The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) has chosen the Yale School of Medicine as one of four institutions that will train participants in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program for 10 years beginning in 2005.
Yale has been an RWJ Clinical Scholar site since 1974, when Alvan Feinstein, M.D., initiated the program. The RWJ Foundation decided that the next generation of the program would occur at a smaller number of sites (four versus the current seven) and have an even greater focus on preparing future leaders in medicine.
"This is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a medical institution, and I am extremely proud of this achievement," said Yale School of Medicine Dean David Kessler, M.D. "I am also very excited about the program's continued emphasis on rigorous clinical scholarship, the enriched experience in health policy and the newer opportunities in leadership skills development and community-based research."
Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., director of the Yale site said, "This program provides us with an extraordinary opportunity to prepare a select group of physician leaders to improve the nation's health and health care by generating knowledge and translating research into action at the local, state and national levels."
"Through coursework and practical experiences, the Yale Clinical Scholars Program will prepare scholars to work effectively across disciplines, think creatively and rigorously about health care issues, generate ideas and test hypotheses, participate in policy development, work within communities and lead organizational change," added Krumholz, professor of internal medicine/cardiology at Yale.
Many of Yale's leading faculty members have been fellows in the Clinical Scholars Program, and many of these same faculty participate in running the program. John Concato, M.D., is both an alumnus of the program and its associate director. Much of the research done at Yale that focuses on clinical effectiveness and health policy is initiated in the program. From a broader perspective, Yale's Clinical Scholars Program makes national contributions in the area of patient-oriented research and health policy.
The next phase of the Yale program will feature a continued commitment to scientific clinical inquiry coupled with a strong commitment to health policy and community health. The program prepares scholars to work effectively across disciplines, think creatively and rigorously about health care issues, generate ideas and test hypotheses, participate in policy development, work within communities and lead organizational change. The program includes close links with faculty and programs at the Schools of Medicine (including the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health), Nursing, Law, and Management, and the Graduate School. In addition, opportunities and collaborations exist at the affiliated West Haven VA Medical Center. The Department of Veterans Affairs contributes to the funding of the Program.
Specific initiatives in community health, which were developed with community partners, will be supported through the new Dean's Office of Community-Based Research. This office will work with the Clinical Scholars Program to ensure that scholars have opportunities to conduct community-based research, building on a distinguished record of policy-relevant community-based research in child psychiatry, pediatrics, medicine and other departments. In addition, Dean Kessler has established an annual Community-Based Research Fund for the duration of the grant to support the community-based Clinical Scholars projects.
Over 100 physicians have participated in the Yale program, which offers two years of graduate-level study and research as part of a university-based, post-residency training program. To date, more than $135 million has been awarded through the Clinical Scholars Program.
In addition to Yale, the other sites will be UCLA, the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania.
Contact
Karen N. Peart
203-432-1326