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Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, October 21, 2022
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Guest Director's Corner
Perspective/Opinion
Poetry Corner
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Michael Esson: The Angel in My Mirror
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Your Turn
Upcoming Events/Announcements
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Guest Director's Corner
Bike Vs. Auto
By Cassie Ferguson, MD
In this week’s Guest Director’s Corner, Dr. Ferguson discusses how empathy can lead to a deeper connection with patients…
Two weeks ago, I got a call that no parent is truly ever prepared to get, even those of us who spend much of our lives “dress rehearsing tragedy” (Brene Brown, Dare to Lead). I was driving home from a shift in the Children’s emergency department (ED) when an unfamiliar number popped up on my phone. I immediately got a sinking feeling in my gut and answered quickly. It was my oldest son, Ben.
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Perspective/Opinion
A Step Towards Health Equity: Leveraging Community Engagement & Partnerships in Dermatology
By Ana Maria Viteri, M3
Third-year medical student, Ana Maria Viteri, shines a light on the intersectionality between health equity initiatives and dermatology. Her important message highlights medical student involvement in numerous MCW-led dermatology outreach initiatives and local community engagement efforts…
Dermatology is one of the most competitive specialties in medicine, and barriers to entry can be especially high for underrepresented in medicine (URiM) groups. The reasons are multifactorial. Racial disparities exist in standardized test performance, such as the USMLE STEP-1 test, access to research opportunities, and induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. For these and other reasons, fewer URiM students match into dermatology residency, and the dermatology workforce is not race-concordant with the spectrum of communities it serves. This can leave students like myself seeking an equitable and alternative path to success in the residency match. To me, focusing on community engagement offers a way to stand out among other residency candidates, while simultaneously fulfilling an innate personal desire to give back to my own community.
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Perspective/Opinion
My Day in Bed
By Dan Bor, M4
On Tuesday, August 9, I spent my day “in a hospital bed.” As part of Dr. Agrawal’s Introduction to psychotherapy course, I spent a day in a patient's room purely as an observer, with no clinical duties. The reflections I gained will impact my practice forever…
My “day in bed” consisted of spending the day with AA. AA was a minimally conscious patient, so I did not have much interaction with her directly. However, I was able to observe much about how she interacted with the world and how others treated her due to her condition. It was kind of strange being a voyeur in her world. I just got to sit there and spend the day with her in silence like she spends her days. I'll never know what she's thinking or if she noticed me, but it was strange to occupy that space with someone in a radically different place in life than I am. It is almost bizarre to really sit down and think about how two souls can occupy the same space in such different life “contexts.” Honestly, I would have thought the staff would have treated her worse, as bad as that sounds. Maybe it's because I was sitting there, or perhaps because they're all good people, but they treated her with dignity and respect and didn't cut corners just because she was minimally conscious. They all told her what was going on, what they were doing to her, and went above and beyond to ensure her comfort. It was beautiful to spend a day where I could throw away all my clinical obligations, sit with her, and see what it's like to be a patient.
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Perspective/Opinion
Be Like The Heart.
By Jonathan Bressler, MPH, M2 - Central Wisconsin
How do we live a life of service and still take care of ourselves? Jonathan ponders a question posed in class…
“Which organ does the heart feed first?” This question, posed to our M2 class before one of our lectures on the cardiovascular system, has been rolling around in my head ever since. The heart feeds itself first, of course. The coronary arteries—branching immediately from the aorta, even before the arch—bring to mind for me a high alpine spring; its water cascading down between rocks and shrubs to feed the very ground from which it comes. Dr. Gardiner’s point was clear: in order to serve and provide for others, we must first take care of ourselves.
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The Angel in my Mirror
By Michael Esson
It was half past eight,
when I heard knocks on my gate,
Who is there? Fate!
Off to the door, I went in haste.
With enchantment in my eyes and warmth in my soul,
This date will forever be etched in stone.
Her face, lit by a hundred torches,
Her hair silky, flowing like a milky river unto her torsos,
She glowed and shined brighter than all the stars in sight,
Her presence preceded by storms and lightning strikes,
Her voice roared like the screams of a lion in the mist of hungers plight,
But soft and gentle, floating feather fallen from the heavens alike.
