Strengthening Pediatric Trauma Care Through Simulation
Sam Buck Awarded Teaching Prize at MD Commencement
YCHS Simulation Academy Class of 2026 Graduation
YCHS Faculty Prepares for Radiological and Nuclear Incidents
2026 Graduates of the Simulation Academy by Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation
Upcoming Events
June 4, 2026, all day, The Anlyan Center, Medical Education Day at Yale. Hosted by the Center for Medical Education, this conference is open to the community of educators from the Yale health profession schools. All Yale students, faculty, fellows, residents, staff, and alumni are welcome to attend. Continuing medical education (CME) credit will be available. Conference attendance is free.
June 30, 1-5 pm, CWML 115, Citizen Developer Workshop. Part of the Technology Innovation in Medical Education Series (TIME Series), this interactive session introduces the principles of citizen development—empowering non IT professionals to design simple digital solutions in a Yale-approved platform.
AI in Med Ed Panel Highlights Lessons from Three Universities
On May 19, 2026, YSM ETI hosted a TIME Series webinar on AI in Medical Education: How Institutions are Experimenting, Learning, and Adapting
. With 91 participants, it became the most well attended TIME Series event to date. Panelists from Mt. Sinai, Stanford, and the University of Washington explored how institutions are integrating AI to support feedback and learner development, advance AI literacy across the continuum, and serve as a thought partner in clinical reasoning. Email Innovate.MedEd@yale.edu to request access to the recording.
YSM ETI Research Published on AI Scribe Impact on OSCE Notes
YSM ETI members Jaideep Talwalkar, MD, and Gary Leydon contributed to a new JMIR Medical Education study
examining how ambient AI scribes affect medical students’ documentation during an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Researchers reviewed notes from 104 first-year Yale medical students, including 47 who created “hybrid” notes by combining their own writing with AI-generated text. In post-exam surveys, 70% of students said the AI-generated notes were more concise, and 61% said they made a good first draft. At the same time, 49% felt important details were missing, and 43% worried that relying on AI could weaken note-writing skills over time. The study found little effect on higher-performing students, but notable improvement among lower-performing students, with 75% of those in the lowest quartile showing stronger note quality. The authors note that while AI tools may support learning, educational safeguards are still essential.
From Worst to Worthwhile: A 5-Minute Brainstorming Exercise
Looking for a quick way to spark fresh thinking in your courses, rotations, or curriculum planning? Try the “Worst Possible Idea” technique—a simple, high-impact design-thinking exercise presented by Gary Leydon at the April 2026 Ideathon.
This five-minute activity encourages participants to generate intentionally bad ideas, creating a low-pressure space where everyone—from students and residents to faculty—can contribute freely. By removing fear of judgment and flattening hierarchy, the exercise opens the door to more creative and honest thinking.
Here’s how it works: start with a shared challenge (e.g., improving learner engagement), give participants one minute to write down their worst ideas, then spend a minute identifying what those ideas reveal about underlying assumptions. Next, flip those insights into real solutions, and wrap with a quick group share.
The result? A fast, energizing way to uncover new perspectives, build team collaboration, and turn even the worst ideas into meaningful innovation.
Yale AI NotebookLM Tool Can Create Podcasts, Mind Maps, Tutors, Bibliographies, and More
Google NotebookLM is a source-grounded AI assistant that helps users build knowledge bases from up to 50 uploaded sources, including PDFs, slides, and transcripts. It generates summaries, study guides, and audio podcasts based only on those materials, with citations for verification. Yale faculty, staff, and students have free access to NotebookLM
and in a compliant environment that can be used for low or moderate risk Yale data. Individuals can login to NotebookLM with their netid@yale.edu to be directed to single sign on.
Medical education faculty at other universities are using NotebookLM to support curriculum design, active recall, and more accessible learning. At Wake Forest University School of Medicine, faculty used NotebookLM to turn lecture transcripts and pathology papers into study modules and interactive chats, reducing manual content development. Brigham Young Faculty have used NotebookLM’s audio feature to turn dense medical literature into short conversational podcasts to reduce cognitive overload. University of Washington is using NotebookLM as a personalized student tutor based on curricular materials. Within Yale,
other professional schools are using it to locate scholarly materials for research.
