Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, January 8, 2021
In this Special Focus on Leadership:

Director's Corner
  • Adina Kalet, MD, MPH: All-Hands-On-Deck in 2021: A Year to Build Student Leadership Capacity!

Leadership Perspectives/Opinions
  • Mario Castellanos: Looking for a Leader? You've Got the Wrong Person
  • Sarah Meeuwsen and Michael Sobin, MD: Leadership Skills: From the Classroom to the Bedside
  • Stacy Moroz and Kelli Cole:The Importance of Early Standardized Clinical Curriculum in Professional Identity Development among Medical Students
  • Maya Saravanan: I Am Not Your Model Minority
  • Cassie Ferguson, MD: Smiling at Fear
  • Jeff Fritz, PhD: Leadership, Stewardship and Me
  • Apply to the LEAD-UP Program: Leadership Skill-Building Opportunity for URiM Trainees

Take 3
  • Gopika SenthilKumar and Kelli Cole

Winning Character Essay
  • Monica Gobrial: What Character Means to Me

Poetry Corner
  • Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching

Your Turn
  • Respond to this week's prompt: What are you looking forward to doing this week?
  • Respond to this week's character question: What do you admire in a leader?

Announcements & Resources
  • Register for Kern's Upcoming Virtual Events
  • Podcast Interview with Kern Affiliate Faculty, Sondra Zabar
  • 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 - January 2021
In this first issue of 2021, we share articles from members of the
Kern Institute's Student Leadership Committee,
curated by Gopika SenthilKumar and Jeff Fritz, PhD
We view leadership as “the ability to influence change” and, thus, as an essential attribute of all medical students. Our committee’s goals are to:

  1. Promote, influence, and support student leadership throughout MCW through curriculum change, community outreach, and scholarly output.
  2. Provide a platform for learning and supporting different perspectives and backgrounds with the goal of improving representation in healthcare leadership.
  3. Establish a space for constructive collaboration between different initiatives.

We have numerous projects and initiatives underway and are excited to share perspectives from our committee members in this issue. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to us, Gopika SenthilKumar and Jeff Fritz, PhD.
Director's Corner
All-Hands-On-Deck in 2021: A Year to Build Student Leadership Capacity!

by Adina Kalet, MD, MPH

As we look ahead to 2021 with this special issue on leadership, Dr. Kalet highlights how the disruptions caused by the events of 2020 have provided us with an opportunity to transform medical education to better serve the health of communities. Now it is up to us to ensure we reap the benefits …

If, as many have asserted, the purpose of health professions education is to improve the health of communities (Frenk, J. 2011), then this past year may have dramatically accelerated the transformation in medical education needed to meet this goal (Thibault, 2020, Lucey, 2020). Or not. It is up to us. Leadership is needed. 
Perspective/Opinion
Looking for a Leader? You've Got the Wrong Person

by Mario Castellanos - MCW-Milwaukee School of Medicine, Class of 2021, and recipient of the 2020-21 Walter Zeit Leadership Award
 


Mr. Castellanos shares how the opportunity to tutor other students has also given him the confidence to be a leader …


Until a few years ago, the title of this article was a reality for me. I used to not see myself as a leader. In fact, sometimes I still have trouble seeing myself as one. Growing up in Honduras, I only perceived those in public office or the managerial positions of the business world as “leaders.” My primary and secondary education didn’t particularly emphasize leadership as an essential attribute of any other budding professional. It would take moving to the US to realize that I, too, could become a leader.
Perspective/Opinion
Leadership Skills: From the Classroom to the Bedside

by Sarah Meeuwsen, MCW-Milwaukee Medical Student and Michael Sobin, MD, MCW Alumnus

Mrs. Meeuwsen and Dr. Sobin share that MCW medical students are eager to improve their leadership skills. They provide examples of two patient encounters that directly benefited from what they have learned …

Two very unhappy patients

Michael: A teenager was wheeled into the trauma bay, gauze on the back of his calf soaking up the blood from the laceration he had just received. Mom is by his side, but as the team members descend to undress him and evaluate his wound, he is trembling, screaming. He is terrified, and no one gets close. He is still bleeding pretty profusely, and something needs to happen soon.

Sarah: This patient's medical situation involved a long-term hospital stay, and each morning he reported shoulder pain from being turned on his side during nursing care. We tried medication intervention with mild success, and ultimately this seemingly unavoidable complaint fell off the team's radar as they worked to solve the larger medical issues. It became clear to me that a solution was needed, one that would effectively supplement the medical therapies that were already in place.  
Perspective/Opinion
The Importance of Early Standardized Clinical Curriculum in Professional Identity Development among Medical Students

by Stacy Moroz, MCW-Milwaukee Medical Student and Kelli Cole, MCW-Milwaukee Medical Scientist Training Program

Ms. Moroz and Ms. Cole, members of the Student Leadership Committee of the MCW Kern Institute, share their goals to build skills and integrate clinical education and career development early in the curriculum ...

