Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, March 5, 2021
|
|
Special Issue about the KINETIC3 Teaching Academy:
Director's Corner
-
Adina Kalet, MD, MPH: Love to Teach and Recognize that Learning is what Really Matters!
Perspectives/Opinions
-
Alexandra Harrington, MD: Setting the Expectation for a Growth Mindset in KINETIC3’s Excellence in Teaching Track
-
Bipin Thapa: Entrepreneurially-Minded Learning and Teaching: A Core Element of KINETIC3
-
Jeffrey Amundson, PhD, Tavinder K. Ark, PhD, and Alexandra Harrington, MD: Social Connectedness and KINETIC3 Medical Educator Track
-
Sandra Pfister, PhD, and Kerrie Quirk, MEd: Teaching about Implicit Bias in the Classroom
-
Linda Menck, MA: "At the Most Important Crossroads in our Life there are No Signs"
-
Kristina Kaljo, PhD, Erica Chou, MD, and Jennifer Brownson, PhD: Setting the Stage to Advance Teaching in Medical Education: Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge
-
Caitlin Patten, MD, Rana Higgins, MD, and Karen Marcdante, MD: What Learners Tell Us About How They Know When They Matter
-
Jennifer K. Pfister, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC C-NPT; Jill C. Kuester, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC; Katie McDermott, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC; Christine Schindler, PhD, CPNP; and Leslie Talbert, DNP, RN, CPNP-AC/PC: Creating Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Students
Three Questions For
Poetry Corner
-
Keng Moua: Perpetuum Mobile
Your Turn
-
Respond to this week's prompt: What was your favorite article from the Transformational Times this past year?
-
Respond to this week's character question: What are you enthusiastic about working on this month?
Announcements & Resources
- Apply to the Kern Institute's KINETIC3 Teaching Academy
- Register for Kern's Upcoming Virtual Events
- Kern National Network News & Events
|
|
Director's Corner
Love to Teach and Recognize that Learning is what Really Matters
by Adina Kalet, MD, MPH
In this issue of the Transformational Times, we celebrate the Kern Institute’s KINETIC3 Faculty Development program. Dr. Kalet thinks about how engaging with a faculty development “Community of Practice” transformed her from just another good teacher into an educator ...
I have always loved to teach. Ask my little brother about the forced spelling lessons when he was a toddler. In high school and college, I taught dance to peers and little kids at a day camp. But it was not until I became a clinical teacher that I realized that it was not enough to just love to teach. If we want to educate masterful physicians, we needed to focus on learning.
|
|
Apply to the KINETIC3 Program!
Are you interested in directing a medical school course in the future? Do you want to learn about active learning techniques for the foundational sciences? Do you want to build character education into your current teaching? Are you looking to improve your teaching skills at the bedside?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, you should apply to the KINETIC3 program!
The program is entering its fourth year at the Medical College of Wisconsin and has produced 68 graduates, with 47 learners currently enrolled! Our program is open to any MCW faculty, advanced practice provider, graduate student, senior resident, or fellow interested in advancing their skills in medical education.
Last year we initiated two distinct tracks to support individuals' desired learning outcomes. Descriptions of the different tracks can be found below and on our website. We have developed a unique curriculum across both tracks that aims to:
- Create a teaching community that uses cutting-edge, evidence-based instructional methods for diverse student populations.
- Integrate caring for others and self-care into medical education and practice, including an emphasis on learner-centricity.
- Infuse character education efforts into medical curricula, and
- Build a community of educators focused on developing physicians, scientists, and health care providers that are competent, caring, and of strong character.
Our curriculum is taught by MCW staff and faculty who are recognized as medical education scholars and several guest faculty from Marquette University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and the University of Arizona-Tucson College of Medicine. Our gifted educators are skilled in educational innovation in character education in medicine and caring in the medical learning environment.
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
Setting the Expectation for a Growth Mindset in KINETIC3’s Excellence in Teaching Track
by Alexandra Harrington, MD
Dr. Harrington shares that character development in adults seems dependent on having a growth mindset, a frame of mind adopted by the Kern Institute's KINETIC3 Teaching Academy...
