The Importance of Messages of Hope - Dr. Mark Slivkoff, Assoc. Professor of Physiology at Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine

This episode is part of a series of interviews celebrating the winners of the Osmosis 2020 Raise the Line Faculty Awards for Outstanding Work in Medical Education.

LINDSEY SMITH::

Dr. Slivkoff, thank you for being here, and congratulations on receiving one of our first Raise the Line Faculty Awards. If you wouldn't mind, please introduce yourself.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I'm Mark Slivkoff. I am an Associate Professor of Physiology at Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. I also serve as the Vice-Chair of our Biomedical Sciences Department, which, more or less, it's all the PhDs at our school, so I'm in charge of that group as well, working under the chair, of course. That's my current position.

LINDSEY SMITH::

Excellent. I'm curious to hear more about your background. What got you started in teaching?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

The education part was pretty linear up through graduation from undergrad. I was born in Anaheim, California, and did the linear path all the way to the University of California at Riverside. I received my Bachelor's of Biology from the university there, and then fortunately, I didn't really know what to do. I took, I guess, the default pathway for someone with a science mind, and I applied to medical school. Fortunately, that did not happen, so I was forced to take a year off. During this year, I decided to sell everything, including my car. I quit my job, the same job I had all the way through college and high school, as a matter of fact, and I took myself to Africa, so I put a backpack on and went solo to Malawi, a little sliver of a country in Eastern Africa.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I'm bringing this up because that was the beginning of the nonlinear path of my life, but it also exposed me to a part of the world that I had never even appreciated growing up in the microcosm of Southern California, but I had to get away from that so I think I finally snapped and this was in my early twenties, so I went ahead and went to Africa and roamed around there for a number of months, and then I came back to the States, and the path was very convoluted. I started a Biomedical Engineering Program at Boston University, so I went from Africa to Boston and I found out that I wasn't too keen on spending a life working on machines.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I really had appreciated human beings. That was the great part of Africa, of course. It was just the humans that I met there so I went ahead, moved away from Boston University and moved to New Mexico State University. I have a twin brother. He was pursuing his MBA there, so I jumped ship and then went off to West, went back West to the Mexico state. I still wasn't really sure what I was wanting to do, but I knew I wanted to do something in biology. I did have an undergraduate degree in biology so I said, "Why not?" I walked into the biology building at New Mexico State University, and then inquired about potential graduate student work under any professors and sure enough, there was a new physiology professor there who took me under his wing, so I began a PhD Program in Biology under his wing in comparative animal physiology. That's what I did there. I studied the cardiovascular and respiratory physiology of amphibians and crocodilians.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I was on a research path, more or less, at New Mexico State University, but I was also a graduate teaching assistant, and this is where the teaching began. I ran anatomy and physiology labs, but I was also allowed to run my own course at New Mexico State. I was there about six years, and so I taught for six years there, and that really got the ball rolling for me with respect to teaching, and I'll circle around to that if asked about who's inspired me to teach because my PhD Advisor was that main person. My teaching began there, and then I dabbled in the private industry after— Actually I did a PostDoc. I did a very brief PostDoc at the University of Arizona, the medical school there, and then that lasted about a year, and then I went to private industry up in the Bay area, worked for a Bio-Rad and then I missed teaching, and I wanted to go back to teaching, so I started to apply. I was still single at the time and sure enough, I went into the job apps at the Chronicle and a new medical physiology teaching position opened up at a new medical school in Belize so I said, "Okay, let's go to the Caribbean." I knew about the Caribbean schools. This was the booming airtime of the Caribbean schools, so again, sold everything and moved off to the Caribbean where I taught medical physiology for three years at a brand new medical school, and then after—

