Guest Director's Corner

“Midwest Nice” and a force of nature: 2023 Commencement speaker Dr. Julie Freischlag returns to MCW to share what she has learned



By Bruce Campbell, MD FACS

Dr. Campbell, one of the Transformational Times editors, provides some reflections on why his medical school classmate and friend, Dr. Julie Freischlag, is an exceptional role model. He also offers a sneak peek at her May 19, 2023, Commencement Speech...

MCW-Milwaukee’s 2023 Commencement Speaker, Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS, MAMSE, has had a remarkable, glass-ceiling and barrier-breaking career. Happily, a portion of her world-class calling was spent on the MCW faculty in the 1990s. At MCW, we are delighted that she has returned to inspire our 2023 graduates and send them out into the world. 

Perspective/Opinion

Family

By Joseph E. Kerschner, MD

Dr. Kerschner shares excerpts of his 2023 graduation address, offering his reflections on MCW (Medical College of Wisconsin) as a “family,” and some reasons why he is optimistic for the future ...

“Family” was a common theme about which faculty and staff wanted to talk when I interviewed to be Dean of the School of Medicine at MCW. I often heard MCW was characterized by having a “family atmosphere.” As I progressed in my leadership journey, it has become abundantly clear to me that two things matter far more than any other in the success of an organization: its PEOPLE (family) and its PRACTICES (culture).

With outstanding people and practices, organizations can overcome almost any obstacle.

It is with utmost confidence that I know our graduating students will bring their excellence to many organizations across the globe—to become the people of each of those organizations. It is my profound hope that you will also carry the culture and practices that MCW strives to embody—the PRACTICES—which reflect the best parts of being a family.

Perspective/Opinion

Karmanye Vaadhikaraste

By Himanshu Agrawal, MBBS, DF-APA

Who are we learning from, anyway? Is there a place for medical students to teach their teachers? Dr. Agrawal thinks there is. He shares a few lessons he has learned from his students…

In the Hindu Epic text, the Mahabharat, it is said that the warrior Abhimanyu learned war tactics and strategies while in utero, as his warrior father, Arjun, explained them to his (understandably disinterested) mother, Subhadra.

I am not certain who I learned from when I was in my mother’s womb. I do, however, recall that in childhood, I learned from my mother, my father, then my grandmother, then my friends, and then my schoolteachers. In medical school, I learned from my professors (mostly how not to teach). During my postgraduate training, I learned from my patients and my preceptors. More recently, I have been learning from my wife and my son.

Through my psychoanalyst, I have finally begun to learn how to learn from myself.

Perspective/Opinion

A reflection on four years of medical school





By Sharadhi Thalner, MD 



In this essay, Sharie reflects on her experiences both personally and professionally as a first-year versus a fourth-year medical student and the transformation that these four years have elicited.

“Sharie, I think it’s time you saw your first patient,” my clinical apprenticeship mentor declared one morning in the middle of my first year of medical school. I remember the rush of adrenaline that overcame me at those words. I rifled through the collection of notes and worksheets I had stuffed in my backpack, all detailing the right questions to ask during an interview and the format of an H&P. I desperately tried to cram the H&P template that had recently been introduced to me into my brain. Was I ready? What if the patient noticed that I had never done this before? I mean, I had never done this before.

I took a deep breath, looked at my mentor with an expression that must have resembled sheer terror and said, “Sure…but can you give me the easiest patient on your schedule?” 

Perspective/Opinion



Part 3: You can have it all

By Bryan Johnston, MD



In this essay, Dr. Johnston draws from his clinical experience to describe his lived experiences of meaning through being of use to others. He provides a hopeful message to notice and lean into however you feel you can be of use to have a meaningful career...

“Not doing too good, doc. I buried my cousin last week,” he said, slouching in his chair. “What happened?” I asked grimly. “It was sudden, I don’t really know what happened.”

I murmured my regrets and a pause drifted over us. He and I had been meeting monthly for over a year and these moments had become part of our rhythm. He was still recovering from the loss of his son a few months ago, of an aunt last year. His tibia was still healing after a recent assault, his left orbit finally felt better after a pistol-whipping last year. His assailants had been after the most valuable thing he owned—the buprenorphine that felt like a firewall against the cycle of withdrawal and use he had clawed his way out of.

Trauma within trauma, grief upon grief. 

Pictorial Reflection on Parenting and Doctoring

"If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." -Mother Theresa

Being a mom makes me a better doctor and being a doctor oftentimes makes me a better mom. I like to think that I have the honor of changing the world in both spaces. - Kate Dielentheis, MD