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
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