Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, March 26, 2021
In this Special COVID-19 Road to Recovery Issue:

Director's Corner
  • Adina Kalet, MD, MPH: Seeking Wisdom in COVID-19 Times

Perspectives/Opinions
  • James Wu: The COVID-19 Vaccine, #WhatsYourWhy?
  • Marty Muntz, MD; Kate Stark, M2; Kerrie L. Quirk, MEd; Cindy Mand, MBA, LLSB, CQIA; Jenny Bultman, PMP; and Bruce Campbell, MD: Medical Students as Vaccinators - A COVID-19 Success Story
  • Amy Farkas, MD, MS: COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
  • Wendy Peltier, MD: Hugs in Grand Rapids
  • Brian Hilgeman, MD; Austin Dopp, M4; James Wu, M4; Mandy Kastner, MPH; and Marty Muntz, MD: Outreach to Improve Equitable Access to COVID-19 Vaccine – A Collaborative Service-Learning Project

Poetry Corner
  • Stephen Smith, PhD: Unprecedented

Your Turn
  • See how reader's responded to last week's prompt: What are you most looking forward to doing outside this Spring?
  • Respond to this week's prompt: What is your favorite "first sign" of Spring?
  • Respond to this week's character question: What kindness ripple will you start today?
  • Respond to the Pandemic Word Cloud Project: What is one single word that describes your current emotions, thoughts, worries, etc., given the current state of the pandemic?

Announcements & Resources
  • Apply to the Kern Institute's KINETIC3 Teaching Academy
  • Register for Upcoming Virtual Events
  • Kern National Network News & Events
Director's Corner
Seeking Wisdom in COVID-19 Times

by Adina Kalet, MD, MPH

Dr. Kalet muses on the capacities needed to generate wisdom from our shared experiences of the pandemic and its aftermath...

We are weary. The COVID-19 pandemic drags on and, while Spring is in the air and an end to our social isolation seems in sight, many of us feel traumatized. I do not need to review our losses except to say there have been many, we will be feeling them for a while, and some people will be marked for life. There will be long-term negative consequences. We can only hope there might also be growth.
Perspective/Opinion
The COVID-19 Vaccine, #WhatsYourWhy?

by James F. Wu, MCW Medical Student

Mr. Wu writes about his experiences calling people to encourage them to get the COVID-19 vaccine…
 

Over this past year, I witnessed the politicization of medicine and COVID-19. I watched in horror as news outlets and national leaders promoted COVID-19 misinformation. I learned about centuries of systematic racism including racism in healthcare and the resulting well-founded and deep-rooted mistrust in the medical establishment by communities of color, especially Black communities. I saw the glaring data of inequities in vaccine distribution for our BIPOC communities. After reading the #WhatsYourWhy COVID-19 vaccine stories shared by Dr. Kimberly Manning (@gradydoctor on Twitter), I felt inspired and determined to incorporate vaccine conversations into my life. All of this and more led me to jump at the chance to help combat the inequities in the Milwaukee community that I have come to love and call home.
Perspective/Opinion
Medical Students as Vaccinators - A COVID-19 Success Story
by the MCW COVID-19 Vaccination Training Team: Marty Muntz, MD; Kate Stark, M2; Kerrie L. Quirk, MEd; Cindy Mand, MBA, LLSB, CQIA; Jenny Bultman, PMP; and Bruce Campbell, MD

The MCW team members who recruited, trained, and deployed medical students as COVID-19 vaccinators describe the process that is making a difference for our institution and our community…

Our MCW community has benefitted greatly from the MCW Vaccination Clinic located on the first floor of the Hub, run collaboratively by the Office of Research and the School of Pharmacy. Over 10,000 vaccines have been given to MCW faculty, staff, students, and to eligible Milwaukee-area community members. When it became clear that our medical students had both the desire and opportunity to volunteer in this clinic — and eventually in community partner clinics —members of our Academic Affairs and Kern Institute teams convened with student leaders to develop an innovative approach to skills development and embed trained medical students in the MCW-Hub vaccine clinic team.
Perspective/Opinion
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

by Amy Farkas, MD, MS

Dr. Farkas shares how she uses open-ended questioning and a caring attitude to discuss vaccine reluctance with her patients...

“I just don’t want it.”
“I heard a 9-year-old boy died of the vaccine.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“It’s so new. I want to wait a bit.”
“I think this whole thing is a hoax.”
 