Such a strange tongue she spoke,
None like I’ve ever known.
Highs like a trumpet as it crescendos,
lows like the moans of a trombone,
Rhyme after rhyme,
deep like the river Nile, off her tongue it flowed.
A majestic being in all her splendor,
But tears poured from her eyes,
As she realized that I could not fly,
So beautiful when she cried.
She placed a finger on my lips,
Opened the gate to my soul,
And whispered secrets from a land unknown.
I awoke from my enchantment,
To find the angel in my mirror.
A note from the author: I've always wanted to speak to an angel or be in their presence. It didn't quite happen, but here is a poem for you in the meantime.
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Reflection Prompt - Readers answer the following question:
Pancakes or waffles?
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WAFFLES! They have an important meaning to my family. My son would often have friends over to spend the night, and the next morning (noon?) wouldn’t be complete without my oatmeal buttermilk waffles with real maple syrup.
--Richard Holloway, Faculty
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Both are scrumptious - but with pancakes, the syrup disappears too soon. with waffles, the syrup lingers in a multitude of little squares, just hanging on for each bite...perfect!
--Lisa Olson, Staff
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For this week's reflection prompt, please answer the following question:
What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?
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Registration is Now Open for the 2022 Community Engagement Poster Sesson
The Medical College of Wisconsin Office of the Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement will host its annual community engagement poster session in person on Thursday, November 3, 2022. The session will take place from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the MCW Alumni Center to showcase projects, research and lessons learned from the field of community-engaged research.
This annual event is hosted by the MCW Office of Community Engagement (CE) to showcase community engagement work by MCW students, staff, faculty, and academic and community collaborators. All are invited to join us for refreshments and engaging discourse.
In order to plan for the event, we ask that all attendees, including those presenting posters, register in advance.
November 3, 2022
9:30 - 11:30 am CT
MCW Alumni Center
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Help the Kern Institute Develop a Thoughtful Questionnaire on Physician Professional Development
Through the administration of a national longitudinal survey, the Kern Project on the Good Physician (KPGP) team is investigating the domains of practical wisdom, character virtue, and human flourishing in physicians.
We are looking for physician volunteers to be part of a 40-minute pilot to conduct cognitive interviewing. In this session, we will administer the survey and seek feedback on survey length, methods, and questions. If you are interested in participating in this pilot, please email Suma Thareja by 5:00 pm on October 21, 2022.
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Please Join Us!
Kern Connection Cafe: Advocacy, Legislation and Voting: Keys for all Health Sciences Professionals
with Alister Martin, MD, MPP
The opportunities and abilities to participate in advocacy, legislation and voting are often lost on professionals in the health sciences. This is typically the consequence of limited education and perceived institutional, professional, and societal constraints. This Connection Café is designed to dispel these misperceptions, to enlighten, empower, and embolden health sciences professionals, and to encourage engagement in the policy and legislative process.
This Connection Cafe will be presented by Alister Martin, MD, MPP, Assistant Professor, Harvard University, founder of Vot-ER, and recent White House Fellow and moderated by Christopher S. Davis, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Surgery and the Institute for Health and Equity.
October 27, 2022
12:00 - 1:00 pm CT
Live Via Zoom
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Please Join Us!
Kern Grand Rounds: Maximizing Your Mentoring Relationships
with Melissa McNeil, MD, MPH
Mentoring is vital to the success of academic physicians, and yet, it is both hard to get and hard to do well.
This talk will address strategies for successful mentor-mentee relationships highlighting the following:
What makes a good mentor?
What makes a good mentee? and
The strategies for maximizing the relationship to make sure that both parties are satisfied and successful.
Dr. McNeil received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, her MD degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a Master’s of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She is a Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and has recently joined the faculty at Brown University as a Professor of Medicine where she is a member of the Division of General Internal Medicine and will serve as an academic hospitalist. She serves as a Senior Consultant to the Women’s Health Education Group at VA Central Office.
November 3, 2022
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
Live Via Zoom
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Please Join Us!
