Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, April 9, 2021
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In this Special Issue Focused on the Humanities:
Editor's Corner
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Bruce Campbell, MD, FACS: Integrating the Humanities into Medical Education
Perspectives/Opinions
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Erica Chou, MD, and Sara Lauck, MD: "Yes, and...": How Improv Techniques Enhance Medical Training
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Carlyle Chan, MD: Photography and Medical Humanities
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James Warpinski, MD: Changing the Curriculum: How Adding a Narrative Assignment Increased Empathy and Connection with People Unlike Ourselves
Poetry Corner
Your Turn
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See how reader's responded to last week's prompt: What was your favorite Spring Break vacation?
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Respond to this week's prompt: How do you express yourself artistically?
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Respond to this week's character question: What made you laugh today?
Announcements & Resources
- Watch Character and Medicine Panel Discussion
- Volunteer for Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured
- Register for Upcoming Virtual Events
- Kern National Network News & Events
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Editor's Corner
Integrating the Humanities into Medical Education
by Bruce H. Campbell, MD, FACS
Dr. Campbell writes about how building observational and representational skills through the humanities translates into more empathetic and effective patient care...
Stories are the primordial means through which we make sense of, and convey the meaning of, our lives.
- Rita Charon and Craig Irvine
My medical student group gathered to debrief and discuss their very first experiences observing physicians caring for patients. One student presented a case of a teenager she saw in her clinical mentor’s office with mild muscle aches. This teen had a couple of relatives who were afflicted with a rare, devastating inherited disease. The boy’s few vague symptoms could, possibly, represent the disorder’s very earliest manifestations. Or the symptoms might be nothing at all.
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Perspective/Opinion
"Yes, and...": How Improv Techniques Enhance Medical Training
by Erica Chou, MD, and Sara Lauck, MD
Drs. Chou and Lauck discuss the parallels between interpersonal interactions in theater improv and at the bedside. Improv offers a way to hone critical clinical skills...
Attunement, affirmation, and advancement. These are the core skills of improv, and of all interpersonal interactions. Attunement means to be present and focused, deeply listening. Affirmation is to acknowledge the other person's truth and to find common ground, even at times of disagreement. Advancement uses that common ground to move the conversation and interaction forward. In short, these skills embody the “yes, and” tenant of improv.
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Perspective/Opinion
Photography and Medical Humanities
by Carlyle Chan, MD
Dr. Chan served on the AAMC Arts and Humanities Integration Committee that drafted the FRAHME (Fundamental Role of Arts and Humanities in Medical Education) report. He shares how a deeper dive into the humanities, and photography in particular, can teach physicians to be better observers and help "defy acceleration" in their lives…
“The arts teach creative means of expression, understanding of different perspectives, an awareness of knowledge and emotions throughout the human experience, and the sharing of perceptions through artistic creation and practices in the expressive world.”
“The humanities teach close reading practices as an essential tool, an appreciation for context across time and space, qualitative analysis of social structures and relationships, the importance of perspective, the capacity for empathic understanding analysis of the structure of an argument…”
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Perspective/Opinion
Changing the Curriculum: How Adding a Narrative Assignment Increased Empathy and Connection with People Unlike Ourselves
by James Warpinski, MD, MCW-Green Bay
Dr. Warpinski's M2 course brings medical students into contact with people and groups with whom they might never have interacted with before. By adding a narrative assignment, students found new and remarkable connections…
I am the course director for an M2 Course on Continuous Professional Development at MCW-Green Bay. I have personal experience in narrative medicine, a technique I have found very helpful in improving my understanding of the individual patients. It also sharpened my observation skills and forced me to pay closer attention to the nuances of the patient’s words, dress, and actions.
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Essay published March 17, 2021 in Closler
Making Unconscious Bias Training Work
by Verna Monson, PhD
Dr. Monson shares her thoughts around being aware of your own biases and learning from your missteps, as well as remembering that unconscious bias training is only a starting point for dismantling discrimination...
Michelle reeled in pain, saw blood on the floor where she stood, and called her OB/GYN, afraid that at 26 weeks she would lose her baby. At the hospital, the doctor reassured her that the baby was developing normally and mentioned placenta previa only in passing.
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This week we're excited to share a piece by Sam Polhemus. Sam is a fourth-year medical student, originally from Buffalo Grove, Ill. He will be going into psychiatry in Colorado this summer.
Scored
by Sam Polhemus
“What’s your number?”
