STEP 1 Pilot Electives

Building on the transitions course, this multidisciplinary elective offers more preparation for entering clerkships with simulated procedural practice (eg ABGs, lumbar punctures, foley placements, intubations and more), POCUS, simulation scenarios, real-time interpretations of imaging studies like Xrays and CTs, more in depth practice with documentation, and understanding the work performed by allied health

Length of Rotation: 2 Weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 3/1/26-3/14/26

The Anesthesia Living Physiology and Pharmacology elective would be a two-week elective for pre-clinical Yale students. The first week of the rotation would involve students observing and participating in applying the physiological principles they learned in the pre-clerkship lectures in operating room cases. Each day of the week would have a themed physiologic discussion (respiratory physiology/mechanical ventilation during a thoracic case, cardiac physiology in an open-heart case, etc). The applied physiologic cases would include: respiratory, cardiac, hepatobiliary, neurology, nephrology/urology). The second week would entail observing various OR cases focusing on applied pharmacology/pharmacokinetics, as well as reinforcing the applied physiologic concepts from the first week. Topics would include (not exclusive): autonomic medications, analgesics/sedatives, anti-coagulants/pro-thrombotics, local anesthetics, and antibiotics.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This 2-week didactic-focused interdisciplinary musculoskeletal (MSK) medicine elective will be accessible and informative for MS2s, MS3s, MS4s and MS5s looking to increase and consolidate their knowledge of MSK medicine. This elective will include activities such as: Observation Training, OSCEs, and practicing Hands-On Skills. We will be combining lectures, hands-on practice for physical exam and other MSK-related procedures and skills, time in the anatomy lab, simulation center, art museum and clinical shadowing. This course will be aimed at developing knowledge and skills that you can use across disciplines including, but not limited to, Internal Medicine (IM) (Primary Care, Rheumatology, etc.), Emergency Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Orthopaedics, and beyond, and more! Come excited to learn, get involved and sharpen your MSK competencies.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

During this two-week rotation, students will gain a broad experience in outpatient neurology. Participating students will rotate through general neurology and subspecialty clinics. Students will have the opportunity to visit a variety of subspecialty clinics potentially including neuro-immunology, neuro-oncology, neuromuscular medicine, epilepsy, movement disorders, headache, behavioral neurology, vascular neurology, and others. Students will be asked to submit preferences for subspecialties of interest, which we will try to honor depending on provider availability. They will be exposed to the presentation of both common and rare neurologic diseases and their management in the outpatient setting. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate new patients with faculty guidance and to learn from ongoing management of established patients. This rotation will require travel to sites outside of New Haven, potentially including Guilford, Milford, and North Haven (schedule will vary depending on sub-specialty preferences and provider availability).

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

During this rotation, students will be introduced to the principles and practice of clinical neurophysiology. Through exposure to electroencephalography (EEG) and nerve conduction study/electromyography (NCS/EMG) in an actual practice setting, they will gain a deeper understanding of the principles that underly these procedures, as well as their application to patients with neurologic disease. Students will join subspecialty-trained neurologists in the EEG reading room and NCS/EMG lab as they perform and interpret these studies. With self-study materials and a chance to apply their knowledge to real cases, students will gain a deeper understanding of neurophysiology and electrodiagnostics. This rotation requires travel to sites outside of New Haven, potentially including Guilford, Old Saybrook, and North Haven (schedule will vary depending on provider availability).

