"How the Coronavirus has Upended College Admissions"

 

NPR had a story on 8/12/2020 entitled, "How The Coronavirus Has Upended College Admissions." 

Read the story or listen here.

Much of the upheaval in undergraduate admissions mirrors what is happening in medical schools. There are both challenges and opportunities. Fewer students are taking standardized tests. There will be more emphasis on "minutia," i.e., the other clues about applicants gleaned from their activities, character, and writing. Here are a few comments:

Focusing on Diversity and inclusion

"I think there's actually a tremendous opportunity here to wed the deep interest in a more diverse, more interesting student body, and the opportunity to reconsider afresh what makes a student outstanding and well-prepared for Cornell.That's a good revolution."

Cornell University Vice Provost for Enrollment Jonathan Burdick 

Measuring Character in Admissions

"We're thinking about how we might extract characteristics that we would value at Temple, something perhaps like citizenship, or social justice, or tenacity," he said. "I think probably every college and university in America right now is having that kind of soul-searching conversation."

Vice Provost for Admissions, Financial Aid and Enrollment Management at Temple University Shawn Abbott

Celebrating Personal Qualities

"Whatever you call them, the take-home message is [that characteristics like grit, character skills, life skills, and noncognitive skills] matter, and in some cases, matter as much as IQ. ... We're really in the early, early stages of the measurement of personal qualities, and there is no panacea."

University of Pennsylvania Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology Angela Duckworth

These are the kinds of transformative opportunities from which both undergraduate and medical schools can benefit. 

Initiating MCW’s “Community Conversations” about Race and Racism

From the 8/7/2020 newsletter

Racial Injustice & Inequities Perspective 

Initiating MCW’s “Community Conversations” about Race and Racism 

David J. Cipriano, PhD Co-Chair Elect, MCW Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee 

Dr. Cipriano was on the team that launched MCW’s “Community Conversations.” In this essay, he shares the process of that launch and a bit of what the facilitators and note-takers learned …

In early June, soon after the killing of George Floyd and the unstoppable social movement that ensued to end racial injustice, MCW was preparing to address how these issues were impacting our institution. President Raymond committed himself to leading MCW to become an anti-racist institution. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) together with the Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee (DIAC) developed Guiding Principles for combatting racism and also laid the groundwork for groups of individuals to get together to have these difficult conversations. These groups, eventually called “Community Conversations” developed out of a close partnership between Dr. Greer Jordan and ODI, the Kern Institute, DIAC, and the Center for the Advancement of Women in Science and Medicine (AWSM). 

Laying the Groundwork 

A rapid mobilization was required to train facilitators, schedule sessions, publicize the initiative and assemble the groups. Dr. Adina Kalet of the Kern Institute and I worked on developing training materials for the facilitators and began to recruit people for this role. Our team also included M. Paula Phillips from AWSM, Charlie Ann Rykwalder of DIAC, and Marina Thao, events specialist for the College. Within a week, we had 160 people signed up to participate. We had also recruited twenty-seven people, made up of faculty and staff, to be facilitators and note takers. We held two training sessions which turned into more of a time for self-reflection and gut check than skills-building sessions. 

Preparing the Facilitators and Note-Takers 

The purpose of the groups was to answer two key questions. The facilitators grappled with these questions, knowing that we needed to be clear on them before we could facilitate groups of our colleagues in a discussion. 

• The first question was, “What does it mean to be an anti-racist organization?” We shared definitions we had found in our reading and self-education. We grappled with the basics: What is the difference between systemic racism and structural racism? Some of us were unclear on the meaning of the term “anti-racist.” 

• The second question, “Where does structural racism exist at MCW?” led to an array of responses amongst the facilitators. I suppose we reflected the MCW community in general in our reactions: “Nowhere! We’re are an organization made up of well-intentioned people who adhere to laws and rules against discrimination” to “Everywhere! We are not aggressively recruiting and hiring people of color. We are not including black-owned businesses in our vendor lists. Our students of color are still getting poor performance evaluations for such subjective, and therefore open-to-bias issues as ‘attitude.’” Over and over, this humble group of facilitators, the great majority of whom were white, expressed concern over their unpreparedness for this task. 

