Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, January 14, 2022
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In This Issue About Climate Change: |
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Director's Corner
Perspective/Opinion
Poetry Corner
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Ethan J. Duwell: Conscious Dissection
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Your Turn
Upcoming Events/Announcements
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Director's Corner
Planetary Health and Medical Education: Our Future is Now
By Adina Kalet, MD, MPH
In this issue focused on climate change, Dr. Kalet considers how a cautionary tale shows us a way forward, and that it is our young people who will likely lead us to address the biggest existential threat of our times ...
The near future novel as “idea machine”
Kim Stanley Robinson considers his book, The Ministry for the Future, a utopian novel. The story, set in 2025, extrapolates the disastrous consequences of our warming planet and leads to the horrific deaths of twenty million people in a “wet-bulb temperature” event in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India. Despite the plotline, I agree the book is, ultimately, optimistic. Admittedly, I am a science fiction enthusiast, but this book—if you can make it through the first chapters—is oddly humanistic and inspiring. Robinson’s hard science and politically realistic novel is built around the work of the United Nations Ministry of the Future, whose mission is to advocate for the rights of the world's future generations of citizens. It is notable that Robinson, one of our greatest science fiction novelists, puts the fate of the world in the hands of boring bureaucrats (although some exciting eco-terrorists do make appearances), who work, with great creativity against great odds, on building a multipronged effort to stave off mass extinction.
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Perspective/Opinion
The Right Plan but the Wrong Message: A Climate Change Approach
By George Morris, MD, MPH, DIC, FAAN, FAES
Dr. Morris, who has a strong interest in climate change, writes about how its effects will impact our planet and the health of our patients …
So, Here’s the Thing…
Climate change is dramatically altering our planetary and human health and these changes will accelerate over the next thirty years.1 The current global approach to climate change is focused on using penalties and ending carbon-based energies. Human behavior does not like losses (called mitigation, such as traditional energy job loss and high gas prices) but human behavior does like rewards (called adaptation such as gains in jobs adjusting to climate-related changes). The Paris Agreement is propelled by sacrifice and this focus does not favor human behavior change nor political change. Carbon mitigation is needed but it is a “loss message,” so mitigation is unlikely to be broadly accepted politically.
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Perspective/Opinion
Climate Change is a Health Crisis and Climate Solutions are Health Solutions
By Karly Hampshire
Karly Hampshire, a fourth-year medical student at the University of California, San Francisco, writes about how walking to class through air affected by the 2018 California wildfires led her and her colleagues to advocate for meaningful education and societal change …
For years, activists in the health community have been working to reframe the climate crisis not as an issue of drowning polar bears and endangered species, but as a deeply personal health crisis. That reframing is gaining traction, inspiring a growing movement of healthcare providers taking their professional oath into climate advocacy, as demonstrated by organizations like Healthcare without Harm, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education (GCCHE). Medical students in particular are acting as powerful agents of change in the climate crisis, advocating for curriculum reform, improved hospital sustainability practices, and policy changes at multiple levels.
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Perspective/Opinion
Climate and Health Curriculum Development: Mental Health Impacts and Responses
By David Pollack, MD and Elizabeth Haase, MD
Drs. Pollack and Haase describe the development and components of an emerging comprehensive curriculum to address mental health concerns related to climate change. They advocate bringing these concepts into medical education …
A number of US academic health programs have been developing climate and health curricula for undergraduate and graduate medical education programs. These organizations represent a broad swath of health care professionals who believe that the education of the health workforce is a critical part of this essential solution to the climate crisis and have organized to act on this commitment.
We are part of a larger group working on defining a comprehensive curriculum which includes pedagogical and faculty development strategies. In this article, we focus on the mental health impacts of and responses to the climate crisis.
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Congratulations to the Winners of the
2022 Interprofessional Case Competition
hosted by Wisconsin AHEC
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Conscious Dissection
By: Ethan J. Duwell
The breath of life once blew through these dendritic trees.
Experience accompanied function.
And as a final wish, he gave to us this incredible opportunity.
With wonder and gratitude, we carefully cut apart
The vessel which once bore this man through life.
Learning of its marvelous form and function
Left to hypothesize the contents of his heart
Was what I seek ever actually there?
That glint of light behind the stare
The muscles moved, surely
But he was aware..
Where are the contents of the cortex he shared?
The grey canvas, once conscious, now lays bare.
Breath left his lungs, but his gift still inspires.
Reviving in us that question most dire.
How physiological function invokes conscious fire.
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For this week's reflection prompt, please answer the following question:
What is your favorite wellness activity or hobby?
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Call for poster abstracts for the AWSM Spring Symposium 2022: Gender Equity Reimagined
Poster abstracts are being sought for the Center for the Advancement of Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM) Spring Symposium on March 1, 2022.
To highlight the need for research regarding women and female subjects, the conference will feature an afternoon poster session that will showcase projects, research, educational or administrative activities that involve women faculty, staff or learners or female animals.