KICS Journal Club with Susan Nathan, MD
Register to join us at our monthly Kern Institute Collaboration for Scholarship Medical Education Journal Club! Each month, we discuss recent medical education scholarship with its author for a lively, intimate conversation about the transformation of medical education.
In November, for a special Veteran's Day event, Dr. Nathan will be discussing the VA project My Life My Story and the use of narrative medicine in medical education.
Dr. Nathan is Instructor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and is a Geriatrician and Hospice Palliative Medicine Physician at the VA Boston. She has a strong interest in narrative medicine and is the site director of the My Life My Story Project at the Boston VA.
November 9, 2022
12:15 - 1:00 pm CT
Live Via Zoom
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KNN Discussion Series
Human Flourishing 2030: Flourishing in the Learning Environment
Imagine it’s 2030 and we live in a healthier world where healthcare learners, practitioners and patients are flourishing. What does that future look like, and what will it take to get there? We need your voice and participation to chart that future. This series will examine influences, micro to macro, that shape and drive the vitality of healthcare students, professionals and broader society.
During October’s session, leaders and learners in medicine will discuss how clinical learning environments can cultivate flourishing. Moderator Catherine R. Lucey, MD, MACP; Michelle Guy, MD; Stuart Slavin, MD, MEd; Saba Anwer and Isabelle Tersio will explore strategies for infusing human flourishing into learning experiences, as well as ways to become agents and beneficiaries of human flourishing within educational settings.
October 25, 2022
12:00 - 1:00 pm CT
Live Virtual Event
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This series is presented by the Kern National Network for Caring & Character in Medicine through an investment from the Kern Family Trust and Kern Family Foundation. | |
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The Transition to Residency Symposium
Night-onCall, co-founded by Dr. Sondra Zabar and Dr. Adina Kalet, is an immersive, clinically- authentic simulation experience for near-graduating medical students that provides the student, and the medical school, with comprehensive, debriefed feedback on readiness from multiple perspectives. Please join the NOC Symposium for a virtual interactive discussion on communication and clinical competency during the transition to residency.
During this Symposium, you will have an opportunity to:
- Hear from Dr. Holly Humphrey, the President of the Macy Foundation, on how consortia like Night-onCall contribute to the future of medical education
- Learn about the impact of simulation from medical schools that have implemented Night-onCall
- Understand how using data-rich feedback for learners can help your curriculum and learners' transition into residency
October 28, 2022
10:00 - 2:00 pm CT
Live Via Zoom
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EXPERIENCE. TALK. LISTEN.
Join the Next Med Moth Event
Come to MCW’s Med Moth, a storytelling event with faculty and students sharing their own true experiences in the world of medicine. Inspired by The Moth, this event will entail authentic storytelling and an enlightening audience experience.
November 17, 2022
6:30 pm CT
Alumni Center
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Educating Character Across The University
Dr. Cornel West - author, activist, philosopher, public intellectual, and civil rights leader, will kick off a major conference at Wake Forest University entitled "Educating Character Across The University" on December 1-3. The Program for Leadership and Character has invited him to take part in a moderated discussion about character and education. The event will be free and open to the public.
Over the following two days, the conference will highlight promising work on character education in the university context and strengthen a community of scholars across institutions and academic communities. Co-sponsored by the Oxford Character Project at the University of Oxford, the conference will feature presentations, panels, and workshops focused on integrating character into courses, designing character-related co-curricular programming, assessing character-related curricula and programs, and building a culture of character within colleges and universities.
While the keynote with Dr. West is open to all and requires no advance registration, the conference itself is aimed at educators and administrators from colleges and universities across the nation and the world. Workshops, panels, and networking events are scheduled from the morning of December 2 until noon on December 3.
December 1-3, 2022
Wake Forest University
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The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community. | |
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Jeff Fritz, PhD, Editor-in-Chief
Editorial Board: Bruce Campbell, MD, Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Adina Kalet, MD, Wendy Peltier, MD, Erin Weileder, Nabil Attlassy, Julia Bosco, Ana Istrate, Wolf Pulsiano, Eileen Peterson, Anna Visser, James Wu & Emelyn Zaworski
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