Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, July 23, 2021
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Director's Corner
Perspectives/Opinions
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Take 3
Poetry Corner
Your Turn
Announcements & Resources
- Submit a speaker proposal to the Kern Institute Event Advisory Committee
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Transformational Times Essay Contest
- RFP for GME Connectedness/Wellbeing Program
- Save the Date: Value-Added Medical Education: Reimagining Learner Roles
- Kern National Network News & Events
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Director's Corner
What Do "Space Doctors," Imagined and Real, Tell Us about the Role of Physicians in the Future?
by Adina Kalet, MD, MPH
A lifelong fan of TV science fiction and women in STEM, Dr. Kalet explores what her Space Doctor heroes, fictional and real, tell us about character, caring, and competence, and how their professional identities might be core attributes of physicians well into the future …
Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, born human and male in Georgia, USA, Earth, in 2227, studied Life Sciences at the University of Mississippi (medical school class of ’53), attended Starfleet Academy (I think), and then served for twenty-seven years as the Chief Medical Officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise and Enterprise-A. Despite being an accomplished interspecies surgeon (he performed heart surgery on Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan) and exobiologist (specializing in silicone-based life forms and flying parasites), he considered himself just a “simple country doctor” with a healthy suspicion of technology.
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Perspective/Opinion
"Who Do You Think You Are?"
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By Cassie Ferguson, MD
Dr. Ferguson reminds us that we are better when we adopt a childlike boldness and stretch ourselves …
My research career began in the fourth grade. Our teacher Julie (whom we called by her first name because I went to school in Berkeley where shoes were optional) told us to pick an animal and to learn as much as we could about it. Other kids picked tigers and giraffes. I picked a species of dolphin so obscure that the only source of information about it was a post-doc stationed on a research boat in the middle of the Pacific. Granted, this was pre-internet and most of my bibliography pages started and ended with Encyclopedia Britannica. But, as my mom likes to remind me frequently, I insisted that I write my report on the pilot whale. So at 1:00 am, my mom woke me up so that I could call said post-doc during normal business hours for the middle of the Pacific and from him I learned that pilot whales live in stable family groups; that offspring of both sexes stay in their mother’s pod throughout their lives. I learned that pilot whales are prolific stranders and, in 1918, over 1000 pilot whales stranded themselves on the beach of the Chatham Islands. I can remember feeling exhilarated after talking with this researcher. It was thrilling to know something that so few people in the world knew, and I marveled that there were people daring enough to live on a boat for months on end to learn.
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Perspective/Opinion
Creating "Good Change" as We Transform Medical Education
By Michael T. Braun, PhD
Dr. Braun shares how the process of transformation can easily be viewed in more than one way, and encourages the reader to see the process as creative more than destructive …
Have you ever read Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People? Initially published in 1936, this book has never been out of print and continues to be a must-read for people in sales positions. I read the book for the first time in graduate school and suggested it to my advisor who teaches a course on persuasion. It's been a continual source of inspiration and amusement, and there's one principle from the book that sticks with me every day: "Never criticize, condemn, or complain."
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Three Questions for Brittany Bettendorf, MD
The How Vs. The Why: Seeing and Bridging the Gaps in Medicine with the Humanities
Dr. Bettendorf, a trained poet, MCW alumna, and rheumatologist at the University of Iowa, talks about her journeys through medicine and writing, and how a tailored introduction of the humanities into medical education might help students become more resilient...
Dr. Bettendorf answers the following questions:
- How did your undergraduate background in the humanities allow you to view medical school and residency differently?
- What role should the humanities play in medical education?
- What has surprised you most about your parallel journeys as a physician, as a writer, and as a parent?
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Take 3
Getting to Know You With Ethan Duwell
We are pleased to welcome Ethan Duwell to the Kern Institute as a Postdoctoral Fellow...
Ethan answers the following questions:
- What will be your role within the Kern Institute?
- What skills, interests and/or experiences will guide your work here?
- What do you do for fun?
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Take 3
Getting to Know You With Devarati Syam
We are pleased to welcome Devarati Syam to the Kern Institute as a Program Manager for the Student and GME Pillars...
Devarati answers the following questions:
- What will be your role within the Kern Institute?
- What skills, interests and/or experiences will guide your work here?
- What do you do for fun?
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Take 3
Getting to Know You With Lana Minshew
We are pleased to welcome Lana Minshew to the Kern Institute as an Assistant Professor...
Lana answers the following questions:
- What will be your role within the Kern Institute?
- What skills, interests and/or experiences will guide your work here?
- What do you do for fun?