We welcome submissions from individuals of all genders at MCW, our regional campuses and our affiliate hospitals or academic institutions. The submission deadline is January 14, 2022. Learn more here.
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Please Join Us
Kern Grand Rounds: Changing Perspectives on Disability
A bioethics and critical care trained pediatrician, Dr. Lee cared for many children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. When a complicated delivery resulted in a severe brain injury for her second child, she found that her life as a parent was more challenging and ultimately richer than she could have imagined. Please join us for an honest, heartfelt, and important discussion on disability.
January 20, 2022
Zoom Presentation
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
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Pre-Register for the Film Screening and Panel Discussion
When Claude Got Shot
Please plan on attending an online film panel event on Thursday, January 20 at 7pm CT.
Representatives from Children's Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Froedert, and Moms Demand Action will join featured film subjects Claude Motley and Victoria Adams for a frank & authentic (virtual) discussion of gun violence & healing and why it matters to Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee, and our greater community.
Register below to receive a link to view When Claude Got Shot at home on your own time one week prior to January 20. The film will be available for home viewing between January 13th and January 20th.
January 20, 2022
7:00 pm CT
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KNN Discussion Series
Human Flourishing 2030: Flourishing in the Community
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? In this discussion series, four sessions will examine external influences—micro to macro—that are shaping and driving the vitality of healthcare students, professionals and broader society over the next decade.
In this session, discover how flourishing can provide a framework for improving community health in ways that go beyond direct patient care. Sue Cox, MD; Zack Timmons, MD; and moderator Larry Speck, MArch, FAIA, will explore strategies for community health and well-being that span from curriculum design to local produce delivery. Audience Q&A will follow the main program.
January 25, 2022
Live Virtual Event
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
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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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Join us for the January Kern Connection Cafe
Seeking Peer Outreach: An Integrated, Tiered Approach to Address Stigma and Isolation in Healthcare Education
Student Presenters: Meg Lieb, Marissa O’Hair, Justin York, and Cassandra Balson
Please join us for a student-led discussion that will focus on a student-led initiative to address mental health and promote suicide prevention among medical students at MCW. This presentation will describe the "Seeking Peer Outreach Initiative" currently underway at the Central Wisconsin Campus and its potential application to the MCW community at large, as well as in the communities we serve.
Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for discussion with the panel members to explore practical strategies for adoption of the "Seeking Peer Outreach Initiative" in our varied settings.
January 27, 2022
Zoom Presentation
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
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Join us for the February Kern Grand Rounds
Compassionate Caring: One Physician's Journey From Water Therapy to Green Hair
In medicine, caring and compassion can be expressed in many ways. As a resident, Dr. Margolis was exposed to the concept of "letting kids be kids" by one of his mentors who carried a squirt gun with him on rounds. This simple act of caring showed him that there are so many ways for a physician to incorporate compassionate care as a fabric of practicing medicine.
Dr. Dave will share examples of how he has utilized his interests and network to "let kids be kids" and provide insight from the point of view of patients and families on why caring and compassion matter.
February 24, 2022
Zoom Presentation
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
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Center for the AWSM- Women's History Month Symposium
Join us on March 1, 2022 for the following sessions:
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12:00 pm: AWSM’s opening plenary: Reimagining Gender Equity: Accelerating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Women in Medicine with Julie Silver, MD
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1:30 pm: Being an Active Participant in Change: A Conversation on Intersectionality with Nikotris Perkins
- 3:00 pm – Panel: Mentoring Women Toward Careers in Research with Virtual Poster Presentation and Awards to Follow
March 1, 2022
Zoom Presentation
12:00 pm CT
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Join us on March 31, 2022 for the following sessions:
- 12:00 pm: Administrative Professionals – Past, Present, & Future
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2:00 pm: Strategies to Increase Your Publishing Success & Accelerate Promotion in Academic Medicine with Julie Silver, MD
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4:00 pm: How to Make Science More Exciting and Accessible: Creating Compelling Scientific Figures and Graphs with Laura Flores, MD-PhD candidate
March 31, 2022
Zoom Presentation
12:00 pm CT
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Save the Date
March Kern Grand Rounds with Reggie Jackson, BS
Reggie Jackson is a nationally heralded independent scholar and much sought-after speaker, researcher, writer, and consultant to the media on race relations.
As a Milwaukee native, he will bring a unique perspective on not only the national, but more importantly, the local impact of how race relations shape the health of our city, and in turn how it impacts the patients we care for and the communities we serve.
Please save the date and watch for more information to come.
March 17, 20221
Zoom Presentation
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
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Save the Date
2022 Well-Being Summit
Proudly Sponsored by the Kern Institute
Save the date and plan to join us for the 2022 Well-Being Summit!
This event is open to all and anyone interested is welcome and encouraged to attend. Be on the lookout for details to come!
April 5, 2022
Virtual via Zoom
9:00 am - 12:00 pm CT
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The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community. |
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Editorial Board: Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, 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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