Welcome to the latest edition of the You said... We did... newsletter, which shares updates about how we are responding to MD student suggestions for building an even more vibrant and enriching learning community at Yale School of Medicine (YSM).
To help you track improvements, we post past You Said... We Did... updates on this YSM webpage, organized by topic. If you have questions about any update item, 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:
Pre-clerkship students have said that they want small group workshops to be more interactive and better forums to learn and practice critical thinking, clinical reasoning, teamwork, and communication— all skills that are needed as you begin your clinical clerkships. Students want more practice developing and prioritizing a differential diagnosis, choosing diagnostic tests, and interpreting the results, as well as opportunities to consider challenges posed by access and cost in the health care system.
We did...
This fall we piloted a high-engagement, high-yield small group for second-year students in Connections to the World and Across the Lifespan. Students in this group committed to preparing for and attending every session so that they could develop and refine these skills utilizing the workshop cases and material in these two courses. The pilot group was facilitated by Dr. Jeremy Moeller, with consultant faculty visiting the group for various topics. Student and faculty feedback about the pilot has been very positive.
In January, we are expanding the pilot and offering two high-engagement, high-yield small groups for first-year students that will begin in Attacks and Defenses and continue in Homeostasis. If these groups also are successful and there is student interest, we will consider expanding this option for more students in future courses.
You said...
In the Fall 2024 pulse survey, 22% of first- and second-year students indicated that they wanted more opportunities for higher-quality formative feedback in the pre-clerkship period.
We did...
The Longitudinal Coaching Program was designed to provide YSM students a way to review and reflect on their progress in reaching the milestones for each phase of the curriculum without the burden of multiple high-stakes examinations and grades during the pre-clerkship period. This is intended to be formative feedback at its best, aligned with the principles of the Yale System, emphasizing a growth mindset framed around attaining competency, rather than being benchmarked against other students. We recognize the need to design more creative and meaningful opportunities for students to gather ‘data’ about their performance reaching the milestones, so that there can be more robust discussion with your coaches. This is a top priority in our strategic plan implementation for 2025.
Traditionally, the mandatory mid-course self-assessments have been the primary method of formative feedback in the pre-clerkship courses at YSM. Over the summer, a group of students worked with Dr. Michael Greene, our director of student assessment, to improve the quality of the questions on the self-assessments. Other current methods of formative feedback include weekly quizzes, as well as the verbal and written feedback that students receive in Clinical Skills, MCE, and ILCE, and the feedback that small group leaders provide in Professional Responsibility, Populations and Methods, and the Physiology thread.
Based on student comments in the survey, Dr. Takizawa is working with course directors to improve the quality of the questions on the weekly quizzes in each course. Dr. Talwalkar, Dr. Homer, and others are exploring the use of AI to construct other useful methods of formative feedback in the pre-clerkship period. If you are interested in participating, please reach out to them.
We seek your continued involvement in how we can further improve student satisfaction with the quality and quantity of formative feedback in the pre-clerkship period in ways that remain aligned with the Yale System.
We will re-survey M1 and M2 students in the spring and share these results with the LCME.
You said...
In the Fall 2024 pulse survey, 16% of M1 students and 23% of M2 students noted the need for more spaces for relaxation on campus.
We did...
Last week, the new relaxation and gathering spaces in the back of Café Med opened. An additional, recently renovated space for studying and relaxing also is available on the mezzanine level of Café Med, just up the stairs from Spinelli Lounge. The Spinelli Lounge renovation, which will include a kitchenette and other new upgrades, began last week and will continue through April.
In November, a group of M1 and M2 students met with the architectural firm planning updates and renovations in the entryway and reception area of the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. These spaces will be open 24-7 and will include new seating, workstations, gathering space, a water fountain, a microwave, and (fingers crossed) a hot drink station and vending machine.
For private online meetings or interviews, we are pleased to announce that the medical library has installed six more Zenbooths on the lower level of the library, for a total of nine privacy booths. The booths, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis, are located on the E-Level in the study space near the Technology Support Service Center. Additionally, one room—ESHD 210A—in the Admissions Office on the second floor of Harkness D is available for you to use for interviews or other important calls. This room is in the EMS reservation system and is available for students to reserve online.
We will re-survey M1 and M2 students in the spring after the renovations are complete and share these results with the LCME.
You said...
You wanted clarification about the roles of the heads of advisory houses and of longitudinal coaches.
We did...
We created this flier explaining their different roles in academic & progress support, career & academic advising, and community building. The flier is posted on the Student Affairs website.
You said...
You wanted to know if the pilot reimbursing students for ride shares to Bridgeport Hospital for clinical rotations would continue.
We did...
