Alert

Leadership & Self-Care in the Age of COVID-19

Leadership is critical, especially today, as we grapple with COVID-19 and the rapidly changing landscape of our profession and our world.

PAEA believes that all PA educators are leaders — and, as leaders, are always making decisions that best support our students and programs. In these turbulent times, we are left with unanticipated decisions to be made, new challenges that need solutions, and opportunities that need exploring. We are dealing with contingency plans, transitioning academic experiences, working clinically to defeat a virus, and supporting our families, students, and colleagues — all while maintaining the integrity and quality of PA education.

But how are we caring for ourselves? In these uncertain times, what are we doing to keep ourselves whole, healthy, and resilient? It is critical to remember that in order to lead others, we must first lead ourselves. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen the PA education community rally together in large numbers to problem solve, brainstorm, and share ideas about transitioning courses online, identifying opportunities for clinical year students, and more. We’d like to encourage our community to continue to support one another, and we ask you to invest in yourselves and your well-being, as we care for others.

Through the Resilience and Well-Being Professional Learning Community, we’d like to create a space of openness, support, and encouragement. Focusing on leading the self, this space will be open for us to share our stories, our vulnerabilities, our fears, and our stress. It will be a space for support and encouragement: How do you unwind and manage yourself personally? What keeps you grounded and inspired when you’re overwhelmed? We hope that these testimonials will provide a sense of unity and solidarity during this trying time.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences as clinicians, educators, and leaders in the Resilience and Well-Being Professional Learning Community.