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

The solid tumor oncology 2-week elective is a clinical experience involving patient care in both the outpatient clinic and inpatient consult settings. Students will work directly with medical oncology attendings and fellows where they will learn foundational oncologic principles. These include: * Understanding and interpretation of pathology reports * Principles of cancer staging for solid tumors * General categories of intervention including systemic therapy, surgery and radiation * Physical exam, history and imaging assessments specific to oncologic care will be emphasized * Students will be involved directly in patient care and will document their findings in the medical record.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This intensive 2 or 4-week elective consists of 10 half-day sessions per week. Students will observe in specialty clinics and ophthalmic surgery. More advanced students will be able to evaluate patients in a general ophthalmology clinic. Students are expected to participate in departmental conferences and review independent study material provided by the department. Subspecialty experience includes cornea and external eye disease, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, oculoplastics, retinal disease, and strabismus. By the end of the elective, students should be able to recognize the four most common causes of profound blindness and be able to identify vision threatening and non-vision threatening causes of a red eye. At completion of the rotation, the student should be able to do an external eye exam, have some familiarity with the slit lamp, and be able to use an ophthalmoscope to identify the optic nerve and be able to describe it. Students who do the 4-week elective are expected to do a presentation on a topic in ophthalmology to be determined at the end of the rotation. Evaluation is based on clinic performance, the case discussions, and the presentation.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This two-week elective provides hands-on experience in pediatrics and pediatric rheumatology. This service involves consultation service in the inpatient and outpatient setting as well as long term care for patients with autoimmune conditions. Pediatric rheumatology requires the ability to perform a comprehensive physical examination and history while interpreting laboratory and radiographic studies to develop an often-complex differential diagnosis. Pediatric rheumatology involves patients of all chronologic ages and developmental stages so learners will have the opportunity to develop rapport with patients and families across pediatrics. The student will be exposed to clinical setting in the hospital and outpatient setting and academic opportunity will include participation in rheumatology didactics with the internal medicine group (grand rounds and journal club) as well as with scheduled pediatric didactics (grand rounds, weekly pediatric rheumatology case conference). Where available students will be able to observe arthrocentesis and learn the basics of musculoskeletal point of care ultrasound. Clinical settings include outpatient visits and hospital consultation at Yale New Haven Hospital and participation at satellite clinics will be a shared decision with the student and the attending at the ultimate discretion of the course director. During this rotation, it is necessary to travel back and forth between YNHH and Pediatric Specialty Center at Longwharf (1 Long Wharf Drive, New Haven); other satellite opportunity will not be required but may be available at the student and course director discretion.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This elective provides students with exposure to caring for older adults with mental health concerns, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, grief, and adjustment disorders, as well as neurocognitive disorders ranging from mild cognitive deficits to dementia with complex neuropsychiatric symptoms. The student will work closely with geriatric psychiatry fellows and attendings in the outpatient evaluation and treatment of such disorders, and participate in comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, cognitive and functional assessments, individual and family psychoeducation, and treatment. The student will participate in daily team huddles which include a multidisciplinary group of physicians, nurses, social workers, and peer specialists. The student will have an opportunity to participate in group therapy as well as weekly geriatric psychiatry didactics and psychiatry department Grand Rounds. It may also be possible to rotate a half day a week with neurology (movement disorders and neurocognitive clinic) or palliative care clinic experiences, if the students is interested. During this rotation, it is necessary to be on site at the VA Annex in Orange, CT (200 Edison Road) where the outpatient geriatric psychiatry clinic is located.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This elective offers medical students the opportunity to learn about neuromodulation techniques in the treatment of mood disorders, more specifically, by using electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and repetitive transcranial stimulation (TMS). Students will learn the theoretical basis for the use of ECT and TMS, among other neuromodulation techniques, in the treatment of mood disorders. They will learn indications and contraindications to treatment, the process of evaluation of patients prior to and during treatment (including use of standardized depression rating scales), how to monitor for complications and side effects to treatment, and the latest research in the field. Students will work closely with psychiatry attendings and residents at the VA in the evaluation of patients referred for ECT and TMS, and will have the opportunity for supervised participation in the performance of these treatments. Patient population includes veterans of all ages with a variety of psychiatric conditions, including mood disorders with comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

The (psychiatric) Children’s Day Hospital (CDH) provides care for children and young adolescents (ages 7 – 13) with psychopathology that can’t be adequately managed in an outpatient basis. The CDH is less intensive than inpatient level of care; however, a proportion of children in the CDH are being stepped down from inpatient care. The CDH takes place during school hours, and is closely coordinated with the child’s school and outpatient providers. The CBH model of care is multimodal, and includes group-based activities informed by therapeutic recreation services; by individual therapy with a primary orientation of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT); and by psychopharmacology, among others. Students would rotate on all of these activities, Monday through Friday, at the CDH, located on the first floor of the Yale Child Study Center’s outpatient clinical building (350 George Street).

