Kern Transformation Journal, October 2018

Transformation Journal

Volume 2 | Issue 9 | October 2018

Being Well & Wonderful! Embracing a Superhero Approach

Wisdom begins with Wonder – Attributed to Socrates

When many of us think of the occasional workplace retreat, we think of being stuck sitting in conference rooms for a long period of time that takes us away from our regular work priorities. Now imagine a group of health professions educators and student support staff coming together in a prairie and woodland setting to actively reflect and share what gives them joy and promotes wellness in their work, and how to maximize their superhero character strengths accompanied by motivational musicians.

With the leadership of Elizabeth Petty, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Kern NTN partner, this vision was translated into reality for faculty and staff during the Fall 2018 University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health academic affairs retreat. Surrounded by the tranquil natural setting of Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin, more than 85 attendees came together to reflect on the importance of character and caring in medical education.

Key themes from the retreat workshops included: how to better care for one’s self while ensuring the best care for others, the importance of individual and team wellness, and the importance of recognizing individual talents, super powers or individual strengths in building effective teams. Opportunities to enhance wellness, from Tai Chi to a guided nature walk were also provided.

A unique, creative approach to address character and caring came from the talents of a musical motivational group called Gin, Chocolate and Bottle Rockets ( http://www.ginchocolateandbottlerockets.com/ ) that interwove their original music with key messages - such as find your purpose and lean into adversity - to inspire participants and foster discussion about the value of diverse character strengths in medicine and education. In addition, the retreat used personal narratives and stories to identify participants’ own character strengths and how those unique strengths help us become superheroes to promote individual human flourishing and heighten interprofessional team effectiveness.

In addition to this creative and inspirational approach, the retreat left participants with key takeaways that can be applied in their work to improve individual and team wellness. The following includes a summary of the seven Dimensions/Domains of Wellness that were addressed through lively small group activities at the retreat.

Dimensions or Domains of Wellness

Emotional: maintaining and promoting positive mental health, sense of self-worth and esteem, enthusiasm about life, and self-care practices to help us flourish
Environmental: addressing activities that impact the natural and built environment, respecting space, valuing and conserving resources
Intellectual Wellness: embracing creative, stimulating, engaging and enriching mental activities
Occupational/Vocational: making use of our gifts, skills, and talents to gain purpose, happiness, and enrichment of self and others, find fulfillment and balance
Physical: engaging in healthy behaviors around exercise, nutrition, and preventive care, as well as abstaining from harmful habits, to stay strong and healthy
Social: relating and connecting to others in communities to develop positive relationships and create and contribute to networks of friends, family members and others
Spiritual: possessing guiding beliefs, principles, or values that give direction to one's life, provide meaning and purpose, and create peace and harmony in our lives

Fulfilling Medical Education's Social Contract: Educating Physicians for Competence

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Thursday, November 8th

3:00 - 4:00 pm CT

Please join us as we examine the complexities of educating competent physicians in today's rapidly evolving medical field. We will outline the enduring and emerging competencies required of the 21st century physician, as well as explore competency-based education versus the current dominant paradigm in medical education and analyze the changes in roles and responsibilities for organizations, institutions, faculty, and students in a competency-based medical education world.

Presented by

Catherine R Lucey, MD , Executive Vice Dean and Vice Dean for Education, The Faustino and Martha Molina Bernadett Presidential Chair in Medical Education, Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine

Sue Cox, MD , Executive Vice dean of Academics and chair of the Department of Medical Education, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin

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Innovation through Design Thinking

The Kern Institute at the Medical College of Wisconsin is dedicated to advancing a vision to build a new foundation for medical education based on character, competence, and caring.

We are advancing innovation by applying human-centered design and the principles of the entrepreneurial mindset: curiosity, connections, and creating value. Learn all about design thinking and how we are helping faculty, students and staff achieve innovation success in this video:

Registration Open

Kern National Transformation Network Webinar

Fulfilling Medical Education's Social Contract: Educating Physicians for Competence

Presented by

Sue Cox, MD , Executive Vice dean of Academics and chair of the Department of Medical Education, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin

Thursday, November 8, 2018

3:00 - 4:00 pm CT

Registration Open

MCW Kern Institute Cafe Discussion

Narrative Medicine and Reflective Writing

by Bruce Campbell, MD

Thursday, November 8, 2018

4:00 - 5:00 pm in A4520, Medical College of Wisconsin

Registration Open

MCW Kern Institute Grand Rounds Presentation

Healing in Healthcare: Lessons from Clinicians and Patients

by Larry Churchill, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Thursday, November 15, 2018

9:00 - 10:00 am in the Alumni Center, Medical College of Wisconsin

Save the Date

MCW Kern Institute Grand Rounds Presentation

Professionalism in the Clinical Learning Environment

by Lisa Lehmann, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Time and Place TBA, Medical College of Wisconsin

Registration Opens Soon

Registration Open

Kern National Transformation Network Conference

Developing Medical Educators of the 21 ^st Century Conference

February 25-27, 2019

San Francisco, CA

2018

Character Day

Celebration

Thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating International Character Day at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee campus! We're looking forward to celebrating character at the MCW Central Wisconsin campus on November 30 and the MCW Green Bay campus on March 19.

Click on the video below to learn what character means to some of our Milwaukee students, faculty and staff!

Book Suggestion:

Switch

How to Change Things When Change is Hard

by Chip & Dan Heath

Why is it so hard to make lasting changes at work, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that’s built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath.

Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems: the rational mind and the emotional mind. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort—but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.

Switch brings together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.

You can read a six-minute summary of the book here.

Just in Case You Missed it...

Kern National Transformation Network Webinar

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Practices of Caring: A Framework for Medical Education & Health Care

by Bonnie Miller, MD, MMHC, Senior Associate Dean for Health Sciences Education, Executive Vice President Educational Affairs, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Keith Meador, MD, ThM, MPH, Professor, Departments of Psychiatry, Religion and Health Policy, Director, Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Warren Kinghorn, MD, ThD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pastoral and Moral Theology, Duke University Medical Center and Duke Divinity School.

Click here to view the recording of this event.

MCW Kern Institute Grand Rounds Presentation

Monday, October 22, 2018

The Respect Blind Spot: Differentiating Between Two Types and How to Strike the Right Balance

by Kristie Rogers, PhD, Marquette University

Click here to view the recording of this event.

MCW Kern Institute Professionalism Presentation

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Speak Up in Challenging Clinical Educational Environments

Facilitated by Marty Muntz, MD, Michael Lund, MD, Cassie Ferguson, MD, and Kristina Kaljo, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin

Click here to view the recording of this event.

MCW Kern Institute Student-Led Journal Club