Curriculum

The Yale NCSP curriculum is designed to enable Scholars to develop translational research skills and take an active role in bringing about positive change in health care for individuals, organizations, and communities. Rather than participating in classes primarily designed for students at Schools of Public Health or Policy, Yale's curriculum is specifically designed for NCSP Scholars. The curriculum is focused on four areas of study, and supplemented with a number of seminars and skill building courses. All courses and seminars are conducted in a small group setting that encourages Scholar interaction with faculty and guest speakers. Upon successful completion of the curriculum and a thesis requirement, Scholars have the option of receiving a Master of Health Sciences (MHS) degree from Yale University.

• Biostatistics: This curriculum is designed for clinicians with no prior training in statistics. At the end of the year, Scholars will: 1) understand the intuition behind the core quantitative methods used in medicine, public health, health care, and health policy research; 2) understand a variety of advanced statistical methods and the problems they solve; 3) be able to choose appropriate statistical methods to answer substantive research questions; 4) build sensible statistical models of association; 5) use software to manage data and apply both the basic and advanced methods covered; 6) present results of statistical analysis in tables and figures; and 7) digest and critique modern quantitative research.
• Clinical and Health Services Research Methods: The Quantitative Methods portion of the curriculum is designed to build expertise in quantitative research methods. At the completion of the course, Scholars will be able to: 1) calculate and interpret epidemiologic parameters; 2) identify the strengths and weaknesses of experimental and observational study designs; 3) understand the implications of various methodological approaches for the internal and external validity of a study; 4) provide a rigorous critique of epidemiologic studies in terms of their methods, potential sources of bias, and the conclusions drawn; and 5) apply the principles and methods of epidemiology to the design and analysis of new studies. The Qualitative Methods portion of the curriculum is focused on qualitative social research in public health and medicine. At the completion of the course, Scholars will be able to: 1) critically analyze the philosophy, purpose, strengths and limitations of qualitative and mixed methods research approaches; 2) conceptualize and design qualitative or mixed methods studies; 3) assess the rigor of empirical research using qualitative and mixed methods; 4) identify multiple approaches for integrating qualitative and quantitative methods; and 5) understand the role of software in qualitative analysis and basic procedures in NVivo.
• Principles of Health Policy and Management (PHPM): The two-year health policy curriculum is designed for physicians with no health policy experience to learn the major tenets of health policy, health economics, and health management. At the end of the course, Scholars will be able to: 1) describe major components of healthcare delivery, financing and regulatory systems in the US; 2) describe the policy and or management implications of their own research; 3) identify health policy and management levers of change to increase translation and impact of their own research into clinical practice; and 4) understand national, state, and local health policy issues. The purpose of the curriculum is to equip Scholars with the policy knowledge and understanding to ensure their research efforts are targeted to have the greatest potential impact for patients by directly influencing policy makers. For Scholars with greater policy interests, opportunities will be provided to engage with leaders through externships.
• Foundations in Community Engaged Research: Scholars will learn the principles and practices of community engagement, including working with local leaders to collaboratively assess community health priorities and exploring ways to address these priorities. Scholars also have the opportunity to engage in a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project, partnering with local community organizations or healthcare providers or payers to conduct research in accordance with the specific interests of the Scholar and community stakeholders. At the completion of the course, all participants will be able to: 1) describe the etiology and implications of social determinants of health; 2) have a working definition of population health and how it applies to health equity and community-engaged research; 3) have strategies to address health inequities and challenges in health equity measurement; 4) assess community health and community assets, using primary and secondary data; 5) apply program management skills in their research and work including designing viable work plans and budgets; 6) draft process and summative evaluations of community health programs; 7) describe principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and understand its use in assessment, planning, and evaluative research; and 8) apply the principles of CBPR (using quantitative and qualitative methods) to case studies and their own work.
• Interpersonal Relationships & Leadership in the Workplace (IRLW): this course is a two-year experience. By the end of the entire course, Scholars will understand the complexities of personal presentation, interpersonal and organizational dynamics, and leadership within the workplace. They will gain actionable techniques for communicating effectively, providing feedback to peers, subordinates, and supervisors, and working harmoniously on teams, and develop their understanding of and capacity to exercise leadership skills and qualities.
• Seminars in Health Policy and Delivery (SHPD): seminars in which prominent health policy leaders from both the public and private sectors meet with Scholars. Some recent examples of guests include Dan Diamond from Politico, Nancy-Ann DeParle from Consonance Capital, Troyen Brennan from CVS Health, and Elliot Sussman, Chair, the Villages.
• Ideas, Presentations, Analyses, and Dissemination Seminar (IPAD)
• Writing workshops, including op-ed training: the writing seminar series is designed to train Scholars to write effectively for scientific, lay, and regulatory audiences in order to ensure that their research findings and ideas can be positioned within the scientific and public dialogue to have maximum potential impact. There are sessions focused specifically on op-ed training, writing biographies, CV’s, and cover letters, writing research letters, and the multiple aspects of scientific article methods, letter revision and re-submission, and abstracts. The op-ed series is led by prominent physician writers Anna Reisman and Lisa Sanders. During these workshops Scholars will also receive feedback from instructors and discuss publication options that are available. Here are examples of published op-eds that originated in these workshops.
• Group mentor breakfasts: physician leaders, current faculty, and alumni will meet with Scholars and have informal conversations about their research interests and career paths. This is a great opportunity for our Scholars to have more candid conversations outside of a classroom setting.
• Healthcare Leadership Externship (optional): Scholars have the opportunity to shadow local health leaders in a variety of settings and potential career interest.
• Summer Health Policy Internship (optional): Scholars have the opportunity to spend 4-8 weeks in the summer at an organization in Washington, DC, or the Northeast, that is involved in health policy issues of potential career interests.
• Teaching opportunities at the Schools of Medicine and/or Public Health (optional)