These are just some of the comments I have heard from patients in the last few months since the COVID-19 vaccine became available. As a primary care provider, I have spent the last year feeling helpless. I could not protect my patients against COVID-19 and if they became ill I had very little to offer than other than a prayer and cough suppressants. I educated them about the importance of masks, social distance, and isolation if they were sick, but it never seemed like it was enough. The availability of the COVID-19 vaccines changed all of that. I now had something to offer them; something that could potentially save their life.
Perspective/Opinion
Hugs in Grand Rapids

by Wendy Peltier, MD

Dr. Peltier reflects on reuniting with her parents post-vaccine, and shares a poem written by her mother…

The trip to Grand Rapids is five hours when there is no Chicago traffic. For me, the time is usually filled with road trip snacks, juggling kids' requests from the back seat, and trying to steal a few moments in a magazine without getting carsick while my husband drives. This February, it was much different.
 
I tried to keep myself from getting excited the week before, knowing that at any moment, there might be cause to cancel. I had already received my two vaccine doses so I was less worried about my COVID-19 test results, but I wanted to be doubly sure to travel safely. I found myself more worried about a kid requiring quarantine, a caregiver falling sick, or a dreaded Wisconsin snowstorm forcing us to reschedule.
Perspective/Opinion
Outreach to Improve Equitable Access to COVID-19 Vaccine – A Collaborative Service-Learning Project
by the MCW General Internal Medicine (GIM) Team: Brian Hilgeman, MD; Austin Dopp, M4; James Wu, M4; Mandy Kastner, MPH; and Marty Muntz, MD
 
When it quickly became obvious that the initial COVID-19 vaccination efforts were not reaching equitably into the surrounding population, GIM assembled a team to provide effective outreach to our Milwaukee-area neighbors living in historically underserved communities …


The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted minority communities, evidenced by higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and mortality1,2. These effects, while likely multi-factorial, are derived from the cumulative effects of structural racism3.
 
While health departments have deployed strategies to promote equitable COVID-19 vaccine access, many health systems initially relied largely on secure electronic medical record (EMR) communications to inform and schedule eligible patients. However, this strategy has the unintended potential to worsen disparities. 
Essay published 3/22/2021 in HOUR Detroit

by Rana Awdish, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Henry Ford Health System, reflects on pain and moving forward...

The difficult experience of this past year has undeniably changed us. Some changes we’ve already integrated into our lives, like our ability to live so much of our lives online. Some change is still hypothetical. Our projected gratitude for the small, missed things that we’ve promised never to take for granted again is not a given. Will we actually be able to set our intention and retain a sense of wonder, or will we quickly acclimate to dinners out, crowded music venues, and hugs? We don’t know. Other changes are opaque to us and will surface later, in sometimes unexpected ways.
Stephen Smith, PhD, is Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas in Austin. Dr. Smith has a PhD in Behavioral Studies and was previously Assistant Dean for Student Success Programs at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

When asked about what inspired the poem, Dr. Smith shared: “Most of Austin was without power and water for several days. Because I had no power and no cell service, I was unable to stay in touch with colleagues or students. When the power came back, I learned that many of our students had taken in classmates and strangers and that while there was hardship and anxiety, they had banded together to help those that needed it most. That’s when I wrote the poem.”


Unprecedented
by Stephen Smith, PhD
 
What days we live in!
Unprecedented pandemic;
Unprecedented ventilator demands, above supply; 
Unprecedented public health needs; 
Unprecedented awareness of systemic injustices; 
Unprecedented death rates from a virus; 
Unprecedented loneliness; 
Unprecedented violence in our streets and capital; 
Unprecedented mental health challenges; 
Unprecedented ice; 
Unprecedented power failures;
What days we live in!
 
What people we work with!
Unprecedented caution to protect others; 
Unprecedented sacrifice to care; 
Unprecedented community service; 
Unprecedented allyship; 
Unprecedented offers of hope; 
Unprecedented virtual connections; 
Unprecedented work for justice; 
Unprecedented caring for colleagues; 
Unprecedented warmth; 
Unprecedented power of caring; 
What people we work with!
 

An excerpt from Dr. Smith’s email to the students at Dell Medical School:
I told you earlier this week that I had come to dislike the word unprecedented. Since then, I decided to reclaim that word. The grit, resilience, and inner strength you have shown is unprecedented. Many have opened their doors to warmth for friends and strangers in unprecedented generosity. Many have opened their cupboards to provide food and drink for friends and strangers in unprecedented thoughtfulness. What the challenges of COVID has built, refined, and strengthened, the challenges of winter has displayed.


I'm looking forward to rollerblading!

–Anonymous


I'm looking forward to being able to walk outside without freezing 😂

-Joyce Lee, Medical Student




I'm looking forward to riding my bike!

