Finding Happiness and Freedom: Week of July 7, 2023

 

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

Good morning from Bethesda, Maryland where I am with RADM (ret) Tom Beeman (and Salus Board member) to honor Rear Admiral Anne Swap, a former shipmate of ours who is retiring after serving our country for over 30 years. One of the nicest traditions our services has is to honor those who have given so much of their lives for our country. I was honored to serve as a mentor and colleague to RADM Swap over her career which included time in Okinawa, Japan; Afghanistan, Washington, DC; Portsmouth, Virginia; Diego Garcia, and Millington, Tennessee. On campus, the construction project in the South building is starting to take shape nicely. We’re hoping for a September completion date.

In addition, here are some other things I hope you’ll read about:

PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL: In his more than 40 years as an optometrist, the passion and dedication of Glenn Corbin, OD ‘82, hasn’t gone unnoticed. Salus University is pleased to present Dr. Corbin with its highest honor, the 2023 Presidential Medal of Honor. Read more here.

OPTOMETRY LEARNING EXPERIENCE: We are delighted to welcome 33 students over two sessions to our Optometry Learning Experience (OLE). The program is designed to offer participants the opportunity to explore the Doctor of Optometry degree program, as well as the profession of optometry and the many career opportunities available. Look for an upcoming story about the week on our website.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: After graduating from St. Joseph’s University in 2013 with a degree in biology, Ashley (Senss) Joyce, MMS ‘20, took a job as a professional stage manager for a theater company. But after a year, Ashley realized that although she loved her job, the lifestyle just wasn’t for her. Then she discovered the Physician Assistant Studies program at Salus University. Click here to read more about her journey.

FINAL THOUGHTS: In The Art of Living, the famous Stoic Epictetus teaches: “Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle. Some things are within your control. And some things are not.”

The end to affirmative action, the fractious political discourse in an already divided nation, the war in Ukraine, inflation, climate change, the wildfires in Canada, the unrelenting gun violence -- each of these issues is life changing in its individual impact; combined, they can feel overwhelming.

Taking action through advocacy is important, necessary and effective. Continuing to push for positive change on all of these issues -- gun control, increasing diversity in education, decreasing our carbon footprints, can reclaim a sense of agency in the swirl of current developments.

Even as we give voice to these vital issues, if you’re a student, I encourage you to keep focused on your studies. It is the primary reason you’re at Salus and something over which you have direct control. Our faculty remain focused on your professional growth providing leading edge training to prepare you for success as emerging educators and clinicians. We are here to support you every step of the way in reaching your career aspirations.

If happiness and freedom begin with exercising autonomy, Daniel Pink’s research on motivation, adds mastery and purpose to sustain it. As you work toward professional mastery, recommit every day to doing your very best work. There is no greater sense of motivation or higher service to our society than the purpose you’ve found and will continue to nurture in selfless service to others through your chosen profession.

As you prepare for the weekend, please take some time to reflect on the words of Epictetus – what brings you happiness and freedom? To sustain that way of being, how will you focus and animate that which gives you purpose? In my experience, when you’ve answered these questions for yourself, everything else becomes easier.

Stay safe, drink plenty of fluids and come back next week SALUS STRONG!

-Mike

Addressing Stress: Week of February 26th, 2021

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

Greetings from a sunny and cold Elkins Park campus. The snow is starting to melt and we’re looking forward to some warmer days ahead! It’s been another busy week on campus. We’ve said farewell to a long-standing PCO faculty member, Dr. Francine Pearlman-Storch after 40 years teaching PCO students clinical skills and participated in an alumni beer tasting event, which was lots of fun. In addition to this, here are some of the other things happening around campus:

BLACK STUDENT UNION: One of our newest student organizations is the Black Student Union (BSU) group. Forming a new group is difficult under normal circumstances, but for a group that has a mission that includes being out in the community and advocating for the various professions in which Salus students are trained, the challenges have become even more complicated. Read more about the BSU and its goals at salus.edu/BSUgroup.

NEW BOT MEMBERS: Salus University’s Board of Trustees kicked off the new year by adding three new members. Dr. Kate Kinslow, Shannon Tornoe and Emily Turner were named to the board at its January 2021 meeting. Learn more about our new members at salus.edu/NewBOTmembers.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT TEI: Our next “Behind the Scenes at TEI” podcast features Alissa Coyne, OD ‘10, Resident ‘11, FAAO, staff optometrist for primary care and emergency service at The Eye Institute. Read more about Dr. Coyne at salus.edu/ACoyneTEI.

PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERSHIP: We are grateful that the University’s philanthropic partnerships have continued to thrive despite the pandemic. Our most recent donation of $7,500 came from a new donor named Keplr Vision. The Illinois-based company has recognized an opportunity to help students through the Optometry Learning Experience (OLE), a program established 40 years ago by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus. To read more about this contribution, click here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: This week’s Where Are They Now features Caitlin Panella, MS ‘18, CCC-SLP, who now works in early intervention after school with children three to five years of age and also serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade for ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber Charter School in the Olney section of Philadelphia. Read more about Caitlin at salus.edu/CaitlinPanella.

