Embracing the Tenets of Good Leadership: Week of April 20th, 2020

All,

Good morning. This morning’s message focuses on leadership and the importance of embracing the tenets of good leadership, especially as we confront this pandemic. As you read this, I’d ask that you please don’t read anything political into my comments, as that’s not my intent. 

All of you are leaders in your own right or you wouldn’t be at Salus in the first place. Our institution has always had the reputation of developing leaders in their respective fields.  Today’s optometric profession wouldn’t be where it is today without the leaders that graduated from PCO now and 100 years ago. Today, many of our students, faculty and alumni from all of our professions have leadership positions at the national and local levels in their professional organizations. 

There are hundreds of books written about leadership, with an equal amount of opinions about what good leadership looks like. Since many of you are about to leave Salus and begin your professional careers in what may be a challenging and often frustrating time, I want to share my views on leadership from what I’ve learned and observed over the years. I’ve had the opportunity to work with and study great leaders and also have worked under those who were less than adequate. I’ve learned from both examples. Whether you’re in direct patient care or assuming a position in your local professional associations upon graduation, you all will be looked upon and sought after as leaders, simply because of your incredible accomplishments. 

Leadership is the ability to motivate others to do what you believe should be done for your organization, with the caveat that they really want to do it. To get there, a leader must be honest, transparent, insightful, decisive and consistent to build the trust of those she or he is working with. That leader would never ask someone to do something that she or he wouldn’t do themselves. President Harry Truman is famous for having a plaque on his desk stating, “The Buck Stops Here.” To me, that’s one of the most important principles of effective leadership. What that translates to is that an effective leader takes the responsibility or blame for things that go wrong and gives the credit to their subordinates when things go right. When the situation permits, effective leaders often seek advice from others and realizes that the wisdom of several is often far superior than the opinions of one.

Leaders have another extremely important duty; and that’s to be able to deliver honest and realistic assessments in the face of a crisis, while at the same time asserting a level of optimism that enables people to perform at their highest levels through that crisis. 

Throughout my Navy career I was lucky enough to work under leaders who personified these positive leadership traits. I’ve experienced the same at Salus with the visionary leadership my predecessors and our Board of Trustees have provided in moving our institution forward. I see it now in how our faculty, students and staff who have taken on greater leadership roles as we confront this pandemic. Honest and respectful communications and the sharing of ideas have been the hallmark of what I’ve observed over the past several weeks here, which makes me extremely proud to be part of this team.

As we continue down the difficult and perilous journey of fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic, we need to remember that there is no quick and easy solution to all of this. When people ask when are we going to be able to go back to classes, labs and clinics, it’s time to exert good leadership and let tell people that no one really knows. In battle, General James Mattis used to say that the enemy had a vote and can drive the timeline– well in this battle, the virus has a vote and how effectively we can mitigate the effects of the spread of the virus drives the timeline. Until we have widespread, accurate testing, effective treatments and a vaccine, we have to remain flexible and smart. As leaders, we also have to help others understand that it’s not business as usual.  

To be an effective leader, you also must also take care of yourselves. You need to remain resilient, healthy and safe.  That means taking time for yourselves to recharge your emotional and physical batteries. We all do that a little differently, but it’s an extremely important part of effective leadership. You can’t take care of those under you if you’re not caring for yourself.  I do it through exercise and quiet time. Thus, I strongly encourage all of you to get outside, walk, run, bike, whatever; just get the blood moving. Read a book, do yoga, meditate – do whatever you need to do to clear your mind and focus on positive things. Take advantage of our counselors here if you feel like you just need to talk with someone about what’s on your mind. That’s what they are here for. I also suggest you consider organizing virtual discussion groups with your fellow classmates, professors and friends. It’s amazing what you can discuss when you bring a group of trusted friends or advisors together. 

Leadership – taking the helm and ensuring everyone who begins the journey with you ends with you. 

I encourage you to embrace these tenets as you continue your professional and personal journeys. 

Be safe, practice social distancing, wear a mask when around others and continue to wash your hands frequently.  We are SALUS STRONG! – You are the current and future leaders of your professions – embrace that responsibility and build on it!

Mike

Coronavirus Precautions: Week of March 20th, 2020

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

Today, I write this from home, where it’s pretty dreary outside and it’s been a week since we moved Salus online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. First and foremost, I want to convey our sincerest wishes of good health and safety for you and your families during this unsettled time.  While we find ourselves as a university community experiencing something we’ve never dealt with before, we know that our alumni, students, and families will meet this challenge responsibly, bravely and with determination. We are Salus Strong!

