Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
In this Special End-of-the-Year Edition

Editor's Corner
  • Bruce H. Campbell, MD, FACS: Narrative Medicine, Reflection, and Patient Care

Perspectives/Opinions
  • Ana Istrate, MD, MS: On Joy and Sorrow in Our Long Winter
  • Jacob Taxis, MDiv, BCC: Deep Thoughts: Reflection and Dialogue with the Palliative Care Team
  • Charlie Ann Rykwalder, MBA: Now All I See Is Color
  • Mary Beth Graham, MD, and Nate Gundacker, MD: DOM Grand Rounds Presentation: Pandemics of the Past Century

Poetry Corner
  • Cleo Wade: It is okay (a poem of validation for the year 2020)

Your Turn
  • See how readers answered last week's prompt: What gives you a sense of peace at this time of year?
  • Respond to this week's prompt: What's one thing in your life that you hope will be different by the end of 2021?

Announcements & Resources
  • Register for Kern's Upcoming Virtual Events
  • Apply to the Kern Institute's Faculty Scholars Program
  • Learn How You Can Be Involved in the MCW Common Read
  • Kern National Network Connections Newsletter - December 2020
Director's Corner
Narrative Medicine, Reflection, and Patient Care

by Bruce H. Campbell, MD, FACS, Editor-In-Chief, Transformational Times

Dr. Campbell, who has a background in Narrative Medicine, shares how the basics of Close Reading (Attention, Representation, and Affiliation) serve us well, both in medicine and in life ...


Jamaica Kincaid’s short story, Girl, is a list of 48 instructions and life lessons that the narrator, a Caribbean mother, is passing along to her daughter.
 
…when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn’t have gum in it, because that way it won’t hold up well after a wash; soak salt fish overnight before you cook it; … always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach; on Sundays try to walk like a lady …; this is how you sweep a yard; this is how you smile to someone you don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don’t like at all; …
 
The list allows the reader glimpses into the spoken and unspoken cultural traditions from a place far away.
Perspective/Opinion
On Joy and Sorrow in Our Long Winter

by Ana Istrate, MD, MS - Internal Medicine PGY-1 Resident

Dr. Istrate reflects on how her rotation through the COVID ICU as an intern is inextricably tied to the rest of her year …


Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
 And he answered:
 Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
-Kahlil Gibran, “On Joy and Sorrow”

At the beginning of this strange year, I took a solo trip to Washington DC, a city I had never seen before. Sunlight hit the reflecting pool like a knife, the air was uncommonly warm, and the National Mall was full of maskless strangers. It was impossible to find a quiet moment at the Lincoln Memorial. I met a family friend at the National Gallery of Art, where we made our way through currents of people, half in conversation with each other and half in conversation with the paintings and sculptures around us. I remember the contents of that conversation much less than I do the feeling of being in it, like floating on a raft through a luminous city, watching the threads of our childhood ripple in its wake.
Perspective/Opinion
Deep Thoughts: Reflection and Dialogue with the Palliative Care Team

by Jacob Taxis, MDiv, BCC – Froedtert Palliative Care Program

While working from home during the early days of the pandemic, a video game developer and painter named Steve Derrick ran across an Instagram account that changed his life. The account, @frontlinehealthheroes, began posting photos of those in healthcare who were experiencing the daily impact of the coronavirus: the exhausted, mask-marked faces of nurses and doctors.

Moved by their dedication, Derrick began translating the selfies to canvas, creating raw, detailed paintings of frontline workers. His first portrait—an Italian nurse—quickly led to more. He began contacting the caregivers themselves, asking permission and offering to send them their portraits free of charge.
A couple weeks back, the palliative team and I explored some of these portraits as part of our bi-weekly time of reflection and dialogue that we’ve come to call “Deep Thoughts” (inspired, of course, by the Saturday Night Live writer and humorist, Jack Handey).

Together as a team, before rounding, we read a poem or explore a piece of art—one which delves into the human stuff behind the medical: the raw feelings and experiences of living and dying, and the questions of meaning and significance that surface every day in a place like this one.

Sometimes we laugh or trade stories. Sometimes we celebrate a meaningful line. Sometimes we get annoyed. Sometimes we sit with little to say. But we always engage whatever is before us, because we need to be human together in this work. And being human together means exploring, at least in part, what on earth we're doing here. 