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

You see, I told you this was going to be long so this is the path it's taken. I taught down there for three years, and then due to poor management, that school being a sister school of a school is still out there in the Caribbean, it didn't didn't make it so I had to take my wife who is Belizean— I moved down there, I met my wife down there, and then my daughter was also born in Mexico adjacent to Belize, so I had to find another job. I found another teaching position, and then we moved back up to the States. I was at the University of Tulsa for a year as a visiting professor, and I had a blast there. It was a visiting, a temporary position so I knew that that wasn't going to last and I wound up getting another job back in the Caribbean and I moved out to St. Lucia. I was also teaching medical physiology at a school still out there, and again, I continued my love of teaching out there. I didn't want to live in St. Lucia, however, because of the family so I went ahead and became an administrator for the school. I became a Dean for the school and I was based out of the Dallas area.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Administration was okay. I'd say that is a big "okay" only because I had really missed the teaching. Once again, I was in a position where I was not in the classroom and I wanted to get back to teaching, and then this as my resume shows, as my CV shows, this is a time where I dabbled— Not dabbled but I actually took another position in the community colleges there in the Dallas area. I taught for about six years, part-time and then full-time for a few years at a community college. That's where I really, again, I discovered my love of teaching. I really enjoy teaching at a community college level. These were pre-nursing students. I was teaching there at the same time as still kind of working in the Caribbean, and then I was ready to move more into a higher education. I guess I wanted to go beyond and wanted to come back to medical school education, and that landed me in a position at AT Still University.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I didn't know much about osteopathic medicine. This was in 2014 where I made the jump to an osteopathic school. I was there for about four years teaching physiology again, and then an opportunity came up at a new medical school in Idaho, that is ICOM, our school now, and I had the opportunity to help start the program and the curriculum and teach a lot in the new program. That is where I've been for three years. I've taught at all different levels, not high school, not elementary school. I don't know, that would be a tough one for me, but I've just been exposed to a number, hundreds, if not thousands of students over the years at various different programs and that's it. Here we are 20 years later from getting my PhD, and I'm still in the same business. It's a long story. There are a lot of different twists and turns, but it all has centered around my love of educating.

LINDSEY SMITH::

That's amazing. Your teaching has obviously inspired young professionals enough that a number of them nominated you for this award, but who or what inspired you to teach?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Yeah, sure. I think we've all had probably good teachers, maybe elementary school or high school, and then I didn't really run into any memorable teachers as an undergraduate. I think, like most big universities, you didn't really get to meet your professors, and then I came to graduate school with the more personalized learning, and then I met Dr. Steve Warburton. He was my PhD. Advisor. I had watched him-- I watched him lecture in just a normal human physiology course, but watching him lecture and whittle down such complex material into simplistic words, but then using a lot of fun in the process. He was very funny in front of lecture and the students adored him. I just watched the way he did it, and he really began to inspire me to become, I think, who I am today as an instructor, very personal individual, and then just like I said, funny and taking such complex material and making it relatively simple to learn, so I give major kudos to Steve for starting me on that path.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Along the way, of course, now I've met, as I mentioned, hundreds, if not thousands of students, so they definitely light the fire for me as the years go on here with their feedback, constructive feedback, positive and negative, all of their feedback really keeps me going in this field. That continues to inspire me. Now on the "what" part of that, those are the hughes. The "what", I would turn to the field itself, so physiology. I still absolutely adore physiology. It's just a field you can learn and -- so I feel it from the medical students because they're learning physiology very quickly over the first two years, and even if they had it as an undergrad, it's just a field you can craft so even after 20 years or so, or over 25 years now of learning it, I'm still absolutely intrigued by it. I still like to pick up books and read all about physiology and I like to profess it. I think it's a wonderful field to sit in between all the disciplines that we do cover in medical school. That does not help that I'm actually-- Or that is a huge help in that what I do and the material that I'm actually talking about. It's just a brilliant material. I love it.

