Welcome to the most recent edition of the You said... We did... newsletter—and for the MD Class of 2027, to your first edition! I use this newsletter to share updates about how we are responding to student suggestions for building an even more vibrant and enriching learning community for the MD Program at Yale School of Medicine (YSM). I refer to ideas from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Independent Student Analysis, as well as from conversations with you at Medical Student Council meetings, lunches, and other venues.
So that you can easily track improvements, we post past You Said... We Did... updates on the YSM LCME webpage, organized by topic. If you have questions or feedback about any update item, or the format of this newsletter or the webpage, please share your thoughts with me at jessica.illuzzi@yale.edu. We want to ensure this is a useful resource.
Below is a list of the topics covered in this newsletter:
You want more training in caring for patients from different backgrounds.
We did...
Dr. Beverley Sheares and Dr. Doug Shenson, co-leaders of the Health Equity Thread (HET), are continuing to develop new and enhanced curricula that address the needs of patients from a diverse range of backgrounds. They are meeting with each course director to identify health equity learning objectives relevant to their course. In addition, the HET has developed new content for the master and longitudinal courses, clinical skills course, the clerkship precedes, and the YSM Capstone course.
Last year, the glossary was created to help faculty and students communicate with patients and colleagues as respectfully as possible on issues of particular sensitivity. This project was developed by a committee of faculty, staff, students, and community partners, as part of the Inclusive Language Initiative. Language, like science, is not static and changes as we learn more. The current glossary is intended to be a living document of terms used in medicine that will be reviewed and evaluated periodically to ensure that it continues to meet its intended aim to improve communication with patients of different backgrounds and identities. This year, the glossary has been provided to all faculty and residents who teach or supervise medical students.
You would like more opportunities for career advising and more advice about electives in the advanced training period (ATP).
We did...
As many of you have heard, we have created six colleges at YSM, similar to the Yale undergraduate model. You will all be members of a college based on your advisory group. Faculty, fellows, residents, and alumni have been invited to be affiliates with each college, with a goal to have representation from almost every specialty in each college. Our hope is that this will facilitate broader opportunities to learn about different careers through college gatherings, mentorship, and career exploration. Stay tuned!
The August and September elective panel discussion and the session on choosing and scheduling clinical electives and subinternships are once again required for all M3s. In addition, every M3 student should be scheduling a meeting with their advisor to review their ATP plans, including a discussion about electives and subinternships to explore specialties and to help prepare you for residency in your chosen specialty.
We also want to make sure you are aware of many existing career advising activities at YSM. Read about those here and please send more ideas our way!
You said...
You aren’t sure where and how formative feedback is provided during your pre-clerkship training.
We did...
We have created an electronic student dashboard where all formative feedback you receive throughout the curriculum will be accessible at your fingertips, including the formative feedback in Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE), Medical Clinical Experience (MCE), clinical skills sessions, and courses. This will include narrative commentaries and formative assessments of clinical skills.
You would like to know what YSM is doing to enhance diversity among students.
We did...
We are strongly committed to recruiting and educating a diverse student body, across a wide range of factors, and our robust outreach efforts are making a difference in advancing inclusive excellence. For the incoming MD Class of 2027, 35% of you identify as under-represented in medicine (URiM), 12% are the first in your family to achieve a college education, and 28% were born outside of the United States in 21 different countries. Additionally, the class comes from 58 colleges and universities.
The Offices of Admissions and Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement, and Equity (DICE) collaborate closely in this recruitment effort. Additionally, YSM created the position of associate dean for medical student diversity—which Marietta Vazquez, MD, holds— in 2021, to oversee, among other responsibilities, the strategic deployment of resources and to coordinate DICE’s recruitment activities.
Over the last few academic years, Admissions and DICE have engaged in numerous outreach events, either in person or virtually, at career forums, colleges, and universities, including at many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Read more about these efforts here.
You said...
You want door-to-door shuttle service at night.
We did...
We hosted a student Town Hall in June about public safety, in which Yale Police Chief Anthony Campbell and representatives from Yale Security and Yale Parking & Transit participated. In response to concerns that the nighttime door-to-door shuttle had been discontinued during COVID-19 and not re-instituted, the Parking & Transit representatives shared that there is a new nighttime transit option: between 6:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m., the Nighttime Blue and Orange Yale shuttle lines and the 333 Cedar Express, which all leave from 333 Cedar Street, provide “to door” drop-offs (taking you right to your destination) after making their fixed stops, if your stop is within the shuttle route boundaries. You are encouraged to notify the driver of your address for a “to door” drop-off. Read more about this transit option here.
I also want to echo Chief Campbell's encouragement that everyone download the LiveSafe app, which has important features such as requesting a walking escort, calling or sending discreet text messages directly to the Yale Police Department in an emergency, and allowing a friend or family member to track you as you travel. It also has very helpful information about what to do in numerous emergency situations, ranging from an active shooter, to a hurricane, to a fire. This information is available on the app’s homepage under Quick Links, Emergency Procedures.
You said...
We need to improve the Harkness Gym.
We did...
We are happy to announce that the Harkness Gym has reopened—a couple of days early!—after the summer renovation. You can start using it again, 24/7. I hope many of you are able to attend the Office of Student Affairs event today (Sept. 7) at 12 p.m., to see and celebrate the renovations—and enjoy snacks and get a Yale water bottle.
We appreciate your patience during the renovation and your help designing the space and guiding the equipment decisions. We hope you enjoy the new equipment, flooring, lighting, mirrors, and air circulation, as well as updated bathrooms and showers. (Please note, school-sponsored memberships at the hospital’s LivingWell facility expired on August 31, now that we can use the Harkness Gym again.)
I hope you also have a chance to check out the updated Morse Reading Room, the Historical Library, and the Mezzanine space above Café Med.
I encourage you to complete this short survey, which asks for your feedback on these renovations. (The survey will be available at the gym celebration too.)
Stay tuned for additional improvements!
Again, I look forward to your questions or feedback.
Sincerely,
Jessica Illuzzi, MD, MS
Deputy Dean for Education Harold W. Jockers Professor of Medical Education
