This message was sent to students on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024:
Dear Students,
We are reaching out because Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024. We encourage you all to exercise your right to vote and participate in this important form of civic engagement.
Election Day and the days following can impact members of our UWSOM / WWAMI community in many ways. Many of us will experience intense emotions, regardless of the outcome.
In our personal lives, we all feel deeply about the issues and values we deem important. This is even more apparent during election years. We share similar feelings and thoughts with you. How we show up for our patients, colleagues, and ourselves matters – and it can be difficult to balance our own emotions while serving and caring for others. In the weeks ahead, we encourage you all to have compassion for yourselves while trying to navigate spaces where others, including patients, may feel differently than you about the election outcomes.
Here are some steps you can take to help navigate the coming weeks:
- Remain committed to health habits such as eating well-balanced foods, limiting alcohol consumption, exercising, etc.
- Stay connected with your community. Hope and support thrive within a connected community.
- Set boundaries with intention around exposure to social media, news, Reddit (and other online community bulletin boards), and discussing subjects that compromise your mental well-being.
- Acknowledge your experience of emotions as being a natural reaction to this type of event. How you respond is unique to you and is not something pathological.
- Be open to asking for support from professional resources such as counselors and other mental health care providers.
Should you need support as you navigate your personal response to election results, please do not hesitate to connect with any of us. Our hope is for all members of our medical school community to experience genuine care and meaningful support, and that we navigate the days ahead with grace for ourselves and each other.
Our counseling teams are also here to help and support you: https://education.uwmedicine.org/student-affairs/counseling-wellness/
With respect for all of you,
Gabe Sarah, MD, M.A.Ed.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Heather McPhillips, MD, MPH
Associate Dean for Curriculum
Molly Blackley Jackson, MD
Assistant Dean for the Colleges
Clifton Kelly, MS, MDiv, LMHC, LCPC
Director of UWSOM Student Wellness & Counseling
Student Affairs