As you all know, we’ve pivoted to online training in all of our programs and our Salus-based clinics are closed due to the emergency. Depending upon your particular program and external clinical site, several of you are still working at those sites, while others have been instructed not to. We are working closely with accrediting bodies, as well as your external education coordinators to develop a mitigation plan that enables you to compete your clinical requirements as soon as practical and, hopefully, to avoid any graduation delays.

As you also know, we’ve made the very difficult decision to have the May graduation ceremony done virtually. I know how disappointed you are, as I am, but it was the only responsible thing we could do. Dr. Caldwell and his staff are looking at other models and working hard to make this as meaningful and special as possible. As I noted in my email that went out earlier this week, students will have the option of walking during our commencement ceremony in October. 

As you all realize by now, this is a very fluid situation, with new information and new guidelines becoming available almost daily. Just yesterday, the CDC provided additional guidance for healthcare providers to include: 

o   Delaying all elective ambulatory provider visits

o   Rescheduling of elective and non-emergent admissions to hospitals

o   Delaying inpatient and outpatient elective surgical and procedural cases

o   Postponing routine dental and eyecare visits

According to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus can live up to 72 hours on flat surfaces. It lives longest on plastic and steel and does poorly on copper. The virus can live up to 24 hours on cardboard, which suggests packages that arrive in the mail could have low levels of the virus. When the virus becomes suspended in droplets smaller than 5 micrometers — known as aerosols — it can stay suspended for about 3 hours with a half-life of about ½ hour, researchers said, before drifting down and settling on surfaces where it can linger for hours or days. All this information tells us how important it is to comply with the current CDC guidelines for social distancing, wiping down surfaces and regularly washing our hands. I suggest that you get into the habit of wiping down packages, your mail and things from the grocery store with a mild bleach solution, to be safe.

I recently received a link to a very informative video done by a friend and colleague, Dr. Harvey Rubin. Dr. Rubin is an infectious disease specialist at Penn who has also been a previous commencement speaker at Salus. I really liked his comparison to today’s emergency with that of the Spanish Flu of 1918 and how this is so very different in many respects. The only new information that has come out since he recorded this is the possibility that water droplets that can carry the virus can remain airborne for longer than originally thought. With his permission, I have shared a link to his talk here.

If you already haven’t come to the realization that this emergency will go on for a period of months, rather than weeks, you need to change the way you’re thinking about it.  Experts tell us we haven’t yet seen the peak in the United States. What’s happened in China and is currently playing out in Italy, Spain and other parts of Europe provides us a template for what can happen here. So, please take this seriously, practice the precautions that have been prescribed and be the conduit for accurate information for your friends and family. 

Even though you’re practicing social distancing and doing all the other preventive measures, doesn’t mean you have to sit in your living room and watch TV all day. I strongly encourage you to get outside and get some exercise, whether it be walking, running, working out in small (less than 10) groups where you can have at least 10 feet between you, or riding your bike on a path or around the neighborhood. This is probably one of the best things you can do to help relieve stress and anxiety caused by all of this. For those of you who would like to speak with one of our counselors, you can schedule an appointment to virtually meet with them here.

I know this is unnerving and very frightening to many of you.  While, at least right now, the end of this may not be in sight, I assure you, we’ll get through this. Keep the emails coming and remember that the most up-to-date information about all of this can be found on our website here!

I’d like to leave you with one final thought that I gleaned from an article I recently read in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The author spoke with his rabbi who suggested that while we must practice “physical distancing,” between others, it also important to maintain “social solidarity,” by making extra efforts to support people around us. That means checking up on your classmates, family members or if you have someone in your neighborhood who is in the “high-risk group” who cannot get out to get groceries, etc. It’s important to remember, as we make a conscious effort to continue to stay healthy and safe, we are all in this together.  You all are in my thoughts and prayers as we work through this as a Salus community. Let’s all Stay Salus Strong!