And, what was to be our function as facilitators, to listen or to teach? Most of us are educators by profession or nature. After much discussion, we made the deliberate decision to listen and not teach. We decided to facilitate and not impose our beliefs or values on the group. After all, the purpose of the groups is to gather information to help our inclusion leaders understand where the enterprise is at on these issues, what the concerns are and what the needs are; all in the service of developing next steps. Dr. Jordan was adamant that the objective was not to change people and not to MAKE people learn anything about race and racism. 

We had to consider the language we were using – are we talking about antiBlack racism or racism that affects all people of color and marginalized groups? We were directed to assume good intentions. Even if we heard something difficult or challenging, people are still learning just like we are. They may be asking an honest question without meaning to hurt anyone. We may hear things that don’t align with our beliefs or with the institution’s goal of becoming an anti-racist organization. Implicit bias is the culprit here – it allows people with good intentions to occasionally operate from automatic, or unconscious stereotypes that they hold. 

What we Experienced and Noticed 

So, at times we bit our tongues. But really, all of our participants appeared to be there with the genuine motivation to listen, learn and figure out ways to contribute. 

 As the sessions occurred, the facilitators and note-takers began sharing their experiences in group emails. These became very valuable to all of us as we realized that this endeavor was having an impact on us as well as on the participants. Some of these emails were long, and were filled with heartfelt reactions, questions, and concerns. I believe we all read each and every one of these emails, judging by the number of responses which ranged from “Thanks for sharing,” to “Me, too!” 

We also shared major themes and questions that emerged: 

• Most participants want to be educated on the issues. 
• Why is it necessary to spend so much time educating white people about racism? 
• Do people in the majority culture stay stuck in intellectualizing and defining these issues? 
• Should one of the objectives simply be to learn to tolerate the discomfort of these conversations? 

We wondered why there were separate groups for African Americans to share their feelings. We lamented the fact that there was little diversity in our groups. Some felt that whites need to hear from Blacks about their experiences so that they can learn in a truly impactful way. Others thought that it is not the job of Black people to teach white people about racism. “They can learn about it themselves,” and, “they can consider their own race and all the baggage that it comes with.” These steps take self-reflection, and maybe that is what these groups will trigger. 

We really meant it when we told our participants that we were learning right along with them. We are all on our own journey of confronting our privilege in this unfair and biased system. We came away feeling troubled, nervous, and exalted – all at the same time. 

Next Steps 

When it came time to deal with the fact that over 200 more people from MCW had put themselves on a waiting list for our Community Conversations, every one of our facilitators and note-takers signed up to go another round. We are currently finishing up and waiting for next steps from the institution. We are eager to continue to learn and grow. 

David J. Cipriano, MS PhD is an Associate Professor in the MCW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, the Director of Student and Resident Behavioral Health, and the Co-Chair Elect, Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee. He is a Faculty Member of the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education. 

MCW Art Club

From the 7/24/2020 newsletter


Medicine and the Humanities

MCW Art Club

Teresa Patitucci, PhD (@DrRabbitHeART)

In this essay, Dr. Patitucci describes how art has been integral to both her life and her teaching of anatomy. She has curated a virtual space where the arts hold meaning for individuals as well as our entire medical community...

Creative expression is an important part of my life and many others’ around MCW. The sciences are often associated with analytical and academic pursuits, so it may be surprising to learn how many people in these fields are also highly creative. The arts provide both personal and professional benefits. For example, visual art can be helpful for cathartic reasons, but also for developing objective observation skills. Here I primarily talk about art for expression.

Personally, I have dabbled in several creative pursuits, including theater, singing, and dancing, but am primarily a visual artist. While I publicly share my visual art, I rarely sing in front of others. Students know me for my anatomical illustrations, my partner knows me for having oil paint all over me. My best friend knows I will sing to her when her fibromyalgia is acting up even if I’m shy about it. These activities are my lifeblood. In private, they are what I turn to when I’m overjoyed or overwhelmed with grief. I sing when I feel so full of a feeling it must exit my body – take a deep breath and make as loud a sound as my petite body can produce. This summer has involved a lot of singing. I draw or paint to create my own world, capture a memory, lean into a feeling, or frankly to zone out and relax.