As I reviewed the results of my Values in Action (VIA) character strengths survey, I noted the ‘top 5’ of honesty, judgment, love, perseverance and fairness, but was naturally drawn to those strengths ranked at the bottom: self-regulation, social intelligence, and spirituality. For those unfamiliar with this survey, it is a free survey (available at viacharacter.org)- that all KINETIC3 learners take prior to our first course- that ranks your character strengths based on your answers to a series of questions. Can I better control my emotions and reactivity? How do I improve my interpersonal relationships? These questions and other related ones had me reflecting on my mindset. With a growth mindset, I certainly could practice better self-control, but not with a non-acknowledging, resistant fixed mindset. Character development in adults seems dependent on having this growth mindset.
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
Entrepreneurially-Minded Learning and Teaching: A Core Element of KINETIC3
by Bipin Thapa, MD
Dr. Thapa provides an overview of what the KINETIC3 program hopes its participants will learn about the Entrepreneurial Mindset …
Teachers and educators do different things, but how often do we stop to consider “What is the value of what I am doing?” or “What exactly are we trying to create?”
We need to think differently if we are to address these questions.
In medicine and education, we shy away from terms like “Entrepreneurship” because of the incorrect assumption that entrepreneurs focus solely on monetary profit. But entrepreneurship is more than that. It encompasses ways of creating anything of “value” – and can concentrate on things such as services, scholarships, processes, and quality improvements. It can even focus on experiences.
|
|
What do KINETIC3 Learners Say about the Program?
"For any MCW faculty member committed to build his or her knowledge base and skills as an educator, the KINETIC3 program offers access to the brightest minds in academic medicine. Meeting one-on-one with senior MCW faculty with expertise in learning theory and educational approaches, study design and research methods, and evaluative practices is an invaluable aspect of this amazing program!"
Julie Owen, MD
Assistant Professor | Psychiatry & Behavioral Health
Medical College of Wisconsin
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
Social Connectedness and KINETIC3 Medical Educator Track
by Jeffrey Amundson, PhD, Tavinder K. Ark, PhD, and Alexandra Harrington, MD
Drs. Amunson, Ark and Harrington share how the KINETIC3 program is producing valuable data for program assessment and publication, but more importantly it is providing opportunity for a mediator of flourishing to exist and develop...
It may seem obvious that social connectedness is important, however, understanding its impact in particular environments allows individuals to leverage its benefits to build character and promote flourishing. Moreover, when we think of social connectedness, we often define it in superficial terms as social networking or creating a circle of friends, family, and colleagues. However, we seldom consider the depth of how impactful such connection can be, especially at work. That is, we might only think of work relationships as ways to get ahead, but upon digging deeper into these connections one begins to see the real value. For example, social connections play an important role in professional development and the co-construction of knowledge, by shaping an individual’s access to valuable information, guidance, and overall support. (Baker-Doyle, & Yoon (2011); Wasserman & Faust (1994).
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
Teaching About Implicit Bias in the Classroom
by Sandra Pfister, PhD, and Kerrie Quirk, MEd
Dr. Pfister and Ms. Quirk describe the course they co-lead in the KINETIC3 program which helps faculty recognize and mitigate their implicit bias when teaching...
The definition of implicit bias is: “the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.” Let's use a True/False question to see what you think: True or False? I have no implicit bias. Correct answer: FALSE. Every one of us has implicit bias because that's a function of how our brains work. What happens when implicit bias takes over when we are teaching? Maybe you say that women don't have heart disease. Not said with intention, but isn't heart disease a man's disease? Or when teaching about skin disease, maybe you only show images from white patients. Not done with intention, but maybe because those were the same images used when you were a student.
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
"At the Most Important Crossroads in our Life there are No Signs"
by Linda Menck, MA
Linda Menck, a faculty member in the Kern Institute’s KINETIC3 program, talks about how she employed the entrepreneurial mindset to recast a communications course at Marquette from a tired offering to a creativity powerhouse…
After seventeen years of teaching at Marquette University I found myself at the crossroads. My teaching career felt like the plot of the film, Groundhog Day.
