Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, September 4, 2020
In this Issue:

Guest Director's Corner
  • Cassie Ferguson, MD: The Moral Imperative to Promote Well-Being in our Learners

Kern Connection Café Preview
  • David Cipriano, PhD: Student and Resident Behavioral Health at MCW: A Personal Perspective

Perspective
  • Himanshu Agrawal, MD: Being Human in Medicine: Fabulous Failures

Poetry Corner
  • Hayden Swartz: A Medical Student's Remorse | My Anatomy Group

Your Turn
  • See how readers answered last week's prompt: What works best for you when you want to quiet your mind and find peace?
  • Respond to this week's prompt: When you think back on Summer 2020, what will you remember?

Announcements & Resources
  • Register for the Kern Institute's Upcoming Virtual Events
  • Kern National Network Connections Newsletter - September 2020
Guest Director's Corner
The Moral Imperative to Promote Well-Being in our Learners


by Cassie Ferguson, MD


Dr. Ferguson shares her work exploring the gaps between what we know about well-being and our ability to reliably intervene with our learners …

Early in my career as a physician, I learned about the intimate connection between our own individual well-being and the quality and safety of care we provide to our patients. My interest developed out of my work in quality improvement and patient safety. Over the past ten years, this has led me to focus on the critical importance of promoting well-being among medical students, trainees, and physicians.
 
As I've learned about the depths of our un-wellness as a profession, my interests have shifted to advocacy; I now see the promotion of well-being and the support of those of us caring for others in the health profession as a moral issue.
Kern Connection Café Preview
Student and Resident Behavioral Health at MCW: A Personal Perspective

by David Cipriano, PhD

Dr. Cipriano describes the challenges and rewards of running the Student and Resident Behavioral Health program at MCW …
Register to attend the virtual Kern Connection Café on Sept. 17 at 4:00pm to learn more.
I became Director of Student and Resident Behavioral Health about four years ago and I’ve always had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. At that time, the institution as a whole was really beginning to sit up and take notice of learner mental health and well-being in a comprehensive way. Now, MCW has always taken care of its students and residents with mental health services and available wellness activities. But, four years ago, MCW tackled the issues in a really planful and big picture way – looking at curriculum, community, and culture. 

Since then, I have been riding a wave of enthusiasm and support for this mission – the mission to increase protective factors for our learners – such as access to care and a supportive community – and to decrease risk factors such as stigma and shame and isolation. I’ve never had a job where I had so many people coming to offer ideas, suggestions, and resources. 
Perspective
Being Human in Medicine: Fabulous Failures

by Himanshu Agrawal, MD

To encourage his students who might be worrying about USMLE board scores and other life challenges, Dr. Himanshu shares the story of one of the darkest and best days in his life …


It's 2:00 a.m. and I am a junior medical student in India. I haven't eaten in two days and am worsening my heartburn – and my heartbreak – with black coffee and a cigarette. I can feel the sense of doom grip my fundus. A senior medical student whom I barely know staggers into the cafeteria, happy to have a brief respite from his overnight rotation. “Why the long face?” he asks out of genuine concern. The tears erupt, uninvited – “I did horrible in my USMLE Step 1 exam!” I tell him. I hardly know the guy, but I am in mourning, so shame be damned. “There, there! It can’t be that bad. How much did you score?” Envisioning my entire future evaporating in front of me, I manage to say the numbers: “197.”
 
The man takes a step back, and his hand instinctively rises to stroke his chin. It’s as if he has heard someone mutter a terminal diagnosis. “Hmm…That is bad! Well…with a score like that, you won’t be able to get into internal medicine…the only US residency you can get into is psychiatry…”
Poetry is central to the very core of humanity.
It is universal in its accessibility, yet infinitely diverse
in its interpretation.


This week’s submission is from Hayden Swartz,
a current M2 at the MCW-Central Wisconsin Campus.
He authored this piece during his first year of medical school.



A Medical Student's Remorse |
My Anatomy Group
by Hayden Swartz


I struggled with disassembly at first,
I was the most comfortable in my group, however.

I was assigned
Difficult
Uncomfortable
Maneuvers.

I did not mind the harder tasks.

I started to be intrigued.
I started to be numb.

When others grimace
I feel nothing.

I am a germaphobe
And yet I feel okay.

What would my mother say?



Please send your poems or poems you love for next week's
Poetry Corner to Olivia Davies and Scott Lamm.
“This daily interacting with individuals out in the world gives you a sense of belonging and security that comes from feeling you are part of, or have access to, a wider community and network ... social isolation slashes that network.”


quote by
Stefan Hofmann, PhD, Boston University

"We're All Socially Awkward Now"
The New York Times - September 1, 2020
Instagram Post Responses


“Sleeping longer than I should and it’s so unhealthy” –Na Xiong, Medical Student


“I turn my cell phone off, lean back in my chair, close my eyes, and focus on breathing.” –Mathew Letizia, PharmD


“Icelandic Instrumental Music – preferably from Olafur Arnalds” -Scott Lamm, Medical Student


“Get out on a lake!” –Anonymous


“Exercise!” –Claire Stevens-Haas, Medical Student


Respond to next week's reflection prompt:


When you think back on Summer 2020, what will you remember?
Connection Cafe Presentation
Student Mental Health Climate Survey 2020: How are we doing?
by David J. Cipriano, PhD, Director of Student and Resident Behavioral Health, Medical College of Wisconsin
September 17, 2020
Live Virtual Presentation
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
Grand Rounds Panel Presentation
Navigating Ethical Issues in Resource Allocation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Please join us for a panel presentation and Q&A with members of the MCW Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities including Arthur R. Derse, MD, JDMary E. Homan, DrPH, MA, MSHCEFabrice Jotterand, PhD, and Ryan Spellecy, PhD
September 24, 2020
Live Virtual Presentation
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
Transformational Ideas Initiative
MCW Education Innovation Celebration!

Please join us in celebrating innovative ideas for the transformation of medical education at MCW!

Learn about the 15 projects being implemented this academic year and how you can join us as we transform medical education here at MCW! Thirteen of our projects focus on URM student inclusion, and 8 projects are student-led this year.

Join us on the journey to transform medical education!
October 14, 2020
Live Virtual Presentation
4:00 - 6:00 pm CT
The Kern National Network
Click anywhere on the image for the KNN's September 2020 Newsletter
Our Patients Need Your Blood!
The pandemic has changed so much about our day-to-day lives, but it certainly hasn’t changed the need for life-saving blood products for our seriously ill patients. 

Current supplies are limited, which impacts our patients with cancer, chronic anemia, and solid organ transplants.   

Give the gift of hope. Our patients need you today! 
MCW COVID-19 Resource Center
The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community.
Not getting our newsletters? Sign-up today!