ICYMI: Recent Virtual Events

Virtual Events Tackle Vaccine Hesitancy, Building Resilience and Unconscious Bias

Understanding how patients feel rather than just telling them what to do may lead to better compliance of care. That was one of the takeaways from a virtual meeting Feb. 18 on “Hesitancy Toward Vaccines from Black People” hosted by the Black Student Union (BSU) group at Salus University.

Among the goals of the group for the event was to discuss why the black community has been hesitant about receiving vaccines as well as to attract a wide audience of students and faculty. According to BSU president Tavii El ‘21MSOT, the event accomplished its goals.

“There was a significant attendance of students and faculty, which we were thrilled to see,” said El. “When talking to a predominantly white audience about an issue in the black community, one can feel a sense of feeling alone. Both faculty and students did an excellent job of making the presentation a discussion rather than a lecture on how to relieve some anxiety that many black people may have regarding the topic.”

The discussion, moderated by BSU vice president Brandon Garces ‘23OD, provided insight into why the black community has a level of medical mistrust, which contributes to the anxiety about taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We were happy to have this discussion given the predominantly black patient population that we serve at The Eye Institute of Salus University,” said El, about the University’s main clinical optometric facility. “We hope everyone will take what they learned, hold on to it, use it, and pass on that knowledge.”

The BSU event was just one of three virtual discussions offered recently to Salus students and faculty.

Ryan Hollister, MS, associate director of the Bennett Career Services Center (BCSC), and Molly Marcus, PsyD, a counselor from the University’s Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD), conducted a lunchtime webinar Feb. 17 called “Building Resilience,” which discussed resilience, mindfulness and strategies for remaining positive and persevering through difficult times. 

Psychology Today describes resilience as “that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.”

“The purpose of the webinar was to provide students with some tips and tools for their tool boxes about managing stress and building resilience during difficult times,” said Hollister, who also stressed the discussion went well. 

Marcus said that those who attended the webinar voiced appreciation for the opportunity to connect around commonalities such as general stress and worrying about the job search. 

“Often, graduate students feel they are the only ones feeling stressed or worried when in reality so many of them feel the same way,” said Marcus. “So this webinar offered a chance for them to remember that what they are feeling is okay and that there are ways to manage the levels of anxiety they feel.” 

Hollister added that the University understands that students may struggle at different points in their respective programs, so the presentation was recorded for students to view at their convenience and can be found in the CareerLink Resource Library.

And, Juliana Mosley-Williams, PhD, special assistant to the president for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, presented “Unconscious Bias & Microaggression in the Healthcare Environment,” which took a deeper dive into those aspects. 

The event was presented by Physician Assistant (PA) Students for Change, a group of Salus students and alumni who are exploring issues and social action surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion in healthcare education and clinical settings.

“I was honored to be invited by Professor Cara Orr to speak with the PA program students.  It was great to present and have a candid conversation with several students and alumni about the impact of bias and microaggressions in healthcare,” said Dr. Mosley-Williams. “We were challenged to connect our personal identities to our biases and explore how they lead to microaggressions.  This is not always fun work, but necessary in our practice of cultural humility and inclusion.  Simply put, we have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”