Director's Corner

Everything around us has to do with medical education 

By Adina Kalet, MD, MPH

Editor’s Note: In this essay -- first published in the wake of our nation’s social upheaval in Summer 2020 -- Dr. Kalet reminds us that, as educators, we must retain our focus and believe in our shared future as a community focused on the health of all. The work is far from complete ...

I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

― Elie Wiesel

I have Black colleagues and friends who are afraid for their children. The pandemic, which hit communities of color—particularly African American men and women—harder than other groups of Americans, added the concern of dying of the COVID-19 to the longstanding fear that they or their children might become victims of violence because they are Black.

Early in March (2020), when the CDC recommended that citizens use facial coverings to prevent spread of the virus, some Black men feared it would put them at risk of being killed because they would be mistaken for criminals. 

Perspective/Opinion



An Open Letter to my Colleagues

By Loren Nunley, MD, MBA

Editor’s Note: In the summer of 2020, Dr. Nunley was a fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases at MCW when he wrote this letter and shared it with his MCW colleagues. With his permission, the open letter was reprinted in Transformational Times on July 12, 2020. TT reprints it again today as a reflection and reminder of what a young Black physician asked of his MCW colleagues three years ago.



I am a Black man.

Ten days after my sixteenth birthday I caused a car accident (with minimal damage and no injuries). As I made a sharp turn in the pouring rain, I lost control hitting another vehicle stopped at a red light. Witnesses included two police officers. I was immediately ordered to step out of my vehicle. My white friend in the passenger seat was ordered to get out and stand across the street. Upon silently complying with the order, I was slammed against my own car. Moments later, still silent, I found my face, bloodied, on a curb with something heavy on the back of my neck. It was the knee of the police officer trapping my head against the curb as I struggled to breathe. I am fortunate. It wasn't for nine minutes. I was not murdered. But I will never forget the weight of that knee on my neck.

George Floyd isn't a stranger. You work with him. You know him.

I am George Floyd.

This does affect you. So how will you affect it?

There are many meaningful actions you can take and places you can contribute. I offer these links as a starting point, but you can also take it upon yourself to do further research on how you can help work towards positive change. 

• Comprehensive (and bilingual--Spanish/English) spreadsheet of places to donate, relevant articles, etc.
• Comprehensive spreadsheet of important legal services, places to donate by state, memorial funds, international info, etc. 
• Important article: "How to Check in on your Black Friends and Coworkers."
• Important article: "What You Can Do *Now*: A Black Veteran's Perspective on George Floyd."
• Historical context: "George Floyd’s Death Is a Failure of Generations of Leadership"
• Historical context: "The Double Standard of the American Riot"

From the floor of my heart, thank you for your kind consideration.

Be courageous,

Loren

Perspective/Opinion



On Inclusion, Diversity, and Why Black Lives Matter Too: What our MCW Community BLM Protests Mean to our Colleagues of Color 

By Leroy J. Seymour, MD, MS

Editor’s Note: Dr. Seymour, currently an incoming Chief Resident in Internal Medicine, was an intern at MCW when he wrote this essay for the Sept 11, 2020 issue of the Transformational Times following Black Lives Matter protests on campus in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI. In giving permission for us to re-publish his essay today, he also shared reflections on what has changed, which are captured in a footnote.



On Wednesday, Sept. 2^nd (2020) at 5:11pm, members of the Medical College of Wisconsin community held a Black Lives Matter protest to help shine a light on the frequent propensity for violence against people of color. This latest protest is one of hundreds of protests against police brutality and racial injustice that have been occurring in various cities, states, and countries, most recently triggered by the murder of George Floyd on May 25^th 2020, in Minneapolis, MN. 

Perspective/Opinion

Microaggression

By Bruce H. Campbell, MD, FACS

Editor’s Note: Dr. Campbell first shared this essay Sept. 11, 2020, after one of his residents bravely spoke up about something uncomfortable and taught him about microaggression. The story is shared with the permission of, and after review by, the resident whose name has been changed ...