LINDSEY SMITH::

So in order to win this award, you had to receive a lot of nominations and testimonials from students and colleagues. Now, I'm going to read you one, and you tell me what you think. "Mark is incredibly kind, personable and willing to help and frequently volunteers to talk with team members and customer prospects about his experience using Osmosis to support teaching and learning. When ICOM students transitioned suddenly to remote learning during the pandemic in spring 2020, Dr. Slivkoff sent his students personalized videos to cheer them on sending messages of hope and providing personal connection during the time of quarantine." How does that make you feel?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Well, it captures exactly what I was trying to do. I am a major fan of just being as transparent as possible with the students and letting them know that I am human just like them, you know? I'm trying to think a better way to say this and that. I always want to try to connect with those students on any level that we can possibly connect that so I have a background-- It's not a silver spoon background, but I'm from a divorced family. My father died of alcoholism, but those are issues that I don't mind talking to with my students so they can get to know me so I think that a comment like that, I mean, it recognized-- It's a comment that lets me know that I am recognized for who I am, and that I'm very open, again, I'm very personable and outside of that cup, I've read other comments, too. I would that many of the comments get me very-- They bring tears of joy and that's literal, too.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I'm a bit of a crier. I guess I thank my grandfather for that one, but I've received so many warm comments, including that one that just truly show how appreciative they are of me opening my heart, my life up to the students, especially during the quarantine. Like I said, "I'm real, I'm human. I'm out here. I'm going through the same thing, but you can do this," so I'm a big fan of students, despite the fact that whatever their struggles might be, that they can learn this materia, and they can hopefully become really good doctors out there. I know that was a bit of a whirlwind of an answer there, but again, that was just one response. Again, we did a big survey with Osmosis as a matter of fact, and we captured hundreds of comments. It was extraordinary what the students would say about me. I still get just the best emails that really, again, light the fire for my teaching. They do, they literally bring me into tears and as I talk about some of the comments I get very emotional about it, so very appreciative.

LINDSEY SMITH::

That's truly awesome. I hope you saved those emails. They sound special. So Osmosis has six core values, "Start with the heart, spread joy, have each other's backs, imagine more, open your arms and reach further." Is there one or two of those that resonate with you?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Two resonate with me the most, right? I would say "Start with the heart," right? That just comes down to actually caring. Yes, caring about the students. I think they know I care about them, and I think that makes it easy for them to open up to me. I really, I truly care about their learning so that one definitely resonates with me, and then another one-- All of them resonate with me, I believe, but then the other one is with respect to opening your arms. We welcome all learners, and I can't emphasize that enough. We interview for new students coming to the university, and we recognize just all the different types of students that enter medical school, and from all different parts of life, all different parts of the world, all flavors of students. I've had the opportunity to meet all different--

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

It's such a huge diversity of students as well, and that one I'm reading as-- That is embracing the diversity that we can possibly build at many of our institutions here so that's a big one for me as well. I mean, they all-- And then "Spread joy," that's one of my jobs, I think, too, because medical school is so stressful, and with the quarantine just adding to that stress, someone has to be out there to try to spread the joy and remain positive and just let them know that life, yes, it can be very cruel at times, but it is also a very beautiful thing to enjoy, so I'm definitely about spreading that positivity as Bob Marley says or sings positive vibrations. I'm a huge fan of Bob Marley and that helped my travel through Africa, helped me get into that, so I'm all about spreading the joy as well. They all resonate very, very clearly, which is why we're partnering with you as you probably know, so I'm a big fan.

LINDSEY SMITH::

COVID has brought everyone some unique challenges to say the least. What has your experience been like? What have you learned and how have you overcome these challenges?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

The pandemic began after I finished almost my final physiology lecture in respiratory physiology. This is a very complicated material. At the end of that first week of my course, the respiratory course, the pandemic so we had to immediately transition into remote learning. Initially, and still, we're still in that phase of our education, the transition wasn't too bad for me. I had taught online before, so I knew what it's like to kind of build a course and to do lectures online, and then the initial transition wasn't too bad, but now I think over time I'm learning that it is getting a bit old. I'm missing the classroom. I'm missing being in lecture halls. I'm missing just being in the hallways and running into students with their random questions because, of course, the frequency of interaction goes down and has gone down tremendously, so I guess I've learned that I'm still in this until the end of the pandemic, so I'm not going away, and I've also learned that despite the challenge with not being in person, I think you really can put yourself--