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This two-week elective will introduce the student to the fundamentals and basic principles of radiologic imaging and interpretation necessary for clinical management. The student will rotate through 2 x one-week blocks of their choice on the Chest, Musculoskeletal (MSK), GI/GU services or radiology section of the Emergency Department (ED), with the goal of learning the fundamentals of interpreting plain films in these various sections. The students will be paired with a dedicated resident on their weekly rotations and will also participate in read outs with attending radiologists on the services. The students will be taught relevant radiologic anatomy, the appropriateness of ordering various studies in the diagnosis of disease, and will also be exposed to what the performance of various studies entail. Students will be introduced to the basics of radiologic reporting and dictation. The students will attend the twice daily departmental resident lectures and medical student radiologic lectures.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

The goal of this course is to introduce students to basic components of a surgical career through applied surgical anatomy. The two-week curriculum will expose students to surgical tools, technology, operating room environment, essential surgical principles all while focusing on basic surgical anatomy. The course will include hands-on participation via a series of demonstrations, surgical dissections, surgical exposures and procedures. The course will emphasize exposure to variety of surgical principles common to all surgical specialties and subspecialties. The course aims to expose students to surgical principles in the context of basic surgical anatomy while fostering a deeper understanding of surgery as discipline and thereby promoting surgery as a viable career option. Through cadaver dissection, seminars and lectures, the students will apply surgical approaches and techniques to engage deeper with surgical principles and anatomy.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 3/16/26-3/27/26

A 2 week flexible observational clerkship designed to introduce the early medical students to radiation oncology. The opportunity exists to become familiar with the biological and physical basis of radiation oncology together with its clinical practice and with ongoing research within the radiation oncology department. The elective offers an unequaled clinical exposure to patients with malignant disease, with 75 to 100 cancer patients treated daily in the department. The goal for the student would be gain exposure to field of radiation oncology and how radiation therapy is used in the treatment of cancers.

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): MS2- enrolled in Step 1 Pilot

Offered: 2/14/26-3/31/26

This course provides an opportunity for YSM medical students to conduct full-time mentored research with a full time YSM faculty member on a supervised independent research project. Students enrolled in the course are expected to engage full-time in proposed research activities.

Please complete this Qualtrics survey as soon as possible to indicate who your PI will be for this research period. The PI you list will be responsible for evaluating your performance during this time.

As a reminder, no research stipends will be awarded for research done during the Step 1 pilot.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Office of Student Research at osr.med@yale.edu.

Culinary medicine is an interprofessional, evidence-based field of medicine that combines nutrition science, culinary arts, and medical education to prevent and treat diet-related disease. It employs hands-on learning through healthy cooking and is taught in a teaching kitchen. It can be dosed as a patient care intervention or as experiential nutrition education for students, medical trainees, and healthcare professionals.

During this elective, students will participate in the activities of the Yale New Haven Health (YNHH) Teaching Kitchen to learn more about the field of culinary medicine as it is employed for both patients and medical trainees. These activities may include participating in trainee classes, patient classes, community outreach events, medical nutrition therapy, and contributing to enduring curricular materials. On one day, education will be provided to participants on cost-effective and healthy grocery shopping at a local supermarket. During the two-week elective, students will also collaborate on the production of public-facing educational materials for the YNHH Teaching Kitchen and independently research a food or nutrition-related topic of interest to them. The rotation will end with participants reporting their findings in individual, 20-minute presentations to the group.

The course will be a hybrid – remote and at The Irving and Alice Brown Teaching Kitchen at Yale New Haven Health, 8 Devine Street, North Haven, CT 06473

Length of Rotation: 2 weeks

Student Class Level/Prerequisite (NO Visiting Students): 2nd year (Step 1 Pilot), 4th year, Flex year

Offered: 3/17/26-3/30/26

Learning Objectives