Curriculum | Schoolwide Objectives | The Context and Integrative Nature of Medicine

The Context and Integrative Nature of Medicine

Neither patients nor physicians exist in isolation. Yale medical students must understand the context in which their patients live and the complex interactions between the mind, the body and the environment. Medical students must realize that they will practice medicine within a context; they must understand the needs and expectations of society at large and they must have the ability to work with colleagues and health care teams. Further, they must realize that being a physician is a privilege - one that comes with a responsibility to serve the community that has empowered them and given them access to training and knowledge.

The Medical School will ensure that all graduating students demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the faculty, the following:

  1. An ability to understand the multi-factorial nature of health and illness and relate such insight to the context of the individual patient, including, but not limited to, psychological, social, economic and cultural factors.
  2. The ability to elicit patients' goals, values and preferences in an understanding    manner and to integrate these values and preferences into an appropriate plan of care.
  3. An awareness of one's participation as a member of a health care team, and the            ability to collaborate appropriately with all those involved in the care of the patient, respecting their roles and professional expertise.
  4. Demonstrate a theoretical and practical understanding of how health care is delivered, and how the manner of that delivery can affect the individual physician.
  5. An understanding of the utility and limitations of evidence-based decision-making and cost-effective health care delivery.
  6. An appreciation of the medical profession's responsibility to society, both in our own country and throughout the world. These responsibilities should include not only service to the underserved or disenfranchised members of our own society, but also advocacy for the care of the disadvantaged persons in other nations, who bear a heavy burden of disease, death and disability.