Mike

Valentine's Day: Week of February 14th, 2020

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

Greetings and Happy Valentine’s Day from Elkins Park! Since today is Valentine’s Day – a day that’s supposed to be dedicated to love and relationships, I thought I’d do a deeper dive into the history of this Hallmark and Hershey holiday. As it turns out the history of St. Valentine’s Day is somewhat dubious according to historical documents, because it includes a gory story involving the decapitation of a third century martyr. According to Smithsonian Magazine, there were several St. Valentines who died on Feb. 14. Two of them were executed during the reign of Roman Emperor Claudius Gothicus in 269-270 A.D., at a time when persecution of Christians was common. It wasn’t until Geoffrey Chaucer, the famous author of “The Canterbury Tales” declared the February feast of St. Valentinus to the mating of birds, that Valentine’s Day took on a more romantic meaning. Smithsonian notes that in Chaucer’s day, English birds paired off to produce eggs in February. Soon, nature-minded European nobility began sending love notes during bird-mating season. As the story goes, the French Duke of Orléans, who spent some years as a prisoner in the Tower of London, wrote to his wife in February 1415 that he was “already sick of love” (by which he meant lovesick.) and he called her his “very gentle Valentine.” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018) The rest is history, as they say. If you would like to read a bit more detail about this history of St. Valentine’s Day, go to the Smithsonian Magazine website here.

Related to Valentine’s Day, love was in the air this week at Salus as students, faculty and staff could stop by the Learning Resource Center (LRC) and design a handmade valentine for their significant others.

The Pennsylvania Ear Institute (PEI) “Hear the Love” event attracted a large crowd that came to hear an educational talk that focused on hearing loss and how it can impact patients’ lives and relationships. Complimentary hearing screenings were also offered for those who attended.

This week’s Mental Health Minute discusses the positive effects of regular exercise. There have been many scientific articles that speak to how exercise helps to reduce stress and anxiety as well as increase self-esteem and self-confidence. Most of you already know that increasing your heart rate can actually stimulate the production of neurohormones like norepinephrine, which not only improve cognition and mood but can improve thinking that might be influenced by stressful events. Endorphins, when produced during even moderate exercise give us a natural high that can produce feelings of happiness and euphoria. Just developing a simple exercise regimen that could be as simple as regular walks, to some regimented gym time, will have a positive effect on your mental health. 45 minutes, three times a week is generally recommended, so think about how you’re going to work this into your schedules. I’ve done it for years and have made it a priority. Try to see if you can do that as well. If you’d like to learn a bit more about all this, check out an article from the American Psychological Association here that goes into much greater detail about all this.

As healthcare providers and students preparing to enter healthcare fields, many of our patients, family members and friends will expect us to know something about the coronavirus pandemic, so it’s probably a good idea to keep up with the latest news about it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in humans and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Officially designated as COVID-2019 earlier this week, the virus is most often spread from person-to-person during close exposure to a person infected with the virus. While serious, the risk to most people outside China remains very low. According to the CDC there are at least 15 cases that have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., with a little over 400 people being observed. Generally speaking, to avoid any viral illness, be it COVID-2019 or the flu, the CDC advises getting the flu shot, washing your hands frequently and avoiding your office, school or clinic when you’re sick. To keep up with the latest reliable news about the coronavirus, I suggest you check the CDC website periodically as it’s updated frequently. 

Last Friday afternoon, many of us enjoyed seeing all the creativeness of our students, faculty, staff and friends on display at the opening reception for this year’s “Community Expressions 2020” exhibit in the D’Arrigo Family Gallery at the Hafter Student Community Center. Elynne Rosenfeld, curator and director of the gallery, has once again done a great job of gathering and displaying the work of our talented Salus community members. The exhibit runs through March 13, so stop over when you get a chance and check it out. 

Celebrating our heritage and remembering our history is always important. Take a look at the fascinating story on our website about an historic piece of PCO history that almost ended up being scrapped. But thanks to Dr. John J. Crozier and Dr. James Caldwell, the original desk that our founder Dr. Albert Fitch used was saved, restored and is still in use at the Elkins Park campus. 

Dr. Lindsay Bondurant, director of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute at Salus, will discuss “Aging Gracefully: How Addressing Hearing Loss Can Improve Your Quality of Life” at the next Lunch & Learn from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, at the Willow Grove YMCA, 3300 Davisville Road, Hatboro, Pa., 19040. Dr. Bondurant will discuss the signs and symptoms of hearing loss and the impact untreated hearing loss can have on health, happiness and relationships. She will also provide an overview of current management options for hearing loss, including hearing aids, cochlear implants and communications strategies. There are probably many of us here than can benefit from this talk!

Finally, winter has returned to Philadelphia this weekend, so if you’re headed out to enjoy the sunny weather, dress accordingly! Have fun, try to take some time to relax and evaluate how you’re going to fit some exercise into your daily routines, if you don’t already do that. Be safe and look out for one another!

Mike