The Psycho-Spiritual Health and Wellness (PS Heal-Well), a Joint Lecture Series organized by Pace University, New York, USA and St. Paul University Philippines, Tuguegarao City was launched on October 7, 2021 participated by administrators, faculty, staff, students and health-care professionals from the USA, Thailand, Philippines, Nigeria, Indonesia, India and China.
PS Heal-Well was endeavored as a contribution of St. Paul University Philippines and Pace University in equipping students in health and allied medical fields and behavioral science with new knowledge, enhanced skills, right attitude and spirituality in preparing them for post-pandemic integration. This is also in response to the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All by the World Health Organization signed on May 20, 2021, with its long-term, forward-looking SDG focus and as a platform to support countries’ equitable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sister Merceditas Ang, SPC (SPUP President) and Marvin Krislov, JD (Pace University President), and Dr. Vanya Quinones (Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of Pace University) delivered their welcome messages having the same note of a fruitful partnership in carrying out activities which are contributory to the holistic development of medical, spiritual and psychological frontliners in carrying out their mission during the pandemic and beyond.
Meanwhile, OIC Deputy Executive Director and Director III of IAS of the Commission on Higher Education Atty. Lily Freida Milla, applauded the two partnering universities for the worthwhile and timely topic so as to help students and young professionals become more adept in intercultural communications and to be mindful of themselves, their actions as it is to care for others.
As another main event, the first session of the series of lectures was conducted with 2 speakers coming from SPUP and Pace. In this session, Dr. Sophie Revillard Kaufman of Pace University talked about “Mindfulness Tools to Improve Students’ Resilience, Inclusivity, and Retention” where she gave an overview of the Mindfulness courses and workshops available for students in the College of Health Professions at Pace University and shared the reported benefits of these offerings during the pandemic, particularly in terms of accessibility and interconnectedness. Dr. Kaufman also gave a brief history of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and the evidence supporting the benefits of MBSR. In her session, participants had the opportunity to experience different MBSR mindfulness practices and debrief on their experience.
On the other hand, Dr. Ma. Elizabeth Baua of SPUP discussed on “Interprofessional Collaborative Caring” where she emphasized that the delivery of health care evolves to become more interconnected; it is imperative that other health care sciences must engage in interprofessional collaborative caring practices that would enhance the quality of patient care in any health care setting. She also encouraged the participants about practicing Caring which should be reflected as a cross-discipline concept including caregiving professions and must be informed of its application to improve healthcare outcomes. Interprofessional care is a new approach to providing quality care to address diverse needs of patients and their families in any health care setting. In this session, philosophical and theoretical bases of caring were discussed as well as caring ways in which interprofessional caring can be applied.
Lisa Kraft, Director of Academics, English Language Institute and Director of International Special Programs of Pace University, and Jeremy Godofredo Morales, Director of Internationalization of SPUP, together with Jaime Leotta of Pace University laid the foundation for the launching activity and the maiden session.