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Take 3
Getting to Know You With John Yoon
We are pleased to welcome John Yoon to the Kern Institute as a Visiting Scholar...
John answers the following questions:
- What will be your role within the MCW Kern Institute?
- What skills, interests, and/or experiences will guide your work here?
- What do you do for fun?
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By Shel Silverstein
How many slams in an old screen door?
Depends how loud you shut it.
How many slices in a bread?
Depends how thin you cut it.
How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live 'em.
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give 'em.
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Are you a Dog person or a Cat person? Vote in the poll below!
Results will be published in an upcoming
issue focused on pets
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We would also love to share a picture of you with your pets in our upcoming issue! Please email Erin Weileder with your picture, your name and your pet's name to be included.
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Golf!
- Sherri Duff, staff
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Biathlon, which mixes cross country skiing with target shooting. One issue is I have zero shooting experience and generally do not like guns. But the dynamic of doing a rigorous aerobic exercise (XC skiing) and then having to transition quickly to calm and precision (target shooting) is intriguing. Additionally, very few women compete in this at a state or national level, thus I think it would be my best chance to actually make it to the Olympics!
- Lauren North, MD, PGY-5 Resident
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Rugby!
- Liz Dominguez, Medical Student
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Respond to next week's reflection prompt: |
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How did you participate or celebrate the Milwaukee Bucks' road to the NBA Finals and the big win?
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The Kern Institute Event Advisory Committee invites you to
Submit a Speaker Proposal
The Kern Institute is working to transform medical education to better align with the needs of the public on the basis of character, competence, and caring.
Please complete the form below if you have a speaker you would like to propose.
The Event Advisory Committee will review all proposals based on the following criteria:
- The speaker's qualifications
- Timeliness of the topic
- Relevance to the mission
If chosen, a committee member will extend the invitation to the speaker and open the line of communication.
*Please Note: While we greatly appreciate your enthusiasm, please do not initiate correspondence with the speaker directly. This will ensure that expectations are clear and confusion or misunderstandings are averted.
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Transformational Times Essay Contest
Imagining the Future of Medical Education
Transformational Times is holding an essay contest and we want to hear from you.
Create an essay (no more than 250 words) that helps the reader imagine the possible future of medical education.
Choose one of the following prompts:
- Imagine you are in a medical school or residency program that does not yet exist. Describe a perfect day where you learn an important patient care lesson that would not be possible today.
- Describe an amazing learning or teaching moment you have experienced at some point in your life. What lesson did you take away that, if incorporated into medical education, would improve medical school or residency?
- If you were to imagine a medical school or residency program in 2030, what three things would you be most likely to include? And why?
Winners will be awarded a gift card and will be published in an upcoming issue of Transformational Times. Several winners may be selected. Essays are due by July 30, 2021.
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RFP for GME Connectedness/Wellbeing Program
The Kern Institute’s GME Pillar and MCWAH are happy to announce a program to increase connectedness and well-being across MCWAH’s GME programs.
Residency and fellowship programs are invited to submit proposals for programming/activities that would enhance connectedness and well-being among GME programs.
Proposals should include at least TWO programs and up to $500 can be requested. A post-activity report is required. Please see the Request for Proposal (RFP) below for details and submit your proposals before August 2, 2021, below.
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Save the Date
Value-Added Medical Education: Reimagining Learner Roles
While traditional clinical teaching activities such as taking a history, performing a physical exam, writing notes, and giving oral case presentations are clearly effective educational tools, they often lead to inefficiency and duplication of work. Meanwhile, gaps persist between current state and optimal state for patient care and learning outcomes.
This session will include a panel discussion of opportunities to creatively reimagine student roles on patient care teams and participant reflection on how key concepts might be implemented in their sphere of influence.
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Save The Date: More Info Coming Soon
October 20, 2021
Live Virtual Panel Presentation
12:00 - 1:00 pm CT
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KNN Discussion Series
Social Justice, Health Equity and Human Flourishing: Are We all Included?
Over the past year, the disproportionate impact of the pandemic as well as national protests surrounding racial incidents have heightened attention to ongoing disparities—including those within healthcare. What responsibilities do healthcare professionals have to address root causes of health inequity? And what strategies can help dismantle structural barriers to human flourishing that exist across diverse populations?
In this panel discussion—moderated by Chris Stawski, PhD, senior fellow for the Kern Family Foundation—three speakers will share their lived experiences and professional journeys related to those themes. Audience Q&A will follow.
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August 3, 2021
Live Virtual Presentation
4:00 - 5:00 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, Scott Lamm, Eileen Peterson, Sarah Torres, & Anna Visser
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