In This Special Global Health Issue:

Poetry Corner

• Kayleigh Cook: Mamapower
• Michael Esson: Come, Don't be Scared

Your Turn

• Responses to last week's reflection prompt
• This Week's Reflection Prompt: What three words best describe you?



Upcoming Events/Announcements

Quotes From Our Partners

From Leslie Maas Cortes, MHS in Puerto Rico  

“I want to make sure that you a know that the Puerto Rico Public Health Trust – Puerto Rico Public Health Institute is interested in cultivating a long-term relationship with your MCW Kohler Scholars Program and we would like to continue to be considered as a host site for your medical students. I am always open to collaborations or other opportunities that MCW might offer.” 

Leslie Maas Cortes, MHS, is the Division Director of Disaster and Emergency Response & Telemedicine for the Puerto Rico Public Health Trust and served as mentor for 2022 Kohler Scholar, and rising M2, Ana Mia Corujo who completed collaborative research in Loisa, Puerto Rico  

From Evelyn Allende in Puerto Rico

“The experience of sharing with Ana Mia was excellent. A simple, humble person, with a sense of humor. As for the professional [aspect], [she] is very empathetic with the people she serviced. [She] recognized that although there is a pandemic of COVID, it is sensitive and confidential. Her love for Loiza was special. She is interested in the [community's] culture and lifestyles.”

Evelyn Allende is a Community Leaders at the Parcelas Suarez in Loiza, Puerto Rico. With Student doctor Corujo Ramirez, they reached their enrollment amount for the COVID surveillance from Loiza, Puerto Rico and finished the community census.

From Robert Melzer, JD, at the Wm. Collins Kohler Foundation

“Delighted to support efforts of MCW to provide broad basis of medical education by exposing students to medical systems worldwide! Thanks for the opportunity to help.”

Robert Melzer, JD, is a Board of Director for the Wm. Collins Kohler Foundation and has been instrumental in sustaining funding for the summer research program since 2011.  

Mamapower 

 By Kayleigh Cook  

Mamapower 

Every morning her smile greets you like the sun 

The dark gap between her teeth is the only remnant of the night before  

Clenching the cabbage she cuts away 

Seemingly unaware of the knife encroaching closer to her hand and face 

She laughs constantly  

And the whole world slows down in anticipation 

And then grows larger still 

The electricity buzzes louder and the dangling lightbulb glows brighter than before  

Crying infants stare wide-eyed, the only ones acutely aware 

They are mesmerized  

And she loves them  

Bringing them further to life in return 

And in awe I whisper what Mamapower 

At dusk i search for shadows  

That dark gap might tell a different story 

One of an aching back 

Fingers clutched to boiling bowls  

Sweat trawling down spines  

I wonder 

Where does all the air go when she slices onions? 

Does it soar over valleys and seas?  

Reaching someone or something 

I wait for the Earth to respond as before  

But the stillness that surrounds is paralyzing 

Perhaps this is the dark gap  

The shadow her shiny teeth fail to hide  

Perhaps when she cuts onions,  

Her thoughts swim in the same dark waters as her eyes 

Student Doctor Cook is in her second of training and a 2022 Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research Scholar. She partnered with surgeons in Ethiopia on the project, Strengthening Surgical Systems in Ethiopia: An Assessment of Sustainability in Data Practices. Her research mentor was Dr. Katie Iverson, Assistant Professor of Surgery. Prior to matriculating into medical school, she served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania and reflected on time living with a host family and the role East African mothers play in their respective societies.  

Come, Don’t Be Scared 

By Michael Esson 

Walk across the border with me, 

Don’t be afraid of what lies beyond, this is a place I know very well. 

This place taught me the stories I now tell, 

Here, there is no pain. 

This place gave me the name, Kofi. 

Walk across the border with me,  

Don’t be afraid of what lies beyond, this is a place I know very well. 

I know where the ocean hides during the tides, 

I know the truth hidden in the teeth of the smiles,  

The mouth too weak to reveal, 

The tongue too powerful to be understood. 

We made it across the border,  

But this is not the place I once knew. 

The children are grown now and their innocence is long gone. 

The ocean still has its alluring ways, 

But every time I write a secret in the sand, it’s washed away. 

It’s been a long journey across the border, 

Along the way I lost my companion, but I kept running to you. 

 I meant to return sooner but I was lost at sea, 

The wind pushed me farther and farther until your face, I could no longer see,  

I forgot the secrets we once shared and I forgot you,  

That’s why the story I now tell brings me so much pain. 

Come, don’t be scared, 

I have long awaited your return. 

I don’t have much to offer you, 

 But on my chest, lay your weary head, 

And place your burdens to rest, 

Remember the stories I once told you and let go of all your fears,  

Welcome home. 

Student doctor Esson is a second-year medical student at MCW and a 2022 Dr. Elaine Kohler Summer Academy of Global Health Research Scholar. His five weeks at Bagamoyo District Hospital was aimed at Improving Access to Dermatology Specialty Services in Tanzania using Teledermatology. His mentor was Dr. Kari Wanat, Associate Professor of Dermatology. His also holds leadership roles with the Global Health Organization and White Coats for Black Lives, student organizations.  

Christmas Cracker Candy

Ingredients 28 to 35 saltine crackers (about one sleeve, enough to line your tray) 1 cup (220g) firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 cup (225g or 2 sticks) unsalted butter 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups (10 to 12 ounces) chopped good-quality semi-sweet chocolate. Read the recipe here.

