{"id":5774,"date":"2020-04-07T10:15:11","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T15:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/?p=5774"},"modified":"2020-04-07T10:15:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T15:15:14","slug":"lets-not-rush-into-a-new-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/2020\/04\/07\/lets-not-rush-into-a-new-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Not Rush into a “New Normal”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The following was a message from our dean, Kyle P. Meyer, PhD, MS, PT, FASAHP to members of the College, and it’s too good not to share. Thank you, Dr. Meyer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colleagues, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like me, the only thing you are certain of these days is uncertainty. Every day we awaken to more dire news. Increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, new cities experiencing widespread community transmission, growing joblessness, and myriad economic concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure you too have heard the advice that we need to \u201cembrace a new normal\u201d in these difficult times. I suppose the intent of such advice is a desire to restore a sense of certainty and routine. I agree that we all tend to do better with each, but after some contemplation, I have decided to resist the urge to pursue this advice. And here\u2019s why\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, I think the advice implies the state of \u201cnormal\u201d is universal, and that arriving at a \u201cnew normal\u201d is a linear process. I disagree with these assumptions. In fact, I am concerned that embracing the concept of a \u201cnew normal\u201d risks minimizing the uniqueness and value of each of our individual journeys, and places undue pressure on us by implying \u201ceveryone else has this figured out but me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an aside, I don\u2019t actually think that \u201cnormal\u201d ever exists. \u201cNormal\u201d is really an abstract state that results from aggregation. In other words, if we take each individual person\u2019s unique set of circumstances, experiences and adaptations and \u201cmush\u201d them together we arrive at what we collectively agree to call \u201cnormal\u201d (i.e. \u201caverage\u201d). But our individual \u201cnormals\u201d vary markedly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of a \u201cnew normal\u201d implies we will collectively and ultimately arrive at some different (new) end state \u2013 the resumption of a shared, routine, \u201cnormal\u201d existence, and that the sooner we \u201cembrace\u201d it, the sooner the crisis will be over. First, the current state is anything but normal. Like you, I am trying to adapt to it, live the best I can through it, perhaps even learn from it, but I am certainly not embracing it. As sure as I am that the current situation will eventually pass, I am equally certain that I have no idea what will be left in the wake of this pandemic. But I suspect it will be anything but the \u201cnormal\u201d we once knew. I am certain the world will change forever as a result of the pandemic; I am just not sure that today, I could tell you how. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, I am not going to try to embrace a new normal anytime soon. I can\u2019t because I have no idea what it will be\u2026and that\u2019s OK. I urge you to give thought to the same. I don\u2019t think there is a \u201cright way\u201d to go through a crisis. I encourage each of you to give yourself plenty of space \u2013 and I don\u2019t just mean social distancing. Give yourself and others time, forbearance, and permission to take two steps forward and one-step back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I am working on recalibrating my own thinking \u2013 about the CAHP, about my various roles \u2013 some related to work, many not. And I am thinking that it may be several months before we are through the most immediate part of this crisis and several more before we fully \u201crecover.\u201d I believe (or hope) that I will continue to adapt as the months go on. I\u2019m not aiming to \u201carrive\u201d anywhere. I am focusing on a slow, adaptive process in which I will learn more about myself and others, and during which I can learn to more simultaneously embrace joy and sorrow, success and failure, good days, and bad days. Daily, I am experiencing a wide range of emotions \u2013 anxiety, hope, sadness, joy\u2026 the list goes on. Honestly, sometimes I experience all these emotions in a given hour!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid so much uncertainty, we are all trying our best to do our jobs \u2013 albeit in different ways \u2013 and do them well. I am immensely impressed, encouraged, and grateful for the work each of you is doing. You have demonstrated dedication, innovation, resilience, and optimism. I know we will each grow individually, as well as collectively, as a result of going through this experience; we will persevere and adapt. And someday, we will return to a sense of predictable routine \u2013 we will arrive at a \u201cnew normal. I trust we will know when we get there. For now, let\u2019s make sure to allow ample time and a variety of routes for the journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be Well,
\nKyle <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following was a message from our dean, Kyle P. Meyer, PhD, MS, PT, FASAHP to members of the College, and it’s too good not to share. Thank you, Dr. Meyer. Colleagues, If you\u2019re like me, the only thing you are certain of these days is uncertainty. Every day we awaken to more dire news. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":5775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,54,6,45,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deans-office","category-education","category-extended-family","category-frontpage","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5774"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5778,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5774\/revisions\/5778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.unmc.edu\/alliedhealth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}