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

You can still let the students know, students who haven't met you, you can still let them know who you are. You can still put yourself in videos. I do that. A whole bunch has mentioned it in that comment earlier. I do build videos for my students. I work in a lot of music. I think we can connect a lot using music. I'm not afraid to put music in my videos, even if those are intros to whatever it might be, the physiology of the liver, I'm going to probably put myself and maybe some music in the background, just so they know who I am. I've got animals, so cats are always running around and I've built by that projects going on around the house so I don't mind filming that material. I do try to let them know who I am still, so I've learned that you can still teach and I think you can still educate and motivate through online platforms, but I will add it, it is getting a bit tiring, but we're in this for the long haul as most schools are.

LINDSEY SMITH::

How about expanding on what all this has taught you?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

As I mentioned before, I think what I've learned is that it is still-- We don't have to be in the classroom to get to know our students and I think students and faculty think that because we have to do our lectures online, or we just do a screencast, you can definitely make it very, I guess, very passive. You can go through and just read whatever you're going to project on the screen and make it a very passive, almost boring experience for the students, and I've learned that that's not necessarily the path that we have to take so I would rise to the challenge and say, "You know, we are given these circumstances, so let's turn the tables and let's build active components into our lecture." I guess I've learned more that it is possible to make your lectures relatively active, despite the fact that they are still kind of a one-way dialogue.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Improve. There are lots of programs out there. There are learning platforms and they definitely engage our learners, so again, if I want to use that term, I think we can still learn. I think we can still engage our learners despite the fact that we are remote. Some students may not ever meet us, and if they do meet us, we'll only see half their faces because everyone's wearing a mask, so I would say that's-- I would also add that I've also learned that I won't be pushed out of the field because we're remote right now. I think a lot of teachers might be contemplating if this is the job for them, if it is all about remote now. I've learned that's definitely not going to be the case with me.

LINDSEY SMITH::

That's good to hear. So what's next for you and your institution?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Well, I'm deeply embedded in the teaching here and in my position as a faculty member, you have a couple of different paths to take. You can stay in teaching, and then there's a natural progression for a lot of folks if they want to switch over to administration, jump to that quote-unquote dark side of education, depending on who you are. I don't think that path is for me. I think what I'm learning more about myself is that-- I'm definitely speaking very casually at this point-- I think what's in line for me is to continue teaching at the school. I'd like to stay put for awhile at ICOM, so my immediate future, if not for the next decade is to continue to grow the school. We are now in our third class, so we're at a little over 450 students. Our school is starting to-- Its existence is starting to reverberate throughout the Valley. As you might know, we're the only medical school in Idaho so we're the only school in the area, for sure. We're watching our students go off, and I'm in touch with our third year students. They're in the rotations, and then, of course, our second and first-year students. I'm here for the long haul, I hope, in continuing my role in the curriculum, building our curriculum, being a big part of that curricular development.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Our school is small enough, so I do have a big role in that and working with other faculty, staff and so forth. I don't see that changing in the coming years here. I think the balance between what we do at the school and using external resources, I'm a big part of that also in the school so I want to continue to build partnerships with other learning systems. I know that we're partnered with Osmosis, of course, and others as well, but that's what I see me doing. I don't want to jump ship. I'd like to stay here in Idaho and continue to watch our students progress, especially as they become physicians in this part of the country or wherever they become physicians. That's my plan and the school's plan is we're growing very fast. We have such a robust system in place here and at the school, from the beginning, the organization has been tremendous. We've got some great leaders at the school and I can only see the school having a much bigger impact in the area, which is-- I mean, doctors are sorely needed up here in this part of the country. I know you said you're in Portland, this whole region of the country, and there's just not a lot of Drs., so hopefully our school can be a big part of that. That's what I see in the future here. No return to warm weather anytime soon. The Caribbean awaits me someday, I am sure.