We are excited to announce that funds have been identified to continue the pilot for MD students and expand it to PA students!
Here’s how it works: When two or more MD and/or PA students share an Uber or Lyft ride to and/or from Bridgeport Hospital for a clinical shift, they can submit receipts for reimbursement. Reimbursement for night shift rides is available for individual students. Also, carpools in student-owned cars are eligible for reimbursement of mileage (currently 65.5 cents per mile). As a reminder, Bridgeport Hospital does not charge students for parking.
Reimbursement procedure:
Save your receipts and include them in the reimbursement request.
Reimbursement requests must include:
Name of student submitting payment for trip.
Names of students who shared the ride.
Starting location, any pickup locations, and the ending destination.
Total cost of transportation (Uber/Lyft tips should be limited to 15%).
Clerkship rotation, i.e., OB/Gyn, Psychiatry, etc.
Date and starting/end time of travel.
To reduce administrative burden, receipts and requests should be submitted in aggregate at the end of each month to Matthew Costa from the Business Office.
We anticipate that you will receive reimbursement, either by check or Zelle, within four weeks of submission.
You said...
Some of you aren’t sure where to find MD Program policies.
We did...
We created a user-friendly webpage with all MD Program policies organized by curriculum phase and also organized by topic (Academic Progress, Advancement, and Graduation; Attendance; Curriculum; Education Administration; Professionalism and Academic Learning Environment; Registrar; and Student Affairs.)
You said...
In the Fall 2024 pulse survey, over 30% of third-year students indicated the need for more advising about choosing electives in the ATP.
We did...
In August, the Office of Student Affairs hosted two evening sessions providing information about electives, subinternships, and ATP planning, and in the fall, each of the core specialties hosted a departmental event to share specialty-specific advice and elective recommendations. Every M3 should have had a meeting in the fall with the head of their advisory house to discuss and review their ATP schedule, including a discussion about electives and subinternships. The heads of the advisory houses are now reaching out and offering a follow up meeting for all M3s who would like to talk more about electives and subinternships.
In the Fall 2024 pulse survey, M3 students expressed a strong interest in having access to specialty-specific advisors other than the residency program directors, for career advice and when choosing electives within their ATP. Dean Francis and I discussed this with the directors of medical education (DME) in each clinical department. The DMEs oversee medical education across the four-year MD curriculum in their departments. They have agreed to be the initial point-of-contact for medical students interested in their specialty. In some cases, they are also the residency program directors, indicated by an asterisk below; in this case, they have agreed to identify alternative specialty-specific advisors in their department for interested students. In some cases, an alternate or additional specialty-specific advisor has already been designated in parentheses below.
Please reach out to the DMEs or alternates listed below for additional specialty-specific advice about electives and/or if you are considering careers in these specialties.
Anesthesia: Dr. Chris Szabo
Dermatology: Dr. Mary Tomayko
Emergency Medicine: Dr. Jessica Bod (Dr. Karen Jubanyik)
Genetics: Dr. Hui Zhang*
Internal Medicine (Traditional, Family Medicine, or Primary Care): Dr. Dana Dunne (and identifying others, given large number of students who apply in internal medicine related specialties)
Laboratory Medicine: Dr. Tore Eide
Neurology: Dr. Jeremy Moeller* (Dr. Jeff Dewey)
Neurosurgery: Dr. Michael DiLuna*
OB/GYN: Dr. Shefali Pathy
Ophthalmology: Dr. Ninani Kombo
Orthopaedics: Dr. Dominick Tuason
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Dr. Jennifer Hankenson*
Pathology: Dr. Robert Homer
Pediatrics: Dr. Uma Phatak
Psychiatry: Dr. Kirsten Wilkins (Dr. Brian Fuerhlein)
Radiology (Diagnostic or Interventional): Dr. Mahan Mathur
Surgical Specialties: Dr. Mehra Golshan
Therapeutic Radiology (Radiation Oncology): Dr. Sanjay Aneja (Dr. Henry Park)
Urology: Dr. Marianne Casilla-Lemon
Please note that YSM students are given priority in scheduling electives and subinternships through the end of December. In January each year, our ATP electives and subinternships start to become available for students from other medical schools scheduling away rotations at Yale. You can always modify your ATP schedule later with the caveat that there may be other students scheduled in slots after January each year.
In the spring, the Office of Student Affairs will host residency dinners with departments for rising M4s, which will provide further specialty-specific information for applying to residency, in addition to a career lunch and dinner for each advisory house that will be open to all students.
We seek your continued feedback to improve counseling about electives and planning the ATP. We will re-survey M3, M4, and M5 students in the spring and provide these results to the LCME.
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
