Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, November 12, 2021
In This Special Veterans Day Issue :
Guest Director's Corner

Perspective/ Opinion

Additional Links

Poetry Corner
  • AE Houseman: Soldier from the wars returning
Your Turn

Announcements & Resource
  • Submit your ideas for a name for the new School of Medicine curriculum
  • Call for Manuscripts for May 2023 AMA Journal of Ethics on IPE and Innovation
  • Kern Grand Rounds: 414 LIFE: An Innovative Public Health Approach to Breaking the Cycle of Gun Violence in Milwaukee
  • Kern Institute Collaboration for Scholarship Journal Club
Guest Director's Corner - Veteran's Day 2021

What Does it Mean to Be a Veteran


By Michael McBride, MD, MS
CDR US Navy Reserves
LTC US Army Reserves



Dr. McBride shares his writing from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “My Life My Story” project … 
 

I should have known.
  
I should have known what it means to be a Veteran.
 
I am the son of a Vietnam Era Veteran.
We spent two years on a naval base in California during the height of the Vietnam War.
My parents’ best friend, Art Tyschkeiwicz, was shot down over Vietnam. 
Every night we kneeled by our beds and prayed, “Help Uncle Art come home safely.” 
They found his remains and he was buried at sea. My mom flew out to the USS Enterprise to escort Art’s widow. I never heard her talk about it.
Perspective/Opinion

Being a Veteran Affects How I View My Upcoming Internship



By Clayton Sweeney, MCW-Milwaukee Class of 2022



Mr. Sweeney, a veteran of the US Army, writes about how the military’s emphasis on team cohesion and camaraderie shapes how he is approaching his upcoming internship…


A chilling refrain throughout medical school is, “Internship is coming.” While alarming, I am not new to this type of notice. I spent years in the Army, always notified of the next challenge. At the onset, the recruiters cautioned that Basic Combat Training would be tough as I transitioned from civilian to soldier. Next, the drill sergeants warned that Officer Candidate School would eliminate the weak, and only about one-third of us would graduate. Then, the cadre warned that the infantry leader’s course would harden me as I learned the heartless tactics of combat. Finally, the infantry instructors told me leading a platoon would be an enduring test of discipline.
Perspective/Opinion

Making a Researcher Out of Me: My Journey of Working with Veterans


By Leslie Ruffalo, PhD



Dr. Ruffalo says, “working with Veterans changed my career. Such a simple and yet profound statement.” In this essay, she shares how her work has been both meaningful and important …
 

I started my career at MCW fourteen years ago as a Research Coordinator in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. The very first project of which I was a part was called POWER (Posts Working for Veterans Health), led by Dr. Jeff Whittle. I was a part of an amazing team that included Kristyn Ertl, Dr. Kathlyn Fletcher, Dr. Jeff Morzinski, Nancy Wilke (retired VA Occupational Therapist), and fifty-eight Veteran Service Organization posts throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. For readers unfamiliar with “Veteran speak,” a “post” is a local unit of a Veteran Service Organization such as an American Legion post, a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post, or a Marine Corps League. Membership within posts often skews toward older Veterans.
Perspective/Opinion

Caring for Veterans Means Hearing Their Stories


By Sarah Nickoloff, MD


 
Dr. Sarah Nickoloff, Associate Professor of Medicine and clinical leader at our Milwaukee VAMC, shares her passion for growing quality programs for veterans, and reflects on her own personal inspiration to serve …


I grew up listening to the stories of my grandfather’s time in the Army during WWII. He was an engineer and, as the story goes, his regiment would build bridges (often while under enemy fire), fall back to fight with the rest of the troops as they crossed, and then stay behind to destroy the bridge so it could not be used by the Germans. I don’t know how much truth there is to these stories (I never knew my grandfather; he died when my mother was young), but I was enthralled by them. During holidays and vacations, the grandchildren would gather in the basement of my grandmother’s house to look through boxes of photographs and mementos. We always treated my grandfather’s medals and purple heart with reverence, but I never gave much thought to what it really meant to be a Veteran.
Perspective/Opinion

My Experience as a Navy Medical Student


By Connor Ford, 3rd year medical student


Mr. Ford shares a brief view into his decision behind becoming a Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program student and his medical school experience so far…

From a young age, I grew up idolizing both my grandfathers for their service, one as a Naval Aviator in Korea and the other a World War II Army veteran. When I was first told that my maternal grandpa, Navy Captain Jerome Driscoll, flew cartographers over Antarctica to map out glaciers for the first time, I was amazed. When I learned that he received the honor of a glacier being named after him, not only was I proud to be his grandson, but I felt I had one of the best fun facts to share with my friends.
Perspective/Opinion


A Day in Logar Province, Afganistan


By Lewis B. Somberg, MD

.