-Daniel Bor, Medical Student


I'm looking forward to reading and doing my homework on the balcony. 😅

–Anonymous



I'm looking forward to taking bike rides and reading on the patio with iced coffee!

-Leah P., Faculty

Respond to next week's reflection prompt:


What is your favorite "first sign" of Spring?
Participate in the Pandemic Word Cloud Project!

Fourth-year MCW medical students Jacqueline Schaefer and Megan LaCroix invite your participation in sharing just one word for the creation of a word cloud project regarding the pandemic. 

Last March, Jacqueline and Megan began this project with the help and guidance of Dr. Himanshu Agrawal, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, aimed to create a word cloud that represented the current status of the MCW community and create a space to initiate discussion.

Now one year later, it is time again to reach out for thoughts and words in order to generate more discussions and see the growth that has occurred.

Thank you to everyone in the MCW community who are willing to share, and please be on the lookout for the results soon!
Apply to the Kern Institute's 2021-22 KINETIC3 Teaching Academy

Applications are open to all
·     MCW Faculty
·     Senior Residents & Fellows
·     Graduate Students
·     Advanced Practice Providers
 
Applicants will be notified of acceptance by May 2021.
Orientation begins in July 2021.

This year's KINETIC3 program will offer two distinct tracks: Excellence in Teaching and Medical Educator. Both tracks will present a curriculum featuring evidence-based, learner-centric teaching strategies, and promoting active learning.
Knowledge Now Series
The State of Medical Education

Please plan to join this Knowledge Now Series program with Joseph E. Kerschner, MD, the Julia A. Uihlein, MA, Dean of MCW School of Medicine, Provost and Executive Vice President at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

In this session, Dr. Kerschner will be providing a update on the state of medical education, including learner well-being, student debt, student diversity, milestone-based education, future curriculum change & assessment, his milestones for excellence, and more!
March 30, 2021
Live Virtual Event
12:00 - 1:00 pm CT
A Night of Wonderful Stories
MedMoth Returns!


Join us for a night of wonderful stories by MCW Students, Residents, Fellows, Faculty and Staff.

We will be holding a preparatory workshop on Wednesday, March 31st, hosted by the fabulous ExFabula. Sign up for the workshop here.

Everyone has personal stories worth sharing! Ex Fabula and the MCW MedMoth invite you to discover, shape, and share personal stories about your experiences in the world of medicine.
April 8, 2021
Live Virtual Event
7:00 pm CT
Kern Institute Connection Cafe
"Can I Tell You Something?"


Please plan to join us for reflections presented by a group of our 4th-year medical students.
April 22, 2021
Live Virtual Event
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
KNN Discussion Series
Seeking Strength in Times of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed personal and professional challenges for everyone, but particularly for those in the medical field. Under such circumstances, what does and can human flourishing look like? To what extent is it possible and equitable in times of crisis—now and otherwise?
 
In this session, three exceptional speakers will share perspectives from pastoral care, critical care and work with underserved populations to provide insight on navigating crises and lessons for cultivating resilience. A Q&A moderated by Chris Stawski, PhD, senior fellow for the Kern Family Foundation, will follow the speakers' presentations.
 
Featured Speakers:
  • Krista Gregory, MDiv, BCC, founder of the Center for Resiliency at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas
  • Daniela Lamas, MD, pulmonary and critical care doctor for Brigham and Women’s Hospital and author of the book "You Can Stop Humming Now: A Doctor’s Stories of Life, Death, and in Between"
  • John Tarpley, MD, professor emeritus of surgery and anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
April 27, 2021
Live Virtual Event
4:00 - 5:00 pm CT
MCW Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
4th Biennial Suicide Symposium

Addressing the role of clinical intervention and the experience of patient loss to suicide.
Register via Ethos: http://ocpe.mcw.edu/
Specialties - Behavioral Health - Suicide Symposium

For more information, please contact Kiara Bond
(414) 955-7250
April 28, 2021
Live Virtual Event
8:30 am - 12:15 pm CT
Kern Institute Grand Rounds
Advocacy on the Frontlines: Supporting LGBTQ Patients in Combat and Beyond

Please plan to join us for a Grand Rounds presentation with Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, Director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) Endowment and Senior Associate Dean and Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Medicine.

Dr. Ehrenfeld will discuss how advocacy can transform health care, health outcomes, and health equity in combat and beyond for LGBTQ+ patients and all marginalized populations.
April 29, 2021
Live Virtual Event
9:00 - 10:00 am CT
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