As a professional faculty member in the Diederich College of Communication, I was assigned to teach the same classes every semester. It was like eating the same breakfast cereal every morning. While students in my classrooms changed, course content remained the same.
|
|
What do KINETIC3 Learners Say about the Program?
"Office hours have been an invaluable opportunity to compliment the K3 education program. Through Kern and MCW connections, I was provided with personalized support from a diverse team of specialized educators and resources to enhance and clarify my project. The opportunity to discuss my project also increased awareness of current PA and NP education at MCW, and highlighted opportunities for connection and innovation in the interprofessional learning environment."
Sarah Vanderlinden, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA
Assistant Director - Advanced Practice
APP Fellowship Director | APP Critical Care Fellowship Program Director
Medical College of Wisconsin | Department of MCP Clinical Affairs
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
Setting the Stage to Advance Teaching in Medical Education: Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge
by Kristina Kaljo, PhD, and Erica Chou, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Jennifer Brownson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Drs. Kaljo, Chou and Brownson share how their KINETIC3 workshop, "The Art of Teaching" is grounded in the principles of improvisation and theater - effective skillsets to incorporate when presenting complex content in medical school...
Preparing and advancing medical educators is a multifaceted process that requires a deep understanding of complex content, instructional methods, and diverse learner needs. Historically, medical educators do not receive formal teacher training, yet it is well documented that quality of instruction has significant impact on knowledge acquisition (Shulman, 1986). By bridging together an educator’s rich subject-matter knowledge with effective pedagogical skills, learners have the opportunity to experience transformational teaching. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is the unique knowledge and skillset that educators have to effectively teach content using various tools and methods to engage learners (Lamb & Firestone, 2018). To foster this skill of engagement, we developed and facilitated a KINETIC3 workshop grounded in the principles of improvisation (Fu, 2019) and theater (Singh, 2004).
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
What Learners Tell Us About How They Know When They Matter
Preliminary results of a KINETIC3 project by Caitlin Patten, MD, Rana Higgins, MD, and Karen Marcdante, MD, with data from Alexandra Lutley, MD, and Adam Szadkowski, MD
Drs. Patten, Higgins, and Marcdante describe how they used qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews to understand and design future interventions to help all learners feel that they matter...
We have all been students at some point in our life. Do you remember a day when you were in a classroom, meeting, or a clinical learning environment when you wondered why you were there? Perhaps, no one acknowledged your presence or asked your name. Or they dismissed what you said. Or when you returned after a prolonged absence, no one realized you had been gone. These behaviors make you feel like you don’t matter. Knowing that you matter means that others’ behaviors, actions, and words make you feel valued and useful. They are aware of you, make you feel important by paying attention to/going out of their way for you, and rely on you. It turns out that mattering (the perception that you matter) is an enabling concept – when you feel you matter you have more self-esteem and self-efficacy which leads to less anxiety and depression, allowing you to learn more! Helping others matter is one way to improve the learning environment.
|
|
Perspective/Opinion
Creating Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Students
|
|
by Jennifer K. Pfister, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC, C-NPT; Jill C. Kuester, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC; Katie McDermott, MSN, RN, CPNP-AC; Christine Schindler, PhD, CPNP; and Leslie Talbert, DNP, RN, CPNP-AC/PC
EPAs are widely used in measuring the progress of residents in graduate medical education. The members of the Marquette team describe their KINETIC3 capstone in which they adopted an EPA approach to graduate nursing education…
Nursing and medicine go together like peanut butter and jelly. Although distinct, we complement one another. As interdisciplinary teams improve at working together, we have found the ability to gain insights from the more traditional pathways of each other’s endeavors.
The Kern Institute holds a year-long program known as the KINETIC3 Teaching Academy where the goal is to improve medical education. Character, caring, and competence in medical education are at the center of the program with each participant or group focused on completing a project incorporating these traits.
The five core faculty members from Marquette University’s Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (MU ACPNP) program completed a capstone project focused on creating Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). Guided by the Code of Ethics published by the American Nurses Association which explicitly states that nurses have compassion and respect for their patients and families, nurses already have a strong reputation for caring. We knew that the KINETIC3 program might offer a different perspective to build upon this foundation.
|
|
Three Questions for...
