As a novice healthcare manager, I recall the shock I felt after my supervisor screamed at me for no apparent reason. She then called another colleague and told him how horrible she felt but she never apologized to me. As I progressed to C-suite leadership, I realized I had the power to model the behaviors I wanted to see. The Joint Commission Sentinel Event on Harassment warned of behaviors that can undermine a “culture of safety.” Disruptive behaviors such as verbal outbursts, uncooperative attitudes, refusing to complete assigned duties, and intimidating behaviors such as physical threats undermine the safety of our team and our patients. Since the #MeToo movement and resulting Time’s Up and Time’s Up Healthcare campaigns, we are beginning to see more research on the types of harassment that create unsafe work environments for our patients and employees. Most recently, Dr. Esther Choo and colleagues published “Sexual Harassment between Health Care Workers and Safety Culture,” identifying cases of sexual harassment and their impact on staff and patient safety. There seems to have been little progress made toward the national high reliability healthcare system we strive to become but we have the power to change this.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for healthcare and for health professions educators. But there are opportunities for innovative approaches to our clinical and educational work, and for reflection on the systems of training and workforce development. The pandemic has brought a sharp focus on leadership and change.

In episode #4 Victoria Brazil speaks with Professor Liz Armstrong, Director of the Harvard Macy Institute, about ‘silver linings’ – the opportunities for innovation and creativity – from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Liz describes the plans for running the June Leaders program online, and how interactivity and small group work are being supported. She tells us about a preliminary exercise the scholars have completed – focused on their own ‘silver linings’ – and how (paradoxically) ‘staying at home’ seems to have fostered more community, collaboration and patient focused care. And finally – Liz and Vic ponder on broader issues of change and innovation in healthcare, and take lessons from Elon Musk and SpaceX !

Watch out for new episodes this year which will be announced on our blog and our Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook social media channels.

Did you know that the Harvard Macy Institute Community Blog has had more than 220 posts? Previous posts have included interviews with Alice Fornari, Louis Pangaro, and Victoria Brazil!

How do I engage learners in a remote, online, or virtual environment? This is a question rolling around in the minds of many health professions educators who have over the last few months made significant pivots given the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom, among other web conferencing technologies, has become an essential tool for educators, learners, and peers to connect and facilitate synchronous learning experiences. However, integrating Zoom alone is not enough. To create significant learning experiences, consider the three tips offered below!

Martin & Bolliger describe Moore’s three types of interaction in effective online courses: (1) learner-to-learner interaction, (2) learner-to-instructor interaction, and (3) learner-to-content interaction and provide strategies to increase engagement.

As an undergraduate student at Louisiana State University, I was acknowledged for outstanding humanitarian services in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which encouraged me to continue to work towards supporting, motivating and encouraging others to pursue their dreams and careers.  

As a graduate student, I enrolled in a required course entitled, “Time Management.” I was a little disturbed at having to take such a course with all of the more important courses I felt I should spend my time completing. However, this course turned out to me the most impactful courses I have ever taken. I thought the course would teach me how to manage my time to be a more effective student and future professional. Additionally, I devoted the semester to reading and applying information about the type of legacy I would leave and how I would impact the people in my life and the world around me. I would spend hours thinking about the different roles I possess, such as a sister, a daughter, a mother, and an aunt.

Our assignments and class discussions were always so rich and reflective. We had to ponder what we want our legacy to be and think strategically how we could accomplish these goals. For many years I grappled with my legacy, until 2014 when I made a career change in order to move back to Louisiana from Iowa where I was employed at the university level as the Director for the Center for Improving Teaching and Learning at Des Moines University. My new position in at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine opened up new opportunities for me to work with diversity and inclusion efforts for the School of Veterinary Medicine and the profession as a whole.

I realized that the work I was about to embark upon would be the legacy I had been grappling to find. I created a nonprofit institute, the Institute for Healthcare Education Leadership and Professionals (iHELP) to work with supporting diversity and inclusion efforts in healthcare. The first iHELP initiative is the creation of the National Association for Black Veterinarians (NABV). The purpose of the organization is to work collaboratively with other organizations to support and ensure research-based methods are implemented to increase diversity and inclusion in the veterinary medical profession and in colleges of veterinary medicine. The charter president (Dr. Renita Marshall) and Vice President (Dr. Tyra Brown) were featured in an article that discusses the lack of diversity in the profession which speaks volumes about the need to increase the number of Black people in veterinary medicine.