Some of the faces in these portraits may look familiar to you. It’s probably not because you know these women and men personally. Rather, some of you may just recognize their exhaustion as your own, and can’t help but notice its presence every time you’ve looked in the mirror for the past ten months. Here’s to you and your sacrifice in this historic and deeply human moment.
Perspective/Opinion
Now All I See Is Color


by Charlie Ann Rykwalder, MBA 

Ms. Rykwalder, who is active in MCW’s diversity and inclusion activities, shares how being part of the MCW Community Conversations and Listening Circles has had an enormous impact on her …


Now all I see is color. Everywhere I go, the first thing I see is the color of someone else’s skin. At first, it shocked me and made me very uncomfortable but, after a little while, I realized that it was a good thing. You see, like many of you, I have been on a different type of journey this year. That journey has involved many hours of listening to podcasts, reading books like How to be an Antiracist and White Fragility, and talking with friends and family about my own views and feelings and about their views and feelings. In that process, I have had to lean into a very important fact. I see color first now, because I now see I am white.
MCW Department of Medicine Grand Rounds Presentation
Pandemics of the Past Century

presented by Mary Beth Graham, MD, FIDSA, FACP,
and Nate Gundacker, MD, on December 4, 2020
Dr. Graham is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of the MCW Division of Infectious Diseases, who has been at MCW for over 20 years. Her main areas of clinical interest are in HIV/AIDS, Infectious Disease support for Transplant Recipients, and a holistic focus on infection prevention. Dr. Graham and her Division have been an amazing source of support during the COVID-19 pandemic…to patients, families and colleagues.

Dr. Gundacker is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin and the VAMC Medical Center. His clinical interests include Lyme Disease, Tropical and Travel Medicine. He is a graduate of UW Madison for his college and medical degrees.
“There have undoubtedly been many individual acts of heroism from healthcare workers … I argue that we should be cautious about centering the narrative on heroism. Healthcare workers have a clear and limited duty to treat during the COVID-19 pandemic … and is strongly associated with certain reciprocal duties that society has towards healthcare workers. … Rather than praising all healthcare workers as heroes … we need to critically examine, as a society, what duties we think healthcare workers have, … what the reasonable limits to these duties are, and how we can reciprocally support them.”



‘Healthcare Heroes’: Problems with Media Focus on Heroism from Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
by
Dr. Caitríona L. Cox


Journal of Medical Ethics 2020; 46:510-513.
DOI:10.1136/medethics-2020-106398
MCW's Virtual Winter Concerts

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has kept the MCW Orchestra from rehearsing in person these past few months, music still plays a key role in the lives of all our members. With the holiday season approaching, we knew the (virtual) show must go on!

To bring this performance to life, each person recorded his/her instrument part while playing along with a video of our conductor Dr. Alexander Mandl. Similarly, members of the MCW student a cappella group Chordae Harmonae recorded and submitted their vocal parts in collaboration with the orchestra. With the talented help of Brian Smith, PhD, and Lynn Lewandowski, MS, we compiled these individual sound recordings into a complete video performance of "Gloria" by Antonio Vivaldi, ornamented by pictures of our musicians and singers performing and showing off their best festive outfits. 
In keeping with our tradition of raising funds for charities with each of our concerts, we are also excited to support Blessings in a Backpack-Waukesha as the featured charity of this performance. If you are interested in supporting this wonderful organization, please refer to the information listed at the end of the video to donate.

We hope you enjoy this virtual performance and give you our wishes for a blessed holiday season. Most of all, we look forward to future opportunities to share the joy of music with our MCW community!
As we look to 2021 we wanted to share a recent poem published in Vanity Fair by Cleo Wade on December 21st entitled: It is okay (a poem of validation for the year 2020).


It is okay (a poem of validation for the year 2020)
by Cleo Wade


It is okay to leave this year behind
It is okay if you haven’t found a silver lining since February
It is okay if all of that spiritual or emotional work you were planning to do on yourself never ended up happening
It is okay if you didn’t read a single book all the way through or you read a book every day because fiction felt safer than real life
It is okay if you didn’t become an expert chef and your banana bread never came out quite right
It is okay if you gained the weight you promised yourself you’d lose
It is okay if you watched too much tv and your kids watched too much tv too
It is okay if you cried more than you laughed, but I hope you got a few laughs in at some point along the way
It is okay if you felt overwhelmed by grief, loss, sadness, confusion, and fatigue – we all felt some version of these and if you are reading this right now,
you made it through.
It is okay to close your eyes and say to yourself,
I am a strong, resilient, badass.
It is okay if, after you said that, you opened your eyes and still felt worried
I worry too.
It is okay to stop everything for five minutes, put on your favorite song, and dance with your family or by your damn self.
It is okay to find joy in the midst of darkness
It is okay, to sit down and just
breathe.
It’s okay if you didn’t realize how much you actually liked spending the holidays in your hometown until you couldn’t do it
It is okay if the added roles, responsibilities, and jobs have felt crushing
It is okay if you couldn’t do it all.

None of us can.

It is okay if you had to cut back on spending and teach your kids that life is not about what you have but who you are with.
It is okay if on the surface everything seems fine but deep down, your heart is broken and the pain is bone deep.
It is okay to ask for help even if you don’t think you deserve it.
It is okay to rest.
It is okay to admit that this was the worst year of your life or miraculously ended up being the best
And it is okay if
you are not okay at all
and what you really need to hear is…
It will be okay.

somehow, someway, someday.

