Dear Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board Members and Friends,
Good morning and Happy Cinco de Mayo! It’s been another busy week at Salus with our students preparing for finals, upcoming commencement and new clinical rotations. We’ve had therapy dogs in the Learning Resource Center, bagels in the morning to help jump start the day, and the symphony of construction as work continues on our first floor renovation. Here are some other items of interest:
A HIGHER LEVEL: Yasmin Battat, AuD ‘09 wanted a higher level of training where she could attain more in-depth knowledge about her profession. So, she enrolled in the distance learning program in audiology at what was then the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) School of Audiology. Read more about Dr. Battat’s journey here.
ACCEPTED STUDENT DAY: Salus University’s Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Orthotics & Prosthetics (O&P) programs hosted their inaugural accepted student days this past weekend. Students had the opportunity to visit the Elkins Park campus, tour the facilities, meet faculty, and interact with prospective classmates. Accepted student day was first offered for PCO students last year, but has since expanded to include the Audiology, SLP, O&P and Physician Assistant Studies (PA) programs.
OT CONFERENCE: Five Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program (OTD) students and two Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) students attended the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri from April 19 to April 23. SOTA officers Lexi Hunn MSOT ‘24, and Mia Nicolosi, MSOT ‘24, represented Salus at the annual Assembly of Student Delegates meeting, and Caityn Foy, DOT, MOTR/L, OTD program director, hosted a Salus University expo table and talked to prospective MSOT and OTD students.
AAPI HERITAGE MONTH: Monday marked the start of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), recognizing the challenges faced by Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians and their vital contributions to the American story. May is significant to the AAPI community for two reasons. On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the United States. More than 20 years later, on May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad was completed, largely due to the project's more than 20,000 Chinese workers.
FINAL THOUGHTS: On Tuesday evening, I was delighted to help “send off” our 3rd year Audiology students who are preparing for external clinical rotations. I always enjoy this ceremony, as I encourage our students to take full advantage of the learning that will challenge them clinically and academically, and that will help them build confidence in what they’ve learned at Salus. This got me thinking about transitions, and how at this time of the year many of our students are preparing to transition to their next stage of training or into professional practice opportunities.
Transitions can be exhilarating and exciting, and they can also feel uncomfortable, challenging and scary. Over the course of my 33-year career with the Navy, I transitioned a number of times to positions with increasing responsibility all over the world. Each transition helped me grow professionally and intellectually by getting me out of my comfort zone and forcing me to confront new ideas and situations. Some transitions were harder than others. As I reflect on all of them, the ones in which I learned the most were the ones I approached with an open mind, grace and ease—allowing myself not to know everything, reaching out when I had questions, and giving myself the space to make mistakes and learn from them.
Every day and every interprofessional and interpersonal encounter presents an opportunity to embrace change in the way we look at things, communicate and respond. Over their years of education and clinical training at Salus University, our students are being shaped by our faculty and staff to become exceptionally prepared healthcare professionals, educators and researchers. Each step along the path is a transition presenting students with challenges and opportunities that contribute to their professional formation.
As we continue our discussions with Drexel, our faculty and staff have been thinking about what a transition could look like if an integration moves forward. Like other transitions, this presents great opportunities, and it can also feel stressful, because the status quo will change over time. In healthcare and higher education, where our worlds intersect, change is the norm. This can feel difficult and destabilizing. Having been through a lifetime of significant transitions, I want you to know that I appreciate what you may be feeling. As you have questions, please reach out to me or our leadership team. We can navigate this together.
I cannot stress enough the importance of flexibility and agility as conditions in our industry change. These changes require transitions from the way we currently think to new ways of thinking that are more encompassing, collaborative and more complex. That’s the goal of the integration with Drexel: providing us with the opportunity to shape and evolve the future of our current programs in a way that we could not envision independently.
Marcus Aurelias, the famous stoic, once said: “The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.” In every transition I have encountered, I have asked myself, “What am I learning about my response to change, and how can I grow from this experience?” This question has helped me see the opportunity for positive growth that is always there, if I look for it.
As you start your weekend, try to reflect on the transitions you’ve experienced and the learning that has come out of them. Congratulations and best of luck to our audiology as well as our other students heading to clinical rotations. Be safe, continue to look out for one another and remain SALUS STRONG!
-Mike