Our attention is drawn to the fact that we are living in “unprecedented times” at every waking moment. From the global COVID-19 pandemic to heightened awareness of racial issues, tensions are running high. Additionally, many of us are spending more time at home than usual and craving connection with other human beings. Time for the arts to step in. When we all went into lockdown in March, I created a virtual MCW Art Club for anyone from MCW to post their creative endeavors, whether that means visual art, music, poetry, or short stories. This is a fully online club (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) with the hope of building artistic community from a distance. All MCW personnel are invited to participate – staff, faculty, students from all campuses and programs. It has been amazing to see the talent across our campuses shared so far.

We have had participants share paintings, cultural art, pathology art, pieces of music from various instruments (originals and covers), anatomical art, miniature painting, wood burning design, knitting, and poetry! Several examples are shown below. Chris Knight from MCW Central Wisconsin commented on creating alibrijes this summer with his daughter (shown below), “Art is a very therapeutic escape. Doing a project with my daughter was special because she loves doing art and it gave her a significant distraction during quarantine. The fact that we could make it culturally relevant for our family added to it.”

You can view our collection or share your own work via our Facebook page “MCW Art Club” or using the hashtag #MCWArtClub on Instagram or Twitter. Of course, not all art needs to be shared. If you want your work shared, but are hesitant for whatever reason, you may send pieces to me for anonymous posting. I hope readers are encouraged to share their work in our digital club, but more than that, I hope you keep creating for whatever reason drives you.

MCW Art Club Sneak Preview:



An illustration by Dr. Patitucci

Listen to CeCi here. 

Listen to Chordae Harmonae here.

Teresa Patituci, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy at MCW. She teaches human anatomy and neuroscience across multiple disciplines and encourages use of alternative teaching tools such as drawing and plastination. She launched a patination lab at MCW, a technique that preserves specimens for long-term use.

Why We Need More Black Male Physicians

From the 8/7/2020 newsletter

Resident Reflection 

Why We Need More Black Male Physicians

Victor Redmon, MD - MCW Med-Peds resident 

Dr. Redmon shares some of his experiences as both a medical student and a resident physician, followed by his reflections regarding the encounters…

My name is Victor Redmon. I was born and raised in Florida – and although I was well-traveled, I had never lived outside of the state until I came to MCW for medical school in 2013. I stayed here for internal medicine-pediatrics (Med-Peds) residency, for which I am now in my fourth and final year. I will be serving as chief resident of MCW’s Med-Peds program for the academic year of 2021-22.

 June 2016 – A Black Patient and His Family 

I am at the end of my third year in medical school and one week into my acting internship in the VA ICU. The ICU fellow receives a call to transfer a patient from the acute care floor to the ICU due to concerns for sepsis in a cancer patient. As the “intern” on the team, I eagerly accept the responsibility of taking the admission. I do a brief chart review and go to meet the patient and to gather more history. He is a Black male veteran, early 50s, frail and cachectic (characterized by physical wasting with loss of weight and muscle mass due to disease). 

I introduce myself to him. “Hello, I am Victor Redmon and I will be part of the ICU team caring for you downstairs.” He looks me up and down. 

He responds, “You mean I’ll actually have a Black doctor taking care of me? Well that’s all right,” he says with a smile. 

I meet various members of his family over the ensuing weeks, most of whom shared the pride and adoration that they had a Black male caring for their loved one. I continue to take care of this patient for the remainder of the month. He had a long and complicated ICU course, as he was dying and at the end stage of his cancer course. 

We conduct several family meetings to discuss goals of care and code status. The ICU attendings and fellows did an excellent job facilitating the meetings and the family felt well informed. I was called to his bedside after one of these meetings. “I was told you had some questions for me,” I said as I entered the room. “Hi! We just wanted your medical opinion on what we discussed during the family meeting. What do you think we should do?” 

Being a medical student at the time, I was completely caught off guard with such a heavy question. I responded with the same answers my attending and fellow provided earlier. 

The family says, “Okay, thank you, doctor. We just wanted to hear it from you because you are one of us.” The patient passed away on my last day of the rotation. 