LINDSEY SMITH::

We want to give you a platform with this award. Is there anything you'd like our listeners to know? Anything you'd like to share?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Well, I teach physiology. That's relevant for all healthcare fields. For me, it's job security. There's nothing different about our DOs and what they experienced from me, a physiology instructor. I mean, all the resources are the same. They still have to go through the same board exams, of course, so from that perspective, it's all going to be the same concepts thrown at them. That's a pretty loaded question. I don't really specifically have any gaps to cover or anything that the audience might not know about DOs. I am happy to see-- I know that our Dean was interviewed by Osmosis as well, and I know that osteopathic medicine per se is getting much more attention and mainly with this focus on primary care.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I'm not a clinician albeit I definitely can appreciate the fact that these schools are definitely geared towards getting our students into positions where they can help a lot of people who need the help at that frontline of medicine, and that is in primary care and not in those specialties. Again, if I can give them the working knowledge, so they understand what they're seeing out there in the world, of course, I have to-- We say we don't teach to the boards, but we know that's the bottleneck so I have to make sure that they're doing really well on the boards, and then after the fact, I want to make sure that they remember some of that material that I once told them about. I think that's what I have to add here, nothing extraordinary, no new findings on my part.

LINDSEY SMITH::

What advice would you give your students or any students really who are just now entering the medical field?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I mentioned this earlier about, just the positivity, I think, and even outside the pandemic, I think that in their role, they have to be a shining light. They really do need to be spreaders of positivity whichever way that could be. I think they need to be really good teachers and explainers and good communicators. I hope that they do-- I think they get the training, and a lot of them come to medical school as great communicators anyway. I think communicating that positivity, and, of course, the science behind whatever they're discussing with their patients, is of utmost importance. I also think it's important that they remain humble.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I don't want their degrees to be a substitute for that humility. The degree is only a degree. It just means you know something a bit more than someone else. It doesn't make you a better person at all. There's no need to use the "Dr." For everyone you meet. Just say, "My name is Mark. I'm Mark." Of course, there are those contexts where we use that differently, but I don't want them to think that just because they've attained a degree that that makes them superior in some way to anyone around them so I think staying humble and spreading that positivity is of utmost importance, and again, keeping the communication alive with everyone around them.

LINDSEY SMITH::

So to close this, is there anyone you would like to think peers, students, maybe the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine?

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

Absolutely. I've been at many schools, but this experience at ICOM has really been my best experience. I really feel like I'm almost at the pinnacle in my career right now, and I do appreciate-- Dr. Luke Mortensen, he's the one who hired me, more or less. I interviewed with him to make that transition from AT Still University to ICOM. That was a big move for me, and a big move for my family, and I appreciate that he wanted me up here so we went ahead. I took the chance and it's worked out tremendously. Dr. Mortensen. He's an amazing figure. He's been a very good mentor for me up here at the school so I thank him, and then of course, all my teaching colleagues. We have a great group up here in Idaho. Now, teaching colleagues, including the PhDs, the MDs, the DOs who all teach alongside of me and then our leadership.

DR. MARK SLIVKOFF::

I couldn't ask for a better leadership. Usually there's-- There can be a very big divide between leadership and the faculty. We don't really have that here so I really appreciate all that they've done for me in allowing me to do what I do best, to teach, and to give me the opportunity and the flexibility to try out different products, and try out different methods as we progress into the future, and then of course, there's all the staff. The staff are awesome up here and that's IT and then all our curricular folks. They have helped me, or they facilitate my teaching tremendously so I definitely appreciate all of them at the school as well, and then, of course, the students, so those students who do speak up, write the emails, or give us feedback, give me feedback, give the curriculum feedback. Every which way that they're communicating with us, I greatly appreciate and thank them for sure. I've throw them out surveys randomly and they usually just jump in and do surveys for me. That is so appreciative for me to get feedback. Those are the big, "Thank you's" right there, so absolutely everyone centered around my current existence up here in Idaho.

LINDSEY SMITH::

Thank you so much, Mark.