In donning the symbolic short white coat, we mark our first steps as “student doctors” and, in doing so, shed our pre-med identities to embrace a more tangible and human approach to science - clinical medicine. This brings about two unifying sentiments among incoming medical students. The first is excitement to engage in patient care and the second is curiosity about the role we will eventually play in delivering it.  
Perspective/Opinion
I Am Not Your Model Minority

by Maya Saravanan - MCW-Milwaukee Medical Student

Ms. Saravanan shares some of her experiences dealing with the cultural expectations and the intersectionality of prejudice. She discusses how everyone’s experiences directly shape their leadership styles … 

I stood at her desk to ask for a hall pass so that I could use the restroom. She looked down at the roster.
 
“Hmm..this name here, Vishmayaa Saravanan? Is that you?” 
 
I glanced around the room at my white classmates, then back at her. I appreciated her for not jumping to conclusions, but she had to admit that was a good one. 
 
“Yep.” 
 
“You’re Indian? My neighbor’s Indian.”

Congratulations. And no, I don’t know them. 
 
“Yes I am.” 
 
“So, are you going to be a doctor, engineer, something like that right? My neighbor’s a doctor. I read there are special visas for Indians to come over and work in those fields - pretty neat stuff. Model minority. We need more smart people like you.”   
Perspective/Opinion
Smiling at Fear

by Cassie Ferguson, MD

Dr. Ferguson shares her thoughts on the relationships among fear, leadership, and vulnerability ...


“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” -President Barack Obama

For the past three years I’ve chosen to select intentions for the coming year instead of writing New Year’s resolutions. These intentions look more like mantras; they are typically one or two words that I aspire to incorporate into how I approach every aspect of my life. In 2020, for example, I chose “allow” and “accept.” 

This year, I want to be more courageous. I want the words I choose to inspire daring, to expand what I believe I am capable of; I want to set aside passivity and take a “warrior’s approach” to life. I want to be a leader. 
Perspective/Opinion
Leadership, Stewardship and Me

by Jeff Fritz, PhD

Dr. Fritz shares how the concepts of Leadership and Stewardship have had a real impact on his understanding of what makes a great leader … 



“What do I care?” As a teenager this had to be among the most common phrases that left my mouth. I’m sure it was the cause of frustration for those trying to guide a rebellious young human. I recall multiple conversations with my parents and teachers regarding my vocal disinterest, a disinterest that was - as I reflect upon it - likely a disguise for an overly focused self-interest. 
Leadership Opportunity
Leadership Education to Advance Diversity in Underrepresented Populations (LEAD-UP)

Drs. Kaljo, Clarke, and Kirsch announce LEAD-UP, a unique leadership skill-building opportunity for underrepresented in medicine (URiM) trainees. This program is funded by the Kern Institute's Transformational Ideas Initiative (TI2).

Applications are due by 1/20/2021.
Please use the link below to learn more and access the application.
Three Questions for
Gopika SenthilKumar and Kelli Cole

MD/PhD students currently spearheading a project focused on incorporating leadership training into medical education through the Kern Institute's Transformational Ideas Initiative

This week, we posed these three questions to Ms. SenthilKumar and Ms. Cole on leadership studies …


  1. Why are you interested in leadership studies? Why, as a medical student, should you care about it?
  2. How has focusing your energy towards leadership studies benefitted you?
  3. Where would you like to see leadership studies go within the area of medical education? What is your dream for it?
Winning Character Essay
What Character Means to Me

by Monica Gobrial, MCW-Milwaukee Medical Student 

In this essay, which won the 2020 Kern Institute Character Essay Contest, Ms. Gobrial describes how a particular faculty member became a mentor for her and what that has meant …
Corrected Link from Last Week's Issue
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 …

This week’s poem is an English translation of
Tao Te Ching, a 6th Century BC Chinese text written by Lao Tzu.

Tao Te Ching
by Lao Tzu


The best leaders are those their people hardly know exist.
The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.
Next comes the one who is feared.
The worst one is the leader that is despised…

The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly.
When they have accomplished their task,
the people say, "Amazing!
We did it all by ourselves!"

Respond to next week's reflection prompt:


What are you looking forward to doing this week?
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 Discussion 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 at 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

Featured Speakers
  • Andrea Leep Hunderfund, MD, MHPE, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
  • John Luk, MD, Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin
  • Bonnie Miller, MD, MMHC, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the KNN Program Office
  • Moderator, Chris Stawski, PhD, Kern Family Foundation
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
The Artist of Clinical Medicine: A Conversation with Dr. Sondra Zabar


Sondra Zabar, Affiliate Faculty of the Kern Institute at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Professor of Medicine at NYU in the division of general internal medicine and clinical innovation, was recently interviewed on the podcast Hippie Docs 2.0: Re-Humanizing Medicine.

Dr. Zabar actively supervises hundreds of primary care physicians at NYU. Teaching the “art of clinical medicine” to an entire generation of medical students, interns, and residents, Dr. Zabar cultivates curiosity, active listening, and the development of a good bedside manner. Research has shown that these physician skills lead to better diagnostic reasoning, improved medical outcomes, and higher patient and provider satisfaction. 
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.
Click anywhere on the image below for the KNN's current newsletter
MCW COVID-19 Resource Center
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