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Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, July 8, 2022
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In This Special Pride Issue: | |
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Director's Corner
LGBTPM Introduction
Perspective/Opinion
Poetry Corner
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Audre Lorde: A Litany for Survival
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Your Turn
Upcoming Events/Announcements
- Thank you to the Kern Family Foundation for their continued investment in the Kern Institute and the Kern National Network
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SPARCC Keynote Address: Beyond 'Us' and 'Them': Advancing Equity and Eliminating Disparities Among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them
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Call for Transformational Times Editorial Board Members
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Listen to the Podcast: Let Me Ask You Something
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Director's Corner
Celebrating the Veterans Health Administration: The Country's Best (and Only) Universal Healthcare System
By Adina Kalet, MD, MPH and Mark D. Schwartz, MD
The Transformational Times celebrates both the nation’s birthday and LGBTQ+ PRIDE Month.
In this Director’s Corner, Dr. Kalet joins Dr. Mark Schwartz in hailing the Veterans Health Administration—a singular American health care system—an exemplar of health care quality and cost transformation, that could similarly lead the transformation of medical education in the coming era …
Born on the Fourth of July, Oliver Stone’s 1989 movie starring Tom Cruise, tells the story of Ron Kovic, a US Marine from Ladysmith, WI. His 20-year journey began with deployment in Vietnam, which led to an injury that left him paralyzed and, finally, to anti-war activism. The film’s gut-wrenching scenes of the poor medical care Kovic received at a VA Hospital in 1968 sharpened well-deserved criticism of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Since the 1990’s, VA has led a dramatic transformation in quality and safety of health care delivery. Veterans now enjoy better quality, safety, and health outcomes than similar patients in the private sector.
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LGBTPM Introduction
Happy Pride!
By Vienne Seitz (M2) and Wolf Pulsiano (M3) – LGBTPM Co-Presidents
Learn more about MCW’s LGBTQ+ student organization here…
Happy Pride Month from LGBTPM! Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer + Allied People in Medicine (LGBTPM) is a student organization that works to cultivate an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ medical students and promote education and awareness regarding LGBTQ+ health at MCW and Froedtert.
This year is particularly significant as it marks the 10th year of the Transgender Health Symposium, an event created to highlight the experiences of transgender and nonbinary individuals in the medical field and provide education on gender-inclusive health practices to students, providers, and others. LGBTPM will be hosting the symposium via Zoom in late March. We are also very excited to host a plethora of other events throughout the year, including a talk on HIV/AIDS for World AIDS Day on December 1; our book club next spring, where we will discuss queer experiences in literature; and volunteer opportunities to engage with the Milwaukee LGBTQ+ community.
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Perspective/Opinion
Dominoes: What Falls after Roe?
By Tracy Bui
Medical student Tracy Bui describes how for many LGBTQ+ students, our ability to achieve the American Dream is being called into question…
I will start with this: I am not a jurist or legal scholar or an obstetrician or physician. What I am is an American, a fellow human, asking for equal rights and the same opportunities to pursue the American Dream. Right now, these rights are at risk. A successful challenge to Roe v. Wade (1973) also challenges Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the landmark case that establishes an individual’s right to privacy by striking down anti-contraception laws. Griswold is the precedent not only for Roe but for the right to contraception for unmarried couples and juveniles (1972, 1977), the right to homosexual conduct (Lawrence, 2003), and the right to same-sex marriage (Obergefell, 2015). With the Dobbs decision overturning Roe, all of these rights are now on the chopping block. Justice Clarence Thomas’s Dobbs concurrence itself states, “we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell." LGBTQ+ rights are at risk.
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Perspective/Opinion
The Anti-Trans Legislative Crisis: Reproductive Health & Fertility
By Wolf Pulsiano, M3 – LGBTPM Co-President
The surge of anti-trans legislation sweeping the United States imposes restrictions on gender-affirming care. Although rooted in medical misinformation, these bills have far-reaching effects, including on reproductive health and abortion access…
The United States has seen a recent surge in bills targeting transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. In the past year and a half, almost 300 bills have been proposed in 41 states. These are aimed at removing protections in healthcare, sports, schools, documentation, and more; many of these focus on trans youth.
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Perspective/Opinion
The Media Mirror
By Joe Rouse, G4
Visibility can have a profound impact on how LGBTQ+ individuals construct an awareness of identity and self. Having media representation and characters with which one can connect generates a sense of community...
“Coming out” is a large part of the LGBTQ+ experience and whether it should carry so much weight is still one of many existential questions we face as members of the community and as human beings in general. Regardless of the answer, it takes a tremendous amount of inner power to take an aspect of yourself that many people say is bad, immoral, wrong, and shameful, and make it your strength and your pride. The stigma associated with the LGBTQ+ community is so oppressive that while suicide is the second leading cause of death among all young people, it is four times more likely for youth in the LGBTQ+ community. Even still, we’re here.
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Perspective/Opinion
The State of the Gay Male Community Today
By Matt Mahoney, M4
How do we maintain a sense of self while working towards an impossible ideal? Desirability politics is something almost everyone in the gay community has come across…
“No fats, no femmes, no Blacks, no Asians,” a phrase seen with alarming frequency on some gay dating apps. When did a phrase like this become even remotely tolerable to think, much less plaster on online dating profiles? I think so many of us grow up as outsiders and have experienced times of self-doubt or even hatred for part of who we are, so when we come to terms with our sexuality we may feel increased pressure to be seen as part of the “in” or “popular” crowd after so many years of missing out. This desperate need to be seen as desirable seems to come at the expense of acceptance, love, and understanding of ourselves and others within our community. It seems there is a massive pressure to focus on the superficial within the gay male community today.
