“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." - Marcus Aurelius

Happy November!

Be kind to yourself this month, and remember to practice self-care. As the end of the semester approaches, remember that the Office of Student Support has got your back! Stop by Ross 112B or schedule a meeting with us over Zoom to discuss how we can help you finish the semester strong. To schedule a virtual or in-person meeting, contact our office at SMHSstudents@gwu.edu.

In this edition of the newsletter, you can find the following:

Take a break to unwind with us the day after Election Day. The OSS office will be open all day, offering a quiet space for you to relax and de-stress. Enjoy coloring sheets, coffee, tea, candy, and snacks, all available to help you recharge and find a moment of calm in a safe space.

As we look towards these last few months of the year, before the busyness of the holiday season, Talkspace is highlighting the importance of Men's Health Awareness Month.

Statistically, men are nearly half as likely to seek professional care for their mental health challenges as women. This month, Talkspace is working to actively raise awareness of the importance of men seeking the mental health care that they need.

It's a stressful time for everyone! This holiday season, take time to practice mindfulness and gratitude. For more tips on coping with holiday stressors, read this article from Talkspace on the Thanksgiving Dichotomy: Gratitude vs. Stress.

Talkspace: As educators of our future healthcare professionals, we know how important mental health is and are pleased to offer all SMHS students a free subscription to Talkspace. Talkspace offers unlimited text messaging and four 30-minute video sessions a month with a licensed therapist and is a convenient, clinically effective, and confidential service.  You will be matched with a therapist that suits you and your needs via a special algorithm. To register, go to www.talkspace.com/gwu and input your GW email address. [Medical Residents should NOT use their MFA email address] After you are registered and matched with your therapist, you can schedule an optional 10-minute live video introduction session.  Students who experience difficulty registering should contact partners-support@talkspace.com and cc Alex Velto (alex.velto@gwu.edu).

Please note that after a year of using the platform, you will need to revalidate your account.  Go to the 'Check my coverage' feature found in your Talkspace app settings - and follow the prompts provided. If you prefer to remain connected to your current therapist, you will have to reach out to partners-support@talkspace.com to validate instead.

Student Health Center:  The Student Health Center (formally CHC) is open and operating to assist students seeking medical, psychiatric, counseling, and psychological services. Physicians and counselors provide in-person treatment in the office, and virtual appointments are offered during regular business hours. Call 202-994-5300 to schedule an appointment.  

Hours:

Monday – Friday: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm (ET); extended hours until 7pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Saturday: 12:00 pm-4:00 pm

Sunday: 12:00 pm-4:00 pm on the Mount Vernon Campus

Resiliency and Well-Being Center: OSS frequently collaborates with the GW RW&C on matters related to individual and group well-being. The R&W Center takes an evidence-based, whole-person approach in the health and wellness (well-being) services it provides to the GW medical enterprise—SMHS, GW MFA, and the GW Hospital.  The R&W Center provides individual, departmental, and institutional-level services.  

Additional Resiliency and Well-Being Center workshop information can be found here.

Click here to submit a song to the playlist.

Join the Student Wellness Committee for an afternoon of board games during your lunch break! Pizza will be provided!

GW SGA members, in collaboration with the GW Staff Council, are hosting a focus group to understand the challenges you face managing childcare as well as the specific childcare needs that exist within the George Washington University community.

It is their intention to enhance campus support for parents and guardians within our community. Through this focus group, they hope to understand your experience and get your input in shaping our approach to advocating for the childcare needs of GW’s diverse community to be addressed.

During this conversation they would like to hear about:
- The specific challenges you face regarding childcare
- Potential accommodations that would mitigate these challenges.
- What you consider to be a academic/work-life balance

Your participation and contributions to the discussion will remain confidential to the degree possible. Names of participants will not be shared outside of the focus groups, and participants will be asked to maintain the confidentiality of their fellow participants by not sharing others’ participation or contributions outside of the group.

If you are interested in participating, please use the scheduling link here to find a focus group session that works for you.

Need a break? Time to study, wrap up those final projects, or get some holiday shopping done? College of Professional Studies has you covered! 

Bring your kids (ages 4-12) to CPS Parents' Night Out at Bright Horizons at Ballston for a fun evening of activities and pizza while you check things off your to do list.

Friday, December 13, 6-9 p.m.
Free of charge to GW students. 
For more information and to register, please see HERE.

*Register by November 22*

Congratulations to Caitlin Miller, Doctor of Physical Therapy Student, for being a finalist in the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) and Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation (JHR) Student Essay Contest!

Read Caitlin's essay on the integration of AI technology in rehabilitation here. 

Congratulations to our raffle winner, Kaylie DeCosmo and her Avo-cat-o!

Take a look at these highlights from recent Student Wellness Committee Events. Thank you to the SWC members for fostering connection across SMHS and spreading joy to others! Join us at the next SWC event on November 19.

November seasonal produce includes: cranberries, sweet potatoes, walnuts and pecans, mushrooms, lemons, limes, and more! For this month's seasonal recipe, try out this creamy lemon garlic mushroom pasta! This is a quick and easy vegetarian recipe that is a perfect dinner on chilly nights.

SAAM The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture - Begins November 8, 2024: This Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibition examines the role of sculpture in understanding and constructing the concept of race in the United States. American sculpture in its many forms also has served as an expression of resistance, liberation, and a vital means for reclaiming identity.

