust to grad school even more. Here are their suggestions.

FINAL THOUGHTS: It was wonderful meeting some of you individually and a real thrill to see nearly 400 new students sitting in the Hafter Center on Tuesday. Welcome to our largest entering class! 

As you prepare for the beginning of classes next week, I’d like to remind you of some of the thoughts I shared with you earlier this week:

Take care of yourselves: As I noted on Tuesday, you will have many new academic pressures on you, both physically and mentally. It will be important for you to establish routines that incorporate healthy eating, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and most importantly, stress management. Take the time to prioritize these things in your busy lives now and in the future. It’s okay to ask for help along the way. Our Center for Personal and Professional Development, linked here, is always available, and your faculty are also a ready resource.

Time management: The one thing you will not want to do in any of your programs is to fall behind academically. In addition to building health and wellness habits, develop a routine that includes study and down time. Every one of you will be taking some sort of national accreditation examination, some while still in your programs, others right after graduation. How will you allocate your time to prepare for these in addition to mastering the material you’ll be taught in your chosen profession? While this might seem daunting, your faculty and others at Salus can assist you in developing successful time-management solutions. 

Say thank you! Please take a moment to thank the professors, mentors, family members and friends who have supported you. I am certain that their guidance, encouragement and sacrifices have helped to bring you to this point in your academic and professional careers.

Have fun and enjoy yourselves: Take time to relax a bit along the way. You’ll hear a lot of advice from me on this topic in my weekly updates. Knowing how to pace yourself will make the difference in bringing your “A” game to class and clinic. Mental and emotional clarity takes time, intention and healthy habits that you can begin building today.

Becoming “OneDrexel”: As you know, we are on course to merge with Drexel University. This week you enter as Salus students but during your time here we will all become part of the Drexel family, which is extremely exciting! I will continue to keep you updated as our integration efforts get underway.

As you prepare for classes this weekend, take time to reflect on this advice because I want you to be SALUS STRONG now and well beyond your time with us. Have a great weekend! I look forward to seeing you around campus in the coming weeks!

-Mike

Get To It: Week of August 11, 2023

 

Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,

Greetings from Elkins Park on a beautiful summer morning. It’s been a busy week on campus as we prepare to welcome our largest entering class for next week’s Orientation festivities. Here are some items of interest: 

GUIDE DOG WEEK: International Assistance Dog Week, observed from Aug. 6 to Aug. 12, is a time to recognize all of the devoted, hardworking assistance dogs helping individuals mitigate their disability-related limitations. In this Q&A session, Lachelle Smith, MS ‘04, director of the Salus Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) program, shares the many ways her guide dog, Lyra, enriches her daily life.

EXPANSION AND NAME CHANGE: The Department of International and Continuing Education (DICE) at Salus University has expanded, and is now the Academic Affairs Division of Global, Interprofessional and Specialized Programming (GISP). Click here to read more.

SEP CLASS OF 2023: Congratulations to our distinguished 2023 Summer Enrichment Program graduates entering the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus this fall! The SEP program introduces students to leaders and resources at Salus while strengthening a sense of community. Read more about this year's cohort here.

UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT DAY: Our Fall University Development Day will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 25 at The Eye Institute (TEI). Our keynote speaker, Dr. Walter Kimbrough, will share his perspectives on "Continuing to Work the Mission in the Time of Transition.” 

FINAL THOUGHTS: I recently came across the following quote from Marcus Aurelius:

“Do now what nature demands of you. Get right to it if that’s in your power. Don’t look around to see if people will know about it. Don’t wait for the perfection of Plato’s Republic but be satisfied with even the smallest step forward and regard the outcome as a small thing.”

What an important reminder that perfection is the enemy of good. Whenever I catch myself feeling stressed by everything that needs to be completed, this teaching re-centers me: every action taken toward a desired end -- no matter how small, yields progress. One step in front of the next builds agency and motivation.

As we prepare to send many of you off to new clinical rotations and welcome our largest entering class, think about how you can apply this to your own situation, whether you’re preparing for national competency exams or figuring out how you’re going to manage your busy daily schedules.

Our summer is quickly coming to a close, especially as we welcome our new students next week. Please try to take advantage of this upcoming weekend to reflect upon the advice I’ve noted and try to recharge as we get ready to start another academic year at Salus – the last one before our exciting merger with Drexel!

Be safe, stay hydrated and continue to look out for one another to remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Finding Things to Enjoy: Week of August 4, 2023

 

Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,

Good morning from our Elkins Park campus where we’ve had another busy week of lectures, labs and clinic. I even had the opportunity to lecture to our PCO Scholars students, which is always fun. Our construction project in the South building is steadily progressing with floor and ceiling tiles installed in some sections early next week. Other items you may find of interest:

PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL: For his many distinguished achievements in the profession of optometry, Henry Greene, OD ‘74, FAAO, has been named a 2023 Presidential Medal of Honor recipient by Salus University. Congratulations, Dr. Greene! Dr. Greene is not only an expert in his profession, but he is also an accomplished photographer who has taken photos of people in more than 50 countries around the world and has published two books highlighting his fantastic work. To read more about Dr. Greene and his impressive career, click here.

AUDIOLOGY SUMMER WORKSHOP: The goal of the Doctor of Audiology Online Bridge Program workshop is to provide an update on current science as well as advances in a specific topic of study, review clinical implications, and provide hands-on training using tools and techniques discussed, to improve clinical practice. Click here to read what students learned this summer.

FUN FACULTY FACTS: Did you know that in their spare time, Salus faculty members engage in extracurricular activities and have a diversified skill set ranging from artists, athletes, conservationists and more? Click here to check out this new series on our website.

FINAL THOUGHTS: In high school, I became very interested in photography, capturing scenery, people and experiences with my camera. At one point, I had a full darkroom, where I would develop and print my own work, something that has been driven to extinction by the advent of digital photography. If anyone can get a hold of the IRIS yearbook from 1980, you will find much of my work from the good old days. I still enjoy photographing landscapes. Most recently, I’ve been experimenting with capturing the moon.

This month, we will experience two supermoons (they are called that because the moon appears larger than normal due to its close proximity to earth). The first is the “Sturgeon Moon”, so named by Native Americans because sturgeons were most abundantly caught in the Great Lakes in August hundreds of years ago. The second super moon, which will occur at the end of this month, is called the Blue Supermoon because it is the second full moon of the month, which occurs only once every two to three years.

Photography gives me a chance to relax, disengage and connect with the subject matter. This type of distraction is a great way to control stress and unwind.

I hope there are things you do that you enjoy on a regular basis. If not, I strongly encourage you to find something, hopefully outdoors, that enables you to recharge, reflect and disengage from your hectic schedules. While the work we do at Salus is extremely important and rewarding, it’s also important to maintain a healthy work-study-life balance so we can continue to perform at high levels.

I’ve attached a few photos of this month’s Sturgeon Moon for your viewing pleasure. I’d love to hear from you what you do for fun!

As you prepare for the weekend, try to get out and catch a glimpse of the moon as it wanes. Put 30 August on your calendars to catch this month’s Blue Supermoon. Stay safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!

-Mike