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Perspective/Opinion
The Structural Risks of Medical Training on Queer Mental Health
By Tracy Bui
Medical Student Tracy Bui describes the added stress LGBTQ+ students face in creating and sustaining supportive communities because of the frequent moves necessary to complete years of medical education and training …
The concept of mental health has never sat well with me. It may be in part due to cultural stigma. My parents are refugees and immigrants of the Vietnam War. In the contexts of political retribution (physical safety) and poverty (financial safety), the pursuit of “wellness” feels like a privilege. Perhaps the umbrage I take is with the institutionalized model of mental health – the model that encourages “personal resilience” instead of focusing on how social and structural determinants impact mental health. To me, mental health requires meeting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: physiological safety, physical and financial safety, love and belonging. A major contributor to love and belonging for me and other queer identifying folks is the queer community.
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A Litany for Survival
BY AUDRE LORDE
For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children’s mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours;
For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.
And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid
So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.
"A Litany for Survival." Copyright © 1978 by Audre Lorde, from The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde. Copyright © 1997 by the Audre Lorde Estate.
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Readers share their thoughts:
What is one thing that made you smile this week?
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Watching a male cardinal trying to feed its young while perched on my bird bath.
– Cassandra L. Wright, Staff
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I went to my daughter's apartment at 5:30 in the morning to tape a Happy Birthday banner to her window. We wouldn't be able to celebrate together until a few days later, so I wanted to do something for her on her big day.
– Chris Skumatz, Staff
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Celebrating our recent wedding with a mini-moon in Chicago with my new husband Matt!
– Sarah Leineweber, Staff
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For this week's reflection prompt, please answer the following question:
What is your favorite movie quote?
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Thank you to the Kern Family Foundation for their continued Investment in the Kern Institute and the Kern National Network
We are pleased to share that the Kern Family Foundation is renewing its support for making transformational advancements in educating medical students and in the medical profession with a $50 million contribution to the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The contribution accelerates efforts by the Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine and the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education.
“The Foundation is delighted to renew our support in the visionary leadership at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the teams working to integrate character, caring, practical wisdom and flourishing into the training of physicians and other health professionals,” says James Rahn, president of the Kern Family Foundation.
“Since their launch in 2017, the Kern Institute has become a catalyst for transformation within MCW and a recognized thought leader in medical education, while the Kern National Network has begun to coalesce a network of leaders and institutions that is poised to grow and impact the practice of medicine, the lives of healthcare professionals and the communities they serve,” he adds.
“This transformational investment will help us reshape the profession of medicine to benefit learners, physicians, and their patients,” says John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, president and CEO of MCW. “The generosity and leadership of the Kern Family Foundation supports our shared commitment to driving fundamental changes to how patients and families receive medical care and moves us further toward our goal of advancing health for all through human flourishing, character and caring.”
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SPARCC Keynote Address
Beyond 'Us' and 'Them': Advancing Equity and Eliminating Disparities Among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them
The Cancer Center and Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology are pleased to invite you to the SPARCC (Student-centered Pathway to Advance Research in Cancer Careers) keynote address by Oluwadamilola “Lola” Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, who will present, Beyond 'Us' and 'Them': Advancing Equity and Eliminating Disparities Among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them.
Dr. Fayanju is the inaugural Helen O. Dickens Presidential Associate Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Fayanju serves as the Chief of Breast Surgery for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She is also Surgical Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center in the Abramson Cancer Center and an Innovation Faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I).
Friday, July 8
12:00 - 1:00PM
Live Via Zoom
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Call for Transformational Times Editorial Board Members
The Transformational Times is seeking MCW students (from all colleges), residents, and fellows to serve as associate editors on the 2022 - 2023 editorial board.
Associate editors take charge of specific sections, including poetry, visuals, or other areas of personal interest. They help with identifying issues of concern to students and trainees and help recruit people to write essays on these topics. Associate editors are also expected to contribute at least one written piece during the course of the year.
The editorial board meets weekly (usually on Tuesday afternoons) and holds occasional retreats; associate editors attend when available. Persons from underrepresented minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and other voices deserving amplification are strongly encouraged to apply.
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Let Me Ask You Something Podcast
Listen to Dr. Adina Kalet as an interviewer as the group discusses "Because We Care: A Philosophical Investigation into the Spirit of Medical Education" by Camillo Coccia and Mario Veen. You can download it here.
This is the 8th installment of the series on philosophy in medical education of Mario Veen and Anna Cianciolo, which appears in Teaching and Learning in Medicine: An International Journal -- it will also appear as a book chapter in our upcoming book Helping a Field See Itself: Envisioning a Philosophy of Medical Education (Springer, forthcoming 2022).
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The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community. | |
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Bruce Campbell, MD, Editor-in-Chief
Editorial Board: Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Jeff Fritz, PhD, Adina Kalet, MD, Wendy Peltier, MD, Erin Weileder, Nabil Attlassy, Julia Bosco, Ana Istrate, Scott Lamm, Sophia Neman, Wolf Pulsiano, Eileen Peterson, Neehal Shukla, Sarah Torres, Anna Visser, James Wu, Serena Zacharias & Emelyn Zaworski
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