– Regina Kovnesky, Staff

Pistachio Torte

If you have never had this, don't let the name fool you, it is amazing! Ingredients: 1 1⁄4 cups flour 1⁄2 cup butter 1⁄2 cup ground nuts 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar 8 ounces Cool Whip, divided 3 (3 1/2 ounce) boxes instant pistachio pudding mix 4 1⁄2 cups milk Directions For the crust, mix together the flour, butter and nuts. Press in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes. Let cool. Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 cup cool whip. Spread on top of crust. Mix well the pudding and milk. Pour on top of cream cheese mixture and let set. Top with remaining cool whip. May top with chopped nuts if desired.

– Robert Treat, PhD, Faculty

Letters of Intent for Kern Medical Education Transformation Collaboratories now being Accepted

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting Letters of Intent for the second cohort of Medical Education Transformation Collaboratories, a research funding opportunity for audacious ideas to transform medical education. Funded by the Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education at the Medical College of Wisconsin, this grant opportunity provides funding and a community of practice for transforming medical education through the values of caring, character, and competence. Please see the attached Request for Proposals for full details and submission instructions. 

Letters of Intent are due Friday, January 13, 2023. All letters will be reviewed, and all will receive feedback. 

Full proposals are due Friday, March 31, 2023. Funding decisions will be announced by Friday, May 19, 2023.

Funding begins July 1, 2023. 

Healthcare Professionalism: Education, Research & Resources Podcast: Transformative Learning in Healthcare

William Branch, MD, talks about small group teaching, skills development with critical reflection and interprofessional education enhancing relationships with Preston Reynolds, MD, PhD, MACP.

Accepted Focus Session at IAMSE 2023

Congratulations to Drs. Jeff Fritz, Kristina Kaljo, Adina Kalet and Kimara Ellefson for the acceptance of their accepted Focus Session at IAMSE 2023: Faculty Development in the Promotion of Human Flourishing in Health Sciences Education

This session is described as follows:

Discover a transformative framework for human flourishing in medical education & medicine, then apply it to re-envisioning faculty development programming. A model program’s Excellence in Teaching and Medical Education Research tracks will guide participants in applications for their settings.

Kern Collaboratory publishes article: Blind spots in medical education: how can we envision new possibilities

Sean Tackett, Yvonne Steinert, Cynthia R. Whitehead, Darcy A. Reed, Scott M. Wright

This collaboratory published a definition and conceptual model of blind spots in medical education and explain how this could help us think differently about old problems and lead to innovation and transformation. Ultimately, looking for blind spots - and being open to examining our own - is an approach that is inclusive, values diversity, embraces complexity, and promotes honesty, transparency, and humility.

Kern Scholars Program Faculty Development Opportunities

We are excited to announce two opportunities for faculty development through our Kern Scholars Program. Each year we support one Kern Scholar in each of the following programs:

Masters of Health Professions Education through New York University Langone's Department of Medicine

Master of Arts in Character Education at the Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

Letters of Interest are due to Jeff Fritz in December. Learn more through the link below.

Join the 12th Annual MCW Global Health Week 2022

Global Health Week is an opportunity to co-promote the diverse communities our faculty, staff, and partners are serving to advance health. We anticipate that together, we can continue to share credible, collaborative, and mutually beneficial efforts in global health from neighborhoods to nations.

November 28- December 2

Educating Character Across The University

Dr. Cornel West - author, activist, philosopher, public intellectual, and civil rights leader, will kick off a major conference at Wake Forest University entitled "Educating Character Across The University" on December 1-3. The Program for Leadership and Character has invited him to take part in a moderated discussion about character and education. The event will be free and open to the public.

Over the following two days, the conference will highlight promising work on character education in the university context and strengthen a community of scholars across institutions and academic communities. Co-sponsored by the Oxford Character Project at the University of Oxford, the conference will feature presentations, panels, and workshops focused on integrating character into courses, designing character-related co-curricular programming, assessing character-related curricula and programs, and building a culture of character within colleges and universities.

While the keynote with Dr. West is open to all and requires no advance registration, the conference itself is aimed at educators and administrators from colleges and universities across the nation and the world. Workshops, panels, and networking events are scheduled from the morning of December 2 until noon on December 3.

December 1-3, 2022

Wake Forest University

Call for Auscult Submissions

Deadline: December 15, 2022

Attention photographers, poets, writers, and artists:

MCW's student-curated literary journal, Auscult, seeks original fiction, non-fiction, photography, art, and poetry for the 2023 issue. Creative people connected with all of the MCW campuses (e.g., students, residents, faculty, staff) and their partnering institutions (e.g., Froedtert, CW, Versiti, Zablocki VAMC) are eligible to submit. 

Check out previous issues here. Submit your original, never-before-published work here. 

Questions? 

Contact the Auscult editor, Connor Pedersen or faculty advisor Bruce Campbell, MD.

Jeff Fritz, PhD, Editor-in-Chief



Editorial Board: Bruce Campbell, MD, Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Adina Kalet, MD, Wendy Peltier, MD, Erin Weileder, Nabil Attlassy, Julia Bosco, Ana Istrate, Wolf Pulsiano, Eileen Peterson,  Anna Visser, James Wu & Emelyn Zaworski

Reproductive system vector created by pikisuperstar - www.freepik.com