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Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, October 28, 2022
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Director's Corner
Perspective/Opinion
Poetry Corner
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Mary Oliver: When I am Among the Trees
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Your Turn
Upcoming Events/Announcements
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Director's Corner
Let’s All be Mother Trees
By Adina Kalet, MD, MPH
In this week’s Director’s Corner, Dr. Kalet shares one of her s/heros, recommends a couple of books and muses on how understanding complex adaptive systems, although challenging and requiring patience, humility, and a persistent passion for the work, yields fruitful truths that apply to both the ecosystem and to medical education.
I believe in truths, but I don’t believe in the Truth.
-Evelyn Fox Keller
I know every plant in the field, know them intimately. And I find it a great pleasure.
-Barbara McClintock
The old growth forest of British Columbia was ecologist Suzanne Simard’s childhood playground. In her recent book, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest (Knopf, 2021), she describes how her childhood, curiosity, empathy, and taste for hard work led to scientific and educational advocacy that has transformed the way we all understand forests. Simard’s 30 years of painstaking experimental efforts, described in delicious detail in the book—and her courage and persistence in the face of sometimes scathing criticism—stirred the imaginations of others. In addition to her own TED talks and other video projects, her findings inspired the literally other-worldly Tree of Souls in James Cameron’s 2009 movie Avatar (recently rereleased in theaters!) and the enigmatic introverted scientist character Dr. Patricia Westerford in Richard Powers’ 2018 Pulitzer-winning novel, The Overstory.
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Perspective/Opinion
A Girl and Some Books
By Maie Zagloul – 2nd year medical student
Ms. Zagloul shares her journey in starting a non-profit organization collecting books for refugees across the world…
On the night of August 7th, 2017, I found myself riding in the back of a car from Mechref to Tyre, Lebanon. A warm breeze blew through the summer night, looming dark mountains rising in the distance. I had packed light for this trip: the clothes I was currently wearing, a backpack, and a camera bag. In the trunk of the car, however, sat 178 children’s books I had collected before my trip, packaged in boxes to deliver to Bourj El Shamale, a refugee camp. This was the beginning of my non-profit, Books for Chance.
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Perspective/Opinion
Miles From Help
By Katherine Ernste, BA, Medical College of Wisconsin – Central Wisconsin, MD Candidate
A routine visit for light-headedness turns into a life-changing experience for local medical students unaware of the reality of life as an undocumented immigrant.
Prior to walking into the free clinic, I was expecting to see a clinic, maybe a little run down, but in general, a clinic with exam beds and the like. Instead, I arrived at a local church with church members on their way to bible study. I learned this wasn’t a normal clinic with doctors, nurses, and all the amenities we take for granted. This clinic has exam tables located in the basement of a church; mostly empty Sunday school rooms, equipped with chalkboards. These rooms and the clinic itself do not have everything, but they do what they can to take care of their patients. The special thing about the clinic is the patients; they don’t care what the clinic looks like, or that it isn’t the preferred form of practice for most physicians. They are grateful the clinic exists and provides them with medical care they otherwise would not receive.
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Perspective/Opinion
My Nocturnal Community Service
By Emelyn Zaworski, BS – Medical Student
In my second year of medical school, I became nocturnal to serve my community …
My Story
It was 9 AM and I was altogether too tired to take an exam. Unfortunately, Examsoft disagreed. The screen adamantly requested an identity-confirming selfie. Cringing, I centered my bedraggled face in the frame and got on with it. After successfully not falling asleep during the exam, I finally slept. Because during my second year of medical school I was nocturnal.
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When I am Among the Trees
Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It's simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
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Reflection Prompt - Readers answer the following question:
What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?
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"A Beautiful Mind." I saw it knowing very little about it (but a fan of Ron Howard films) and gasped out loud at the pivotal moment when the movie turned into a plot I'd not seen coming. It made me think how much more movies can be appreciated with little knowledge beforehand.
--Tammy Hosch, Staff
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Harold and Maude. Still relevant after all these years.
--Niki Karp, Staff
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Sitting with my kids, I can watch Coco again. Timeless classic about music, family and love for music and family.
--Kartik Acharya, Faculty
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The Sixth Sense!
--Ruturaj Vala, Medical Student
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For this week's reflection prompt, please answer the following question:
Tell us the bravest thing you've done in your life?
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Congratulations to Wendy Peltier, MD on her promotion to Professor; Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine
Dr. Peltier is a faculty member in the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine with a longstanding interest in medical education. She received her MD degree from Rush Medical College and completed residency in Neurology and a Neuromuscular Fellowship at the University of Michigan. During her time at MCW she served as Neurology Residency Director for a decade, and was a recipient of the MCW Faculty Vitality Award. in2011, which led to a focus in Palliative Medicine. She served as Palliative Care Section Head for eight years and was involved in bringing inpatient hospice services to FMLH in partnership with Horizon Home Care and Hospice. She now serves on the Kern Institute Faculty Pillar and is on the editorial board of the Transformational Times. She was the recipient of the MCW Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award in 2021.
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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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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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Share your Perspective: The Impact of Recent Reproductive Health Policy Changes on your Professional and Academic Roles in the MCW Community
Sponsored by the Council for Women's Advocacy
This event will focus on the ways that recent changes to reproductive health laws have and will impact your professional and academic roles. We hope to hear from individuals throughout the MCW community, including students, trainees, staff, and faculty. Individuals will have the opportunity to share their experiences for two minutes each so we have time to hear from as many people as possible. There will also be an opportunity to anonymously submit stories prior to the meeting which will then be read during the event.
While we recognize this is a sensitive and often very personal topic, this event is not intended to be a debate. Instead, it is an opportunity to discuss the impact of these laws through a professional and academic lens. All MCW voices are welcome.
To share an anonymous experience, please click HERE.
If you have questions, please contact AWSM@mcw.edu.
November 18, 2022
12:00 - 1:00 pm CT
Live Via Zoom
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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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