I distribute a short story to the 15 residents and students sitting around a conference table. They follow along as one of them reads aloud:

I am working to integrate narrative into medical education. On this early morning, the ENT residents and a few medical students concentrate – heads down, brows furrowed – as they take turns reading aloud “Brute” by Richard Selzer, a riveting, first-person short fictional story first published in 1982.

Without recognizing the harm, I have perpetuated a racist act of prejudice – a “microaggression” – a misstep that I commit more often than I realize. 

Perspective/Opinion

Racism is a Public Health Crisis: When Will We Decide It Matters?

By Kristen Pallok, MD, and Shaina Sekhri, MD



Editor’s Note: Drs. Pallok and Sekhri, allies as MCW works to become anti-racist, challenged the institution to do better in this opinion piece published Sept. 11, 2020, in Transformational Times with an editor’s note that it did not represent the views, opinions, and policies of MCW…

In late June of 2019, we arrived at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) for our internal medicine residency. Two newly minted female physicians arriving at the same institution, struck separately by the same conclusion: a lack of racial diversity.

There is a hallway in MCW that displays a decades-long photographic history of MCW’s medical school classes. As a woman, it’s hard to miss – a long timeline of white, male medical practitioners. And while some would think we would have long moved beyond this one-sided picture of white, male privilege, it has recently become clear to many individuals that we have not.

Milwaukee is a diverse city with a significant Black population. According to Milwaukee 2010 Census data, 40% of Milwaukee residents were Black. In comparison, 45% were white. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin serves this diverse population. Yet, while many of our patients are Black, our practitioners and leadership are not.  

Webinar #2:

The Post-Dobbs Impact on Medical Education – UME, GME, and Beyond



Monday, Aug. 21

2:45pm – 4:00pm ET

Registration for the second webinar in the series is now open. This webinar will focus on the impact the Dobbs decision has had on learners’ curricular experience, as well as medical education leaders and program directors, and discuss how institutions are addressing training requirements in the context of reproductive health restrictions. Speakers will discuss curricular solutions as well as provide a learner perspective of how these changes may potentially impact learner's career choices. Extra time will be allotted for audience questions. 

Invitation to Apply for Fall Workshop Series

Hosted by the Kern Institute Collaboration for Scholarship (KICS), this research workshop supports researchers who previously collected qualitative data



Application deadline: July 21 | Selection decisions by: July 28

KICS is hosting a qualitative research workshop series to support researchers who have previously collected qualitative data. The workshop will help researchers complete their analysis and prepare a manuscript for submission and publication.

Your perspective and experience make a great fit for this series. 

Please apply by completing our brief questionnaire. 

Kern Institute Grand Rounds

Toward a Virtue-based Account 

of Racism in HealthCare

Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023

Virtual (via Zoom)

9-10 a.m.

Please join us for a Grand Rounds presentation with Ian S. Peebles, PhD, Harold T. Shapiro Postdoctoral Research Associate in Bioethics, Princeton University Center for Human Values.

Throughout the session, he will apply his theory of racism to issues in healthcare to demonstrate its ability to accurately capture the relevant phenomena in that domain. In improving our understanding of racism, he aims to generate more targeted reform that effectively mitigates racism and promotes human and societal flourishing.

CALL TO ARTISTS

Humanities in Medicine event

Visual and Performing Artist Submissions:

Humanities in Medicine is presented by Froedtert Hospital’s Departments of Spiritual Services and Behavioral Health

Friday, September 8, 2023

5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Froedtert Hospital Clinical Cancer Center

1st Floor - Helfaer Mezzanine

We are looking for Froedtert Health and MCW staff, physicians and patients to share their visual and performing art at our next Humanities in Medicine event. Some examples of the creative works we would like to include: drawing & painting, mixed media, fiber art, photography, poetry, spoken word, dancing, music, singing and acting.