It will be okay.
My family's tortoise, Mosey, and our dog, Bella.
– Natalie Honan, Medical Student



A sunrise viewed from my office window, a crackling fire, twinkling candles and holiday lights help me to defy the dark days of this long season. With the arrival of the winter solstice (technically the first day of winter), my faith in nature’s rhythm evokes feelings of peace and hope that brighter days are ahead. Everything in its time…

– Jane Thelaner, Staff
My beautiful fur babies, Sophia 🐈 & Douglas 🐕
– Marisa Tobes, Medical Student

Respond to next week's reflection prompt:


What's one thing in your life that you hope will be different by the end of 2021?
Kern Grand Rounds Presentation
Women and COVID-19: 
Challenges, Opportunities, 
Thoughts for the Future

Please be sure to join us for Grand Rounds with Elizabeth Ellinas, MD,
Director of the MCW Center for the Advancement of Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM), Associate Dean for Women's Leadership, and Professor of Anesthesiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The COVID-19 crisis has found women in the forefront of the battle against the pandemic both at work and at home. Please be sure to join as we consider the effects of COVID on women and their careers and share challenges by gender.
January 21, 2021
Live Virtual Presentation
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
KNN Virtual Panel Series
Human Flourishing, Caring and Character in the Medical Profession: To What End?

Please plan to join us for this first session in a virtual panel series presented by the Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine (KNN). Through this interactive discussion, you'll learn more about the interrelated concepts of caring and character within medicine and engage in a conversation with other healthcare professionals on the topic of promoting human flourishing. 
 
Learning Objectives
  • Appraise one’s own professional experience with the intersection of caring and character with human flourishing
  • Assess the state of human flourishing in the health ecosystem 
  • Commit to next steps to advance human flourishing in one’s professional practice


January 26, 2021
Live Virtual Presentation
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
Kern Grand Connection Cafe
Medical School Admissions: 
Past, Present, and Future

Please plan to join us for a Connection Cafe discussion with Jane Machi, MD, Assistant Dean of Recruitment and Admissions, and Alexis Meyer, MA, Director of Recruitment and Admissions at the Medical College of Wisconsin

Medical school admissions committees are charged with selecting students whose personal qualities and experiences align with the mission(s) of their schools and who will meet the needs of the diverse communities they will serve as physicians. 

Join us as we discuss our holistic admissions journey at MCW, emerging trends in medical school applicants and matriculants, and enhanced/additional challenges the admissions community has encountered as a result of the pandemic.
January 28, 2021
Live Virtual Presentation
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
Kern Grand Grand Rounds
Healing in the Aftermath of Hate

Please Please plan to join us for a unique Grand Rounds discussion with Pardeep Singh Kaleka, Executive Director of Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, Founder of Serve2Unite, and published author of "The Gift of Our Wounds" and Arno Michaelis, author of "My Life After Hate" and co-author of "The Gift of Our Wounds."

When white supremacist Wade Michael Page murdered seven people and wounded four in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin in 2012, Pardeep Kaleka was devastated. This tragedy followed by suicide would be one of the deadliest mass-murder hate crimes committed in US History. One of the victims that day was Pardeep’s father, Satwant Singh Kaleka. Meanwhile, Arno Michaelis, a former skinhead and founder of one of the largest racist skinhead organizations in the world, had spent years of his life committing terrible acts in the name of white power. When he heard about the attack, waves of guilt washed over him and he knew he had to take action to fight against the very crimes he used to commit.

In the aftermath of the Oak Creek shooting, Pardeep reached out to Arno for answers. What would follow this meeting was a journey of two men who breached a great divide to find brotherhood and love. In a world that seems to be tearing itself apart at the the seams, divided by identity, becoming more intolerant, xenophobic, and spiritually ill, it is essential that we remain committed to compassion. This talk will explore the role of both communal and individual trauma and healing.
February 18, 2021
Live Virtual Presentation
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
Apply to the Kern Institute Faculty Scholars Program


The Kern Institute announces two opportunities for faculty development through our Kern Scholars Program: 

Master of Health Professions Education
We are looking for faculty interested in pursuing a Master of Health Professions Education through the New York University Langone’s Department of Medicine. 

Master of Arts in Character Education
The Kern Family Foundation is graciously inviting any interested faculty member to apply for the Master of Arts in Character Education at the Jubilee Center for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. 
Participate in the MCW Common Read!

We are extremely moved by the overwhelming interest shown in this year’s Common Read program, featuring How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. It is a true testament to your devotion to racial equity and determination to make the MCW community a safer and more inclusive place for all.

We understand that many of you are eager to get involved, so we have outlined some ways that you can participate via the link below.
The Kern National Network
Click anywhere on the image for the KNN's current newsletter
MCW COVID-19 Resource Center
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