FINAL THOUGHTS: In just a couple of weeks, we will have been working within this public health emergency for a year. That has taken a toll on all of us, but I know, especially faculty and students. To that end, I’d like to address this last section specifically to them. We all realize how much stress you have been under over the last year. I want you to know that you’re not alone – not at all, and we recognize this. For our students, I can almost guarantee if you’re having difficulty with a specific subject, many of your classmates are experiencing the same challenges. Because you are not spending time together as groups, you just don’t have the opportunity to “compare notes” as you would have if we were not living in a mostly virtual world. Your deans, program directors and faculty all realize the stress you’re currently under. For our faculty, while we don’t say it enough, we realize the extraordinary efforts you have made to ensure our students are getting the best education possible. We also realize the challenges associated with teaching in a virtual environment, leveraging the technology that’s available to us and working in close quarters with others in clinics and labs. None of this is perfect and frankly, none of the learning platforms that people are using across higher education were designed to be used in totally virtual environments. Your creativity and ability to adapt and make things work less than optimum settings have been enviable and extremely effective and we also realize that often the results of everyone’s efforts are not up to your high standards. We also know how stressful this is. There is no simple rejoinder to many of these stress-causing challenges and we also know that everyone copes with stress a bit differently. I’d like to share some stress-relieving strategies that I’ve shared in the past and suggestions to help you through this, that have served me well over the years:

For students, stay focused on your studies - Don’t get behind. Keep up with your studies, ask questions when you’re not sure and seek help as you feel you need it. Stay in close touch with your faculty.

Develop a routine you can maintain - Sounds basic, but it will make a world of difference. Get up, make your bed (now you’ve accomplished at least one thing!), start or maintain a regular exercise routine, 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, including stress. Prioritize sleep over other things and you’ll be more productive, resilient and attentive.

Get outside and enjoy the fresh air, even in the cold – There are many places around us that you can go and safely walk around in nature that will help to calm your mind and present opportunities for some exercise at many levels.

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.

Give us concrete suggestions on how we can improve our learning environment - While we cannot redesign Blackboard or Blackboard Collaborate, we may be able to design workarounds or can provide specific training that help to augment the teaching and learning experiences.

I can assure you that the pandemic and everything we’ve had to do to keep everyone safe and healthy, while ensuring everything else gets done, has stressed all of us. With the impending approval of a third vaccine, hopefully, later today, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. While we probably won’t be back to “normal” until enough people are vaccinated, that time is approaching, hopefully by late summer or early fall. In the meantime, we all need to remain focused, healthy and optimistic. We have skilled counselors in our Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) who are there for students and Human Resources has access to counselors for faculty and staff. I would strongly encourage you to contact them, if you feel like you need to. For students, all you need to do is make an appointment here.

Finally, it appears we might have a rainy weekend but you still should be able to get out and enjoy some fresh air. I strongly encourage you all to get out and enjoy the good weather while we still have it.

As you get out and about, please continue to wear your double face mask when around others, practice social distancing and wash your hands frequently. Remember what you do off campus affects all of us on campus.

Be safe, have some fun and remain SALUS STRONG!

Mike

Greetings from Jerusalem: Week of January 10th, 2020

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

Greetings from a rainy, windy and cold Jerusalem where Dr. Vitek and I have been at Hadassah Academic College (HAC) providing lectures and workshops on Evidenced Based Practice, public and global health and leadership. It’s been a busy but very productive few days here in Israel. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with HAC that will promote collaborations in many areas can benefit both their students and Salus, to include optometry, audiology and potentially clinical research. There likely will be other opportunities to work together, which we’re all very excited about.

Other than the weather, there has been little mention of current events in the Middle East while we’ve been here which is good! We both appreciated the messages we’ve received this week concerning the security situation, but all has been well - thank goodness! Since I’m 7 hours out of sync with everyone back home, I will send this out a bit off the normal routine schedule, since I head to the airport rather early tomorrow morning.

Last Monday morning was a special event for our Looking Out for Kids (LOFK) initiative. A local organization, Hogs & Honeys Foundation for Kids, recently initiated a partnership with us and as a result, LOFK received a $5,000 donation. Additionally, eye exams were conducted on the Big Red Bus for 19 students at Franconia Elementary School in Souderton Area School District in Montgomery County. Special thanks to Hogs & Honeys Foundation for their generosity and making that happen!

This week, our Admissions staff hit the deck running for the New Year with our first Optometry Learning Experience (OLE) of 2020. Our OLE program has run for over four decades now - allowing potential optometry students the opportunity to gain insight into the academic life of an optometry student here at Salus. I’d like to thank everyone who made this event possible and hope to see those students return to Salus in the future! If you know anyone who is looking to pursue optometry as a career and would like more information, have them visit salus.edu/OLE.

Next week we’ll be hosting State Senator Sharif Street at both The Eye Institute and the Elkins Park campus. We’re excited to show him the depth of training all of our professionals receive as well as the high-quality care we’re providing the community at The Eye, Pennsylvania Ear and Speech and Language Institutes. Senator Street’s district includes The Eye Institute and he serves as the Minority Chairman of the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee and also sits on the Appropriations, Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Health & Human Services, and Urban Affairs & Housing Committees. We’ll discuss scope of practice issues as well as our initiative to have the state designate a line item in the budget to help offset tuition for PA residents and the cost of indigent care with him.

I’d like to remind everyone of today’s (Friday’s) Dean’s Winterfest event, which will be held from 12:30 - 2:30 pm in the Hafter Center. This year’s theme is Winterfest en Blanc. The event will include free food, games, trivia, prizes, an ugly sweater contest, and much more.

Finally, I was sorry to see the Eagles exit the NFL playoffs so early but am still keeping my fingers crossed for the Packers this weekend! I hope everyone has a safe and restful weekend – I’m looking forward to getting back on campus Monday morning – hopefully, celebrating a Packers win!

Mike