To the District, with Love - November 14, 6pm-9pm: Celebrate Washington, DC, with an evening of performances and art activities that honor the district’s people and culture. Tap into the pulse of the city with performances by punk band Ekko Astral and dance to the beats of DJ Little Bacon Bear as she pays tribute to her local roots. Enjoy pop-up curator talks highlighting artwork with DC connections and test your knowledge of DC trivia hosted by New Columbia Pub Quiz. **Lottery for registration opens on Monday, November 4, at 10:00 a.m. and closes on Thursday, November 7, at noon.**

Zoolights at Smithsonian National Zoo - Begins November 22: This holiday season, the Smithsonian's National Zoo is transforming into an enchanting winter wonderland with ZooLights! Now in its 16th year, this annual holiday light spectacular welcomes visitors to walk down festive pathways and explore immersive displays throughout the Zoo. 

Student Wellness Committee:

"The Wellness Committee is a group of elected students from all programs within the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences with a passion for promoting wellness in our community. We believe that as students who are training to become healthcare providers, it is critical that we learn to care for ourselves by nurturing our own personal health and wellness, as we strive to care for others. This committee seeks to promote wellness by organizing events and initiatives that enhance student wellbeing and strengthen relationships within our programs. We consider many dimensions of wellness and work with the Office for Student Support (OSS) to ensure accessibility to resources and safe spaces, as well as provide events like movie nights, picnics, cookie decorating, therapy dogs, and other initiatives to promote connectivity and healthy habits." - Student Wellness Committee Leadership

For information on how to join the Student Wellness Committee, or to send suggestions/ideas for wellness events, please send them an email or follow them on Instagram at @bewellgw.

Student Organizations: Interested in joining one of the 80+ student organizations SMHS has to offer? You can find a full list of them here, updated every semester.

Want to start your own organization? The Medical Center Student Council provides guidance on the process on their website, with enrollment periods open twice a year.

The graphic above outlines many types of academic support available to you. See something you don't understand, or want to learn more about? Schedule a meeting with Terri Edwards, the Learning Specialist, for guidance on any of the topics above.

You can schedule a meeting with Terri Edwards through her Calendly, linked here.

The Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library has two Quest 2 Virtual Reality (VR) headsets available for loan to our users. Headsets can be checked out for 4 hours at a time from the Circulation Desk on the library's first floor. You will need some unobstructed space to use the headset as once you’re immersed, you’ll lose your bearings a bit in terms of furniture, walls, etc.. Himmelfarb has a number of rooms that will work for this, and you are also welcome to take the headsets out into Ross Hall. 

The VR Headsets come equipped with Medicalholodeck, a three-in-one educational application for teaching anatomy and surgical prep:

Anatomy Master XR features three-dimensional anatomy models of the human body to enable the efficient study of anatomy in virtual reality. The complete female and male bodies consist of over 2000 carefully modeled, textured and labeled structures.

Dissection Master XR is a dissection and anatomy lab that uses high-resolution human dissections created especially for anatomy teaching. The entire human body has been carefully dissected and digitized in multiple high-resolution layers. 

Medical Imaging XR is a system for rendering and manipulating objects based on medical imaging (MRI, CT, etc.) in VR. This application is used in hospitals for 3D surgical planning, in radiology for case reports and team discussions, and in medical education for surgery training. 

Himmelfarb Library's Oculus headsets also include healthy living apps, designed to help users meditate, alleviate anxiety, and generally relax: 

Guided Meditation VR lets users detach and re-center with guided or unguided meditation sessions with calming music and ambient noises from over 40 digitally-generated environments. This program featuresover 30 hours of meditations geared toward alleviating anxiety, finding resilience, maternity meditations, improved sleep, and dozens more.

Nature Treks VR puts users into their choice of nine different natural environments--including forests, beaches, and outer space--and allows them to explore and play in: controlling the weather and time of day, summon animals, and generally shape the world around you. Users can also use these spaces to meditate and perform breathing exercises. 

National Geographic Explore VR allows users to explore two different ecosystems: Machu Picchu and Antarctica, experiencing the landscape and taking photographs. And, here’s where that important information about observing an appropriate distance from llamas will come in handy.  

Want a one-on-one tutorial with the headsets? Email himmelfarb@gwu.edu to make an appointment with a member of the Himmelfarb staff. We will be happy to walk you through basic navigation in VR and help you get started using the software available on the headset. Also check out Himmelfarb's VR Headset Research Guide.  

CV Support: We have a dedicated faculty advisor with whom you can schedule appointments to review and revise your CV. To schedule an appointment, email OSS  with your request and attach any resume or CV documents you may have. If you have never created a CV before, we are happy to work with you and share our template.

Learning Support: Our dedicated learning specialist, Terri Edwards, is available to meet with students to discuss active learning strategies, study strategies and scheduling, test taking strategies, and more. To book an appointment with her, please use her Calendly link.

Peer Tutoring: If you would like to work with a peer tutor, email OSS to learn more about peer-led academic support. 

Small Study Groups: Consider adding small group studying into your academic schedule. OSS assigns students to a study group of 2-5 students; the sessions are facilitated by a student who commits to that role. Groups may choose to meet in person or virtually. Contact OSS for more information to be a facilitator or participant.

Writing Coach: Coaching sessions help students build their writing confidence and develop vital writing skills for writing assignments, personal statements, and professional writing. To receive a referral to the writing coach, please email OSS directly.    

Want to stay up-to date with OSS Events? Click here to add the Office of Student Support (OSS) Events Calendar to your Google Calendar. You can also check out the Events Tab on the OSS website to see event details.

Interested in meeting with our learning specialist, Terri Edwards, or with our associate director, Alex Velto? Use their Calendly links to easily schedule a meeting with them! 

                             Alex's Calendly         Terri's Calendly