Teresa Patitucci, PhD
1. What was most beneficial about KINETIC3?
2. How have you incorporated what you learned?
3. What was your capstone and where has it gone?
|
|
What do KINETIC3 Learners Say about the Program?
"Through the program's office hours I connected with content experts throughout MCW who have provided consulting and individual feedback on my project. I found this resource incredibly helpful, as I am pursuing a type of project completely new to me and those in my network. The facilitated connection and built-in time the office hours provided has been critical to my progress."
Bryan Johnston, MD
Assistant Professor | Department of Family & Community Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
|
|
Over the next few weeks, we will be partnering with Auscult to promote, Ausuclt 2020, a literary and arts journal that has been published periodically at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) since the early 1990s. A completely student-edited journal, it showcases the creativity, compassion and artistic talents of our community. The journal includes poetry, fiction, non-fiction and visual arts, all created by MCW students, staff, faculty and hospital affiliate employees. If you would like to submit to Auscult for future journals, please submit using the following link.
This week, we share a poem by Keng Moua.
Perpetuum Mobile
by Keng Moua
She told me
“You speak English really good”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her
That I had lost my native tongue
Or that I only knew English
So I did what I always do
And laughed
He told me
“You’re Japanese, you must love sushi”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him
That I wasn’t Japanese
Or that I hate sushi
So I did what I always do
And laughed
They told me
“Go back to your country”
I didn’t have the heart to tell them
That I was born in the hospital down the street
Or that I grew up in this neighborhood
So I did what I always do
And laughed
Ahmad Arbury, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain And countless others
I don’t have the heart
To think of how many more
Or when it will end
So I did what I never do
And cried
|
|
Help us celebrate our one-year anniversary by answering this prompt:
What was your favorite article from the Transformational Times this past year?
|
|
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.
Excellence in Teaching Track
The goal of this year-long track is to equip participants with teaching skills for the classroom and/or bedside. Our core “3Cs” curriculum will be complemented by direct teaching observation, in which experienced coaches will identify real-time opportunities to strengthen teaching skills and provide constructive feedback to participants. This track will culminate in creation of a peer-mentored teaching portfolio for each participant. The time commitment for this track is estimated at approximately 5 hours/month.
Medical Educator Track
The goal of this two-year long track is to develop medical educators with skills in educational scholarship and pedagogy. Participants will produce a medical education capstone project guided by a structured educational research and human-centered design curriculum and will be assigned a faculty mentor. This “creating value” curriculum will be delivered in 5, boot-camp-style, 1-2-day sessions and will be complemented by our longitudinal, monthly “3C’s” curriculum, in pedagogy, medical professional identity formation and character education. This intensive track is suggested for faculty and senior residents and/or fellows interested in a career as a medical educator and will require approximately 10-12 hours/month.
|
|
Kern Institute Connection Cafe
Medical School Curriculum Innovations: Impact on MCW's Curriculum Plans
Please plan to join us for a Connection Cafe discussion with William Hueston, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, and Associate Provost for Education at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
In this session, Dr. Hueston will review innovations in medical school curricula at several other U.S. medical schools and how those changes align with improvement in adult learning. Dr. Hueston will then review how these innovations were studied by the MCW Curriculum Exploration Committee, formulated into core principles for a new curriculum, and then used to build a new curriculum framework for MCW's School of Medicine.
|
|
|
|
March 25, 2021
Live Virtual Event
4:00 - 5:00 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 two preparatory workshops on Wednesday, March 17th and Wednesday, March 31st, hosted by the fabulous ExFabula. Sign up for the workshops 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
|
|
MCW Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine
4th Biennial Suicide Symposium
Addressing the role of clinical intervention and the experience of patient loss to suicide.
|
|
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
|
|
MCW COVID-19 Resource Center |
|
The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community. |
|
Editorial Board: Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Adina Kalet, MD, Wendy Peltier, MD, Julia Schmitt, Olivia Davies, Scott Lamm, Eileen Peterson, Sarah Torres, & Anna Visser
|
|
Not getting our newsletters? Sign-up today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
