Welcome to the most recent edition of the You said... We did... (YSWD) newsletter—and for the MD Class of 2028, 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 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:
You wanted more training on caring for patients from different backgrounds in the pre-clerkship period.
We did...
Graduating YSM students have consistently rated their comfort in caring for patients from different backgrounds very high, but our LCME (the medical school accrediting body) pulse surveys in 2023 showed that many pre-clerkship students are seeking more opportunities to learn about caring for patients from different backgrounds earlier in the curriculum. In March 2024, the LCME noted that it would continue to monitor our progress in this area.
In Spring 2024, we formed a working group, which includes students and the Health Equity Thread team, to consider ways to enhance our curriculum in the pre-clerkship period. The working group conducted a survey of M1s and a focus group in the summer.
The focus group discussion reflected that students want a better understanding of the Health Equity Thread across the four-year curriculum, including how this content is mapped, integrated, and taught in courses and clerkships, and what opportunities there are to practice in developmentally-appropriate simulated or clinical settings.
The focus group also highlighted specific opportunities to further enhance learning and experiences in Introduction to the Profession (iPro), Clinical Skills, the Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE), and Medical Clinical Experience (MCE), on topics including the use of a medical interpreter, trauma-informed care, and caring for people with disabilities or mental health problems, as well as those who are unhoused, have limited access to resources, or have been recently incarcerated.
The Health Equity Thread recently created a new webpage with helpful information, that highlights the many new additions to our curriculum over the past several years and provides a roadmap for future curricular innovations.
On September 13, from 1 - 4 pm, people with lived experiences of seeking health care while incarcerated are leading a large ILCE session (and 19 breakout room sessions) for all M1s along with PA and nursing students. Many thanks to our faculty, Drs. Carmen Black, Lisa Puglisi, and Sharon Ostfeld-Johns, for their efforts in adding this to our curriculum.
I’d also like to highlight an important new student-championed addition to our clerkship year, which all MD students will participate in. In this precede session, students are immersed in a clinical skills-based simulation focused on caring for transgender and gender diverse patients. This article provides more details.
We will continue to integrate and implement ideas suggested by the working group, and I will provide updates to students in YSWD and other forums. Importantly, in the spring of 2025, we will ask students to participate in a repeat pulse survey of this area, which we will share with the LCME. Please reach out to Dr. Beverley Sheares, Dr. Doug Shenson, or me, if you have other ideas you would like to share.
You said...
You weren’t sure what your head of advisory college’s role is versus your longitudinal coach.
We did...
We’re excited about improvements to your MD experience, coming from the YSM Strategic Plan for Medical Education, such as launching the advisory colleges, creating the Longitudinal Coaching Program, and expanding the roles of academic advisors, who are now heads of the advisory colleges. However, we recognize that we need to do a better job explaining what advisory college heads do versus what the longitudinal coaches do. We therefore 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...
Many students don’t want to include self-assessments in the Medtrics dashboard.
We did...
The LCME has required that we provide more opportunities for formative assessment that allow faculty to support students earlier in the pre-clerkship courses. In the spring of 2024, we proposed including data from course self-assessment in Medtrics, so that you could see your self-assessments and, if you’d like, discuss how you approach studying for the master courses with your longitudinal coach. As a reminder, longitudinal coaches have absolutely no role in evaluating you (i.e., no grading or recommendation letters, etc.) and must recuse themselves from any forum that does (like residency selection committees).
Because of concerns expressed by students about this proposal, we created a working group of students and faculty to brainstorm about alternative approaches that could keep us in compliance with LCME standards. On August 21, the Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee (EPCC) considered and approved an alternative proposal from the working group.
Going forward:
Self-assessment scores will not be posted in Medtrics.
Coaches will receive an email if their student has scored lower than 50% on a self-assessment.
Regularly scheduled student-coach meetings will be shifted to occur after self-assessments and before the qualifier in each master course.
At the student-coach meeting, the student and their coach can discuss how the student is feeling about the course and identify additional resources or approaches to studying, if needed. This will allow students who use the self-assessment as a study tool to continue to do so, without having a score recorded in Medtrics.
Another exciting development is that a group of students have worked over the summer with Dr. Michael Green, our director of assessment in the YSM Center for Medical Education, to improve the quality of the questions on the self-assessments. We look forward to your feedback about this method of formative assessment.
You said...
You wanted an update on the student space renovations for Café Med, Spinelli Lounge, and the gym.
We did...
We held a town hall on July 18 with our Yale project manager, contractor, and construction team, so that they could share renovation timing/logistics and answer your questions. On July 24, I sent this summary of the meeting. As described in the summary, the renovations have begun, and we anticipate that they will be completed by the end of April 2025. Additionally, I will be forwarding monthly updates from the Yale project manager. I sent the first update on Monday, August 26.
You said...