“823”
“Why are you so valuable!?”
So punctual with your payments
Use less than 30%
Trustworthy and kind
Unlike those sub-700 people
Irresponsible and frankly stupid
The audacity to be poor
Thank goodness we have
Such a lovely system here
Where we know your value
From 300-850
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When our kids were small, we headed south to go camping. Over the years, this took us to beautiful state parks in Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. More than once, though, a sunny and warm Monday turned into a cold and rainy Wednesday. One year, we quickly broke camp to escape an approaching tornado. We were discouraged. The next year, we found a cheap condo in Fort Walton Beach on the panhandle of Florida. For several years, we picked the kids up after school at 3:00 p.m. and drove through the night, arriving at the condo at 8:30 a.m. the next morning for a week of sun, sand, and relaxation. The weather always cooperated. We have great family memories of those vacations.
–Bruce Campbell, MD, FACS, Faculty
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Cancun, Mexico.
–Simmi Bharwani, Student
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Respond to next week's reflection prompt:
How do you express yourself artistically?
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Character and the Professions Conference
Character and Medicine Lecture
View Adina Kalet, MD, MPH, discussing Character and Medicine as part of a panel at the Character and the Professions Conference, hosted by Wake Forest University and the Oxford Character Project, March 18-20, 2021.
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Volunteer Opportunity
Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured
The Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured is expanding its patient load and specialty physician options for patients and are in need of more dedicated physicians to volunteer their time to serve our uninsured population as well as further educate our medical student volunteers on how to best care for these underserved communities.
Physicians interested in volunteering their time to serve the uninsured should contact Morgan Leissring, M1.
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Kern Institute Connection Cafe
Can I Tell You Something?
The path to medical school graduation is filled with a vast array of emotions and experiences that can sometimes prove to be challenging, but in the end, rewarding.
Please join us as we welcome M-4 students Mario Castellanos, Rachael Conger, Na'il Scoggins, and Sarah Suh for a joyful and celebratory café conversation as they share their departing thoughts with us.
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April 22, 2021
Live Virtual Event
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
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KNN Discussion Series
Seeking Strength in Times of Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed personal and professional challenges for everyone, but particularly for those in the medical field. Under such circumstances, what does and can human flourishing look like? To what extent is it possible and equitable in times of crisis—now and otherwise?
In this session, three exceptional speakers will share perspectives from pastoral care, critical care and global health work to provide insight on navigating crises and lessons for cultivating resilience. A Q&A moderated by Chris Stawski, PhD, senior fellow for the Kern Family Foundation, will follow the speakers' presentations.
Featured Speakers:
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Krista Gregory, MDiv, BCC, founder of the Center for Resiliency at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas
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Daniela Lamas, MD, pulmonary and critical care doctor for Brigham and Women’s Hospital
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John Tarpley, MD, professor emeritus of surgery and anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and professor of surgery and head of department at University of Botswana
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April 27, 2021
Live Virtual Event
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
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MCW Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
4th Biennial Suicide Symposium
Addressing the role of clinical intervention and the experience of patient loss to suicide.
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Specialties - Behavioral Health - Suicide Symposium
For more information, please contact Kiara Bond
(414) 955-7250
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April 28, 2021
Live Virtual Event
8:30 am - 12:15 pm CT
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Kern Institute Grand Rounds
Advocacy on the Frontlines: Supporting LGBTQ Patients in Combat and Beyond
Please plan to join us for a Grand Rounds presentation with Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, Director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) Endowment and Senior Associate Dean and Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine.
Dr. Ehrenfeld will discuss how advocacy can transform health care, health outcomes, and health equity in combat and beyond for LGBTQ+ patients and all marginalized populations.
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April 29, 2021
Live Virtual Event
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
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You are Invited to a Virtual Symposium
Understanding Medical Professional Identity Formation and Character Development Symposium
We are honored to invite you to attend a virtual symposium dedicated to advancing the impact of scholarship and innovation in professional identity and character development in medical education.
This symposium includes a keynote address from Adina Kalet, MD, MPH, concurrent workshop sessions, and Professional Identity Formation and Character Development Interest groups.
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April 30, 2021
Live Virtual Event
9:00 am - 1:00 pm CT
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The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community. |
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Editorial Board: Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Adina Kalet, MD, Wendy Peltier, MD, Erin Weileder, Olivia Davies, Scott Lamm, Eileen Peterson, Sarah Torres, & Anna Visser
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