Quick Mockups in AI, PowerPoint to Visualize Your Ideas
YSM ETI member Ye Xu, PhD, regularly consults with faculty to build out their ideas. She recently shared her tips for how to quickly convert ideas into visual concepts using AI and simple templates. With free Yale AI platforms like Clarity or Copilot Chat
, a well-crafted prompt can generate a single-screen mock interface in seconds—helping teams visualize workflows, test features, and refine ideas without needing technical design skills.
For example, a prompt for a new app named “Next TIME” might include audio recording, transcription, summarization, and sharing features—instantly producing a mockup that can be iterated and improved. This approach makes it easy to align on functionality early and gather feedback.
For those who want more control, PowerPoint templates offer a practical alternative. Teams can quickly assemble layouts using simple shapes and text boxes to fine-tune design details and communicate ideas more precisely.
Both approaches highlight a key takeaway: visualizing ideas early improves clarity, aligns stakeholders, and reduces rework—accelerating the path from concept to implementation.
Strengthening Pediatric Trauma Care Through Simulation
The Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation
(YCHS) recently led a multidisciplinary training with the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) Pediatric Trauma Program to improve care for injured children through realistic simulation. Teams from emergency, transport, surgical, and critical care settings worked together on a complex case requiring urgent surgery, allowing them to practice coordination in a high-stakes scenario. The exercise demonstrated how simulation strengthens communication and coordination, enabling teams to enhance collaboration and deliver safer, more effective care for pediatric patients. Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital is a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center that provides the highest level of care for critically injured children. Its teams care for more than 40,000 pediatric emergency patients each year, supporting coordinated, high-quality trauma care.
Sam Buck Awarded Teaching Prize at MD Commencement
The Yale School of Medicine announced its annual teaching awards during the MD Class of 2026 Commencement
, recognizing seven distinguished faculty members. The Francis Gilman Blake Award—presented each year to the faculty member selected by the graduating class as the most outstanding teacher of medical sciences—was awarded to Samuel Buck, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine. In their nomination, class co-presidents shared, Buck “has been far more than an instructor; he has been the bridge between the safety of the classroom and the reality of the bedside... By transforming simulations into a space of encouragement and patience, he doesn’t just teach us how to practice medicine, but also how to believe in ourselves as future physicians.”
YCHS Simulation Academy Class of 2026 Graduation
On May 2, the Yale Simulation Academy celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2026
, marking the completion of a two-year program that blends hands-on medical simulation with sustained mentorship for New Haven high school students. In the first year, students gain exposure to core clinical skills—including CPR, intubation, ultrasound imaging, suturing, and IV placement—while connecting these techniques to the science they study in school. The second year explores realistic scenarios such as labor and delivery, neonatal resuscitation, and chest tube insertion, and gives students the opportunity to design their own simulations. Faculty noted that “the growth of students across the two years is very impressive,” reflecting the program’s impact. The event also featured a panel of healthcare professionals—including an EMT, nurse, and physician—who shared candid insights into their career paths and offered advice to students as they consider futures in healthcare. Together, these experiences help students
build confidence, explore career paths, and feel more connected to the healthcare field.
YCHS Faculty Prepares for Radiological and Nuclear Incidents
Amir Mansour, MD
, assistant professor of emergency medicine and YCHS faculty member, recently completed Advanced Radiation Medicine training through REAC/TS at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Joining his Emergency Medical Services (EMS) colleagues, he participated in training designed to help healthcare professionals recognize, assess, and respond to radiological and nuclear incidents, with a focus on emergency care, medical management, and coordinated response. REAC/TS, a U.S. Department of Energy program, serves as a national resource in radiation emergency medicine and supports preparedness efforts across the country. A former YCHS simulation fellow, Mansour specializes in EMS simulation and in advancing methods to improve patient care and medical education.
About YCHS
YCHS aims to provide an ideal learning environment that fosters self-reflection, mutual respect and an integrated, interdisciplinary team spirit in order to optimize healthcare delivery and engender a culture committed to patient safety. Learn more about YCHS.
