Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning on a rather gray Friday from Elkins Park. As I walked around the campus yesterday, I noted many of our students completing or preparing to take their final exams and our guests from Oulu University in Finland enjoying their patient care experiences in our Clinical Procedures lab. This time of the year is always busy for both students and faculty and an extremely exciting time for those preparing for commencement in just a few short weeks. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.
Here are some things which I hope will interest you:
PROJECT MYVISION: The Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University and its clinical facility, The Eye Institute (TEI), recently partnered with STAAR Surgical, a leading developer and manufacturer of implantable lenses and companion delivery systems for the eye, to launch Project MyVision, a charitable lens-based refractive surgery program. Read more here.
SPECIALIZED TRAINING: A warm welcome to our students from the University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland, who are spending two weeks on campus in a specialized training course in primary eye care. The cohort is participating in controlled patient sessions that include a variety of patients with eye conditions that are not typically seen in their native country. Robert Andersson, MSc ‘10, PhD ‘18, is serving as their lead instructor. Dr. Alissa Coyne, Dr. Lynn Greenspan and Dr. Nick Gidosh will also provide specialized lectures and workshops in the topic areas of lasers, traumatic brain injury and myopia control respectively.
QUIZ BOWL WINNERS: Congratulations to the winners of the PCO/Salus 2022 Quiz Bowl, April Mishley ‘23OD and Fayaz Vizam ‘24OD. I’ve heard they were thrilled to participate in their first Quiz Bowl and even more excited about their winning performances. Click here to read more about their experiences.
PET THERAPY: Although the pandemic has put a hold on the event for a few years, five dogs from Comfort Caring Canines (CCC) Therapy Dogs Inc., visited the Learning Resource Center (LRC), ostensibly to allow students, faculty and staff a chance to get up close and personal with the animals in an effort to relieve some stress and anxiety before finals week. For details, click here.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This week we learned from a leaked document that the Supreme Court will likely move to reverse Roe v Wade, a landmark decision of almost 50 years ago (January 22, 1973) in which the court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected a pregnant woman’s right to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. As healthcare professionals, we need be cognizant of the impact on our patients and their families. If it occurs, the reversal will again transform the landscape of women’s reproductive health in our country. Reducing access to reproductive healthcare would exacerbate existing disparities in maternal health outcomes. For women who lack access or the means to travel to another state providing access, this can potentially result in unsanctioned or self-administered medical procedures which often lead to poor health outcomes including death. It is extremely important for us to understand the psychological and physiological ramifications to ensure we can do what’s necessary to support our patients in the most professional and efficacious way possible.
As you prepare for the weekend, get the rain gear ready as tonight and tomorrow are supposed to be rainy and cool. Also, don’t forget that Sunday is Mother’s Day! Please continue to mask up when out and about, much like we’re doing on campus. Socially distance when you can and continue to wash your hands frequently. This most recent Covid wave is projected to peak sometime around mid-May so we need to stay on top of all of our preventive measures.
Stay safe, remain healthy and continue to be SALUS STRONG!
Mike
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