Lately, I have been thinking a lot about transitions.
Many people conflate change and transitions, but William Bridges, author and organizational change expert, described the difference as: “Change is an event but a transition is the process that you go through in response to the change.” Transition is inherently an emotional process that begins with recognizing something is ending, moves through the “neutral or transition zone”- also described as the nowhere between two somewheres – and finally, leads to the hope of new beginnings. Each stage comes with its own set of emotions, and the length of time in each zone varies by person and circumstance. An overview of Bridges Transition Model can be found here, with a deeper dive available in his books.
This idea of transition is currently occupying so much of my thinking. Perhaps it is the time of year – spring brings visible signs of change around us – and in higher education, it also brings quieter, less visible processes of transition beneath the surface. And perhaps it is because we are experiencing several moments of significant transition here at WashU- Medical Student Match Day, changes in school leadership, and the evolution of our education research unit, to name just a few.
Each March, we celebrate Match Day. It is a culmination of the work of our medical students over four or more years, as they learn both what specialty they will enter and where they will complete their next phase of training. It is certainly an event worthy of recognition, and it is also a significant transition. At the start of the matching process, students apply to multiple programs, sometimes in more than one specialty. They get interviews at some of the programs they apply to, and, after interviewing, they make and submit a list – called a “rank list”- ordering their program preferences. The programs do the same. Matching algorithms work behind the scenes to try to match every student who applies in the Match to a program. For some, Monday of Match week brings unexpected outcomes and a need for rapid decisions through the SOAP (Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program) process. Each day of SOAP is filled with choices that lead to complex transitions including perhaps a change of specialty interest. And, on Friday, every student across the US who successfully “matched” opens an envelope (or reads an email) that tells them where they are going for their next stage of training. Whether you get your first choice or your tenth, the emotions can be mixed. At least they were for me when I matched. You can be both happy and sad in part because your match impacts you, your family, and your next steps. It is a branch that can feel final – solidified and scary – and yet in hindsight, it is just one transition of many throughout a career.
Similarly, we are in the midst of several leadership transitions. Some departments (Pediatrics and Anesthesiology) are in the process of Department Chair changes, and we will soon have a new Dean. We recently had the opportunity to meet our inspiring incoming Dean, Dr. Levy, at the end of March, and we will also reflect on the incredible legacy of Dr. Perlmutter at the State of the School Address. There will be two opportunities to hear the address: 3PM Friday, April 10th, and 4PM Wednesday, April 15th, both at the Eric P. Newman Education Center (EPNEC) on the Medical Campus. Each of these transitions impacts us differently depending on our roles. It is normal, dare I say healthy, to experience the complexity of emotions that come with such big changes, similar to, but also different from, the emotions students experience during the Match. We can feel hopeful about the future and sad about what is ending of what we have known and appreciated, often at the same time. We can be proud of the past and we can be scared about the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Getting to know new leaders while celebrating the many contributions of those who are moving to different roles or phases can help provide stability and reassurance, moving us closer toward the new beginning phase.
This month, we will also recognize a significant transition within the Office of Education. The Goldstein Symposium, with guest speaker Dr. Lou Pangaro, will honor the legacy of the Medical Education Research Unit and the impact that it and its leaders have had on medical education research and scholarship here at WashU, nationally and internationally. The Goldstein Symposium will be held on April 14th at 3PM in the Neurosciences Building Auditorium. Dr. Pangaro, a giant in the field of medical education and leading scholar in clinical reasoning and learner assessment, will serve as the Goldstein Visiting Professor. He will speak about the future of medical education research and scholarship. This will be followed by a reflection on the history of medical education research at WashU Medicine, from the origination of the Medical Education Research Unit by Alison Whelan, Dorothy Andriole, Donna Jeffe, and Heather Hageman, to the additions of Jan Hanson, Maria Perez, and Yaheng Lu, and more recently the integration of Eve Colson, Leslie Blaylock, Adam Wyatt, and Deborah Engle. This unit has seen much change in recent years and will see additional change beginning in July as Jan Hanson transitions her work to part-time and at the turn of new calendar year when Donna Jeffe transitions to retirement. This will not be a retirement or going away party (those will happen later), but this Goldstein Symposium will give us an opportunity to recognize and honor this time of transition, be proud of all that has been achieved, and develop inspiration for the future. I hope to see everyone there who has been supported, mentored, or taught by our medical education research team, as well as anyone who is considering scholarly work in education or wants to collaborate on or to engage in medical education research in the future.
I will end by just acknowledging again that transitions are inevitable and at the same time hard, even when we are excited and hopeful for the future. And yet, as Bridges reminds us, “Transition renews us.” As we move into this season of renewal, I am grateful to be going through these transitions with each one of you, immensely thankful for all who have allowed us to get to where we are now, and hopeful for all that the future will bring.