You said you wanted help in identifying specialty-oriented mentors.
We did...
We have recruited over 350 YSM faculty, residents, fellows, and alumni to be affiliates of the six YSM Advisory Colleges, including almost 100 alumni who do not work at Yale. Our goal is to have every specialty represented in every college. Check out your advisory college’s website to access the current affiliates of your college!
Affiliates are eager to engage with you, so we encourage you to reach out to them for advice on topics ranging from electives to career paths, perhaps informally over coffee. If an affiliate offers you the opportunity to spend time with them in a clinical setting, that is a terrific opportunity. Please remember you should limit these to Wednesday afternoons or other afternoons when you don’t have any curricular obligations—shadowing complements, but does not replace, curricular experiences. (Faculty will complete this form, before shadowing begins, to demonstrate that it won’t interfere with other learners, and that you will have proper supervision and access to personal protective equipment.)
You said...
It felt unsafe early morning and late at night to walk on York Street, from around York & George to Yale New Haven Hospital’s York Street Campus.
We did...
We contacted Chief of Yale Police & Associate Director of Public Safety Anthony Campbell. He was grateful to be informed of this concern and said that Yale now has specific patrols to address this area during late-night and early-morning hours.
Additionally, he encouraged everyone to use the LiveSafe app and take advantage of the 24/7 walking escort service provided by security. Walking escorts can be requested through the LiveSafe app, or by calling Security Services directly at 203-785-5555, any time, including holidays and weekends.
You said...
You were curious about how Yale supports New Haven.
We did...
At the New Haven Voices panel discussion on August 29, some attendees asked about what Yale as an institution is doing to support New Haven. We added an FAQ to the YSM Safety and Security website about this issue, sharing that many parts of Yale University, including YSM, work with Yale’s Office of New Haven Affairs (ONHA) to develop community partnerships to strengthen New Haven through fostering economic development, revitalizing neighborhoods, supporting public school and youth programs, and creating a vital downtown. This includes Yale’s six-year, $135m voluntary payment commitment to the City of New Haven, a pledge that included establishing a new Center for Inclusive Growth at Yale, focused on creating and implementing economic strategies that benefit all New Haven residents.
Among many other ONHA initiatives are programs that provide educational opportunities such as New Haven Promise (Yale provides up to $5 million per year for city residents who graduate from a New Haven public school and attend college in Connecticut), and the James W.C. Pennington Fellowship for local students, which awards up to $20,000 for tuition and fees per year for four years to attend HBCUs.
Additionally, the University is one of the founding partners of New Haven Works, a jobs pipeline for New Haven residents, and continues to be the initiative’s largest employer.
If there is interest in learning more about this topic, please let us know.
You said...
It is helpful to be reminded of well-being resources.
We did...
I want to share the link to our Well-being Resources page on the Student Affairs website. We are very proud of the YSM Student Mental Health and Wellness Program, an initiative that was student driven and is school supported. Sometimes medical training is stressful, and sometimes sociopolitical or personal events challenge our wellness. This team is here to provide support.
In addition, I want to encourage you to reach out to me or any of the associate deans listed below:
Office of the Deputy Dean for Education Dean Illuzzi: My office hours are every Tuesday, from 2 to 4 p.m. My office is on the third floor of Harkness (Room 300), right near where the Curriculum team sits. Please come by with any questions, concerns, and ideas!
Office of Student Affairs Dean Francis: Just reach out to schedule office hours. (Second floor of Harkness, Room 219)
Office of Student Research Dean Chaudhry: Office hours every Wednesday, 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. (Second floor of Harkness, Room 217) Dean Herzog: Office hours every Tuesday, noon to 1 p.m. (Second floor of Harkness, Room 217)
Office of Curriculum Dean Schwartz: Every Tuesday, from 2 to 3 p.m. and can reach out to schedule office hours. (Third floor of Harkness, Room 304)
Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement, and Equity Dean Vazquez: Just reach out to schedule office hours. (Third floor of Harkness, Room 323)
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...
You missed some school-wide messages, including from me, Dean Brown, and the university.
We did...
Last year we started an education campaign (including in You said… We did…) to spread the word about your “focused” folder and your “other” folder in your Outlook email. Please check your “other” folder for important messages from me, Dean Brown, and the university. Because these messages are sent to a large audience, Outlook by default often sends them to your “other” folder.
If you want group emails from certain senders (for example, Dean Brown) to instead go to your focused folder, simply right click a message from Dean Brown in your “other” folder, and designate it as “Always Moved to Focused.” If you need technical support, please see this page from Microsoft or you can contact the Yale ITS helpdesk.
If you hear of classmates/friends who have missed messages, please share this guidance!
I look forward to your questions or feedback.
Sincerely,
Jessica Illuzzi, MD, MS
Deputy Dean for Education Harold W. Jockers Professor of Medical Education