Dr. Somberg, who served as an Army trauma surgeon, writes about one of the patients for whom he cared while in Afghanistan. “As I look back on my military career, I am honored and proud to have served” …


It has been ten years almost to the day that my life and the life of SSG Ben Eberle became intertwined. I had recently arrived at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank. The location of this FOB was no mistake. It sat astride of the main road from Kabul and the Pakistan border in the mountains at approximately 8500 ft above sea level. I remember getting winded dragging my gear off the helicopter when I first got there. 
Perspective/Opinion


An Island of Navy Blue in a Sea of Army Green


By CMDR Michael McBride, MD, MS

.
Dr. McBride, a psychiatrist who works at the VAMC, writes about how his experience as both a Soldier in the US Army and a Sailor in the US Navy allowed him to navigate some military boundaries …


I joined the Navy to help Marines. After spending eight years with the Army and serving four overseas tours, two in Iraq, I thought I was done serving. My Marine Veterans at the Milwaukee VA told me I could not be a Marine, but I could help Marines by joining the Navy. The Marines are a department of the Navy and provide all medical personal for their care, including corpsmen who accompany every mission. I admire Marines as they truly are the shock troops of the US military. Their conditioning and standards are equaled only by the most elite units in the other branches. Marines are the only Veterans who will greet each other with a “semper fi”, regardless of age, gender, or era of service. It is rare to see this camaraderie in Veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Coast Guard.
Urban Milwaukee - Eyes on Milwaukee


Soldiers Home Redevelopment Wins National Preservation Award


By Jeramey Jannene

The project targeted at housing for homeless veterans wins award in advance of Veterans Day.

The collaborative effort that led to the redevelopment of Old Main at Soldiers Home was given a prestigious historic preservation award last Thursday evening by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
MCW Community Front Door


Cool Under Pressure


Whether on the battlefield or in the emergency room, Marine veteran Matt Laudon, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin and an emergency department physician at Froedtert Hospital, knows how to stay calm when lives are on the line.
Soldier from the wars returning
AE Housman (1859 - 1936)


Soldier from the wars returning,
Spoiler of the taken town,
Here is ease that asks not earning;
Turn you in and sit you down.

Peace is come and wars are over,
Welcome you and welcome all,
While the charger crops the clover
And his bridle hangs in stall.

Now no more of winters biting,
Filth in trench from fall to spring,
Summers full of sweat and fighting
For the Kaiser or the King.

Rest you, charger, rust you, bridle;
Kings and kaisers, keep your pay;
Soldier, sit you down and idle
At the inn of night for aye.

Homemade bread with sage and onions.


—Claudia Gohr, Staff
Lemon zest! Our family tradition passed down from my great great grandma Guilloz, has generous amounts of lemon zest, thyme and parsley. Can't wait!

—Linda Meurer, MD, MPH, Faculty
For this week's reflection prompt, please answer one of the following:


*What has COVID taught you?
*What are you looking forward to in the New Year?

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Share Your Thoughts
Naming Contest for the new MCW School of Medicine curriculum



The Curriculum Innovation Team invites you to submit your vote for the official naming of the new MCW School of Medicine curriculum. 



Call for Manuscripts
May 2023: IPE and Innovation


The May 2023 issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics® takes as its starting point that experimentation has long been a hallmark of IPE. This issue looks to illuminate interesting, important, complex, and neglected intersections of health professions' curricular goals.

Content interrogating what it means for IPE to productively influence (1) professional identity formation; (2) skill development, communication, and team-based care; (3) diagnostic openness and clinical and cultural humility; (4) and health equity will be prioritized for inclusion in this issue.

Manuscripts submitted for peer review consideration and inclusion in this issue must follow Instructions for Authors and be submitted by 30 June 2022.

Erica Chou, MD (MCW) and Michael Oldani, PhD, MS (School of Pharmacy/IPE CUW) are the guest co-editors of this issue. Inquiries can be directed to Dr. Oldani.


Please Join Us
Kern Institute Grand Rounds
414 LIFE: An Innovative Public Health Approach to Breaking the Cycle of Gun Violence in Milwaukee
 


Gun violence is a significant public health crisis in our country. The physical, psychological, and financial impact of violence on individuals, families, and communities is profound. It is a pervasive issue that has only gotten worse since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Milwaukee experienced a historic level of gun violence in 2020 and is on pace to surpass that record this year. 

414 LIFE is a public health intervention to prevent and interrupt the transmission of gun violence in Milwaukee. We invite you to join us for an engaging discussion about the progress made and challenges faced by the program, and how the entire MCW community can elevate its voice and engagement in promoting violence prevention efforts on campus and throughout the region. During this session participants will learn: 
  • The importance of taking a public health approach to violence prevention. 
  • The journey of implementing a community-healthcare partnership to address gun violence. 
  • Progress of the program and challenges involved with this approach. 
  • The importance of delivering healthcare services with compassion to the patients and their families. 
November 18, 2021
Live via Zoom
2:00 - 3:00 pm CT
Kern Institute Collaboration for Scholarship Journal Club


The KICS Journal Club for Medical Education meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month via Zoom, 12:15–1:00 PM Central. The next meeting will feature Deborah DiNardo, MD, MS, and Eliana Bonifacino, MD, MS, from the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine

Interested individuals can join the meeting via Zoom using the link below, or email Michael Braun to be added to the meeting invite.

  
Meeting ID: 921 1154 0031 
Passcode: KICSJoClub 
December 8, 2021
Zoom Presentation
12:15 - 1:00 pm CT
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