April 2020 – A Black Hospital Employee and His Words 

I am now a third-year resident serving as a senior resident for one of the inpatient pediatric teams. Like most days in the hospital, it has been very busy with admissions and duties on the medical floor. I had also not eaten breakfast or lunch and was starving by midday. I informed my interns that I was headed to the cafeteria for lunch and would be back soon. I head to the elevator and notice an environmental services worker waiting as well. He was a Black man, likely early to mid-20s. The elevator arrives and I gesture for the worker to get on first, since he had equipment to haul around. He says, “Thank you, doc” and gets on the elevator. 

I notice him staring at me and decide to make some small talk. I ask, “So how is the day going for you so far?” 

He responds, “Not too bad, just another day. Are they treating you well here?” 

I respond, “My work is busy, but all things considered I am very happy here.” 

He says, “Good, I am glad to hear it. Do you know how rare it is to see a Black male doctor?” The elevator dings and the worker says to me as he exits, “I’ll see you around, doc. Keep up the good work. I am proud of you, I really am.” 

I respond, “Thank you, brother. I’ll keep doing the best I can.” The elevator doors close. I am alone. 

July 2020 – A Reflection on What Needs to Change 

 I have had numerous interactions similar to what I’ve described above, but these two encounters I remember very vividly. As a medical student, I viewed these interactions as a source of pride and empowerment. My Black patients truly trusted me and related to me in a different way than they could with my non-Black colleagues. I have come to recognize the position I am in. No longer am I just any medical student and no longer am I just another resident or trainee. I represent a source of pride and encouragement for the Black community. Truly, this is humbling. However, as I matriculate through my training, I ask myself more and more, “How and why?” Although I still feel a sense of pride and encouragement, I also have feelings of disappointment, sorrow and isolation. 

Through my experiences in training, I have become increasingly aware of the impact of underrepresented in medicine (URM) physicians when taking care of their representative patient population. Of course, this is not a new concept. Many medical schools and graduate medical education programs, including MCW and Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals (MCWAH), have initiatives and policies in place that are centered around diversity. Yet, I believe that largely there has been little to no progress. 

There have been many published studies that reflect the lack of progress with diversifying the racial-ethnic population of the medical schools and academic medical centers since the 1990s. Similarly, there are well-published studies illustrating the positive impact URM physicians can have with both the underserved population and their representative population. URM physicians play a pivotal role in providing care where it is needed the most, which has been well documented and proven in several landmark studies. I believe there is a general intent to diversify our medical student and GME population in order to be more representative of the population we are serving. Yet, I consistently see that diversity takes a clear back seat to academic achievement, which is defined by grades and standardized test scores. 

My sentiments are not universal. There are many nonminority physicians who work extremely hard to provide excellent care to minority populations and underserved areas. There are even more people who work tirelessly on diversity and do not view diversity as an “extra” – but rather as “necessary.” I applaud and congratulate these people. I am blessed that I have been surrounded by individuals, many of whom are my colleagues and close friends, who truly feel that this is a critical area in medicine we need to improve upon. 

I chose this topic to provide clarity and shed light on how URM physicians may feel from day to day. Of course, I am not the sole voice for URM physicians – just a part of it – but I am not alone in my thoughts and experiences. I do not have a solution to the diversity dilemma, nor am I trying to give one. This is part of a larger socioeconomic discussion, which I believe traces back to our primary education system. As Americans, we are at a truly unique and critical point in our history. We are in the middle of a global pandemic that has caused a significant economic and social strain on our society. Our society as whole is in the middle of political strife with the Presidential election looming. We are in a unique era of social justice and potential social reform. I must say that I am worried about how racial relations may change as a result of what is currently happening in our country. I am proud of the principles that my parents have taught and instilled in me. I am proud to be a Black American. 

I am proud to be a husband and father. I am proud of, and grateful for, the training I have received and the relationships I have built here at MCW and MCWAH. I am hopeful for the future. 

Victor Redmon, MD is a fourth-year resident in the MCW combined medicine and pediatrics residency program. This essay was originally published on 8/3/2020 as part of an MCW “Monday Morning Coffee.”