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• Enhance programs awareness of student-clinician mental health and wellness

This task force was formed in 2017 to identify best practices for academic programs to support and improve students’ health and well-being throughout their academic career and in preparation for clinical practice.

In recent years, the pandemic and general uncertainty has added to the mental health crisis across many educational institutions. University presidents have identified mental health as a top priority over the last two years.

Survey results & presentations

• After completing a student, faculty and program administration survey, the task force created this student mental health report in October 2020.  
  
• "We're letting our students down: How do your programs' habits stack up?" - presented at ELC in October 2021

Most common mental health issues include

• Academic performance anxiety
• Financial strain
• Clinical performance anxiety
• Generalized anxiety

Recommended actions

• Identify what mental health resources are already available – make them widely known.
• Set up regular meetings with advisors/mentors (once per semester.)
• Be pro-active in creating response algorithms/protocols for mental health crises.
• Compile information on mental health-related resources to provide to clinical sites.
• Advocate for expanding access to online counseling/ support programs – especially for students at distant clinical sites.  Consider online counseling sites like Better Health and  TalkSpace.
• Consider providing financial literacy training.  APTA's Financial Solutions Center has a toolkit for educators to promote the resource to their students.
• See these top five (5) recommendations for addressing student debt from the PT Student Debt Task Force.
• More resources for managing student mental health

Recorded events

• Thriving in transition: from the couch to the clinic
• Resilience, grit, and optimism
• Fighting burnout: It’s not all up to you 
• Resilience & thriving: The secret power of stress

Members of the task force are:

• Cheryl Resnik, Chair
• Jeanette Anderson
• Heather Beaudoin
• Jennifer Bogardus
• Miriam Gross
• Anne Mejia-Downs
• Jennifer Root
• Janet Stevenson