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INFORMATION FOR

Longitudinal Coaching Program

The Longitudinal Coaching Program stems from the 2022 Yale School of Medicine Strategic Plan for Medical Education. Starting with the MD Class of 2027, a longitudinal coach is assigned to each student. The coach works with the student throughout their Yale School of Medicine (YSM) undergraduate medical education training, supporting the student's professional development and reviewing individual progress in meeting the milestones toward attaining YSM's nine MD Program competencies.

These competencies are the knowledge, skills, and attributes that all MD students should achieve to be prepared for the next phase of medical training. Each competency is further defined by the school’s educational program objectives (EPOs), with measurable or observable milestones for each of the three phases of the MD curriculum—pre-clerkship, clerkship, and advanced training period.

Longitudinal coaches help students monitor their progress in meeting these milestones by, together with the student, reviewing the student's formative and summative assessments, self-reflections, narrative feedback, and other relevant data. They assist their students in identifying progress and achievement, as well as areas for improvement or potential concern across the four-year curriculum. Coaches work with each of their students to develop goals and action plans that are customized to the student's needs and learning style. The coaches, as part of a larger team, also help students overcome learning challenges.

People

Leadership

  • Dana Dunne, MD, MHS

    Director

    Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases); Associate DIO; GME Director, Educator Development, Department of Medicine; Associate, Teaching and Learning Center; Associate Chair for Education and Academic Affairs, Internal Medicine; Director of YMS Coaching Program , Office of Curriculum

    Dr. Dunne has spent the majority of her career focusing on the care of patients with sexually transmitted diseases and on the education of clinicians who also care for these patients. She is a founding and core faculty member for the Yale Primary Care HIV Training Track.Dr Dunne also enjoys medical education and faculty development. She was the Inpatient Internal Medicine Clerkship Director from 2011-2023 and now is Director of the YMS Coaching program. She directs educator development projects for GME and UME.
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  • Chelsea Wallace, MEd

    Longitudinal Coach Program Manager

    Chelsea Wallace is the Program Manager for the inaugural Longitudinal Coaching Program at YSM. She attended Texas Tech University, earning her undergraduate degree (BS) in Human Development and Family Sciences. Cumulatively, she has 7 years of professional higher education experience in areas such as student development, program management, recruitment, admissions and career counseling while working for Texas Tech University. Chelsea completed a graduate degree (M.Ed.) in Higher Education Administration in 2022. She has co-authored an opposite editorial piece in Times Higher Education. Chelsea currently holds a co-chair position on the Future Leaders of Yale (FLY) Mentorship Subcommittee. In addition, she serves on multiple YSM committees and has a particular interest in policy development.
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Longitudinal coaches

  • Stephen Baldassarri, MD, MHS

    Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine)

    My purpose is to help develop physicians who are not only highly skilled, but who embody the highest humanistic qualities of our profession. I enjoy teaching, coaching, and mentoring trainees at all levels of medical training. Prior to joining the YSM Longitudinal Coaching Program in 2023, I have had nearly a decade of experience coaching and mentoring medical students in the Medical Coach Experience (MCE) and/or Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE). For the Internal Medicine Residency Program, I have served in the Mentor-Advisor-Coach (MAC) program since its inception. For the Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program, I provide mentorship and coaching for incoming fellows and assist in their transition to academic faculty positions. It is rewarding and meaningful to participate in and witness the growth of trainees and see them succeed in a wide range of career paths.
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  • Kirsten Bechtel, MD

    Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) and of Emergency Medicine

    I am a Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) (Clinician-Educator-Scholar track), and serve on the school’s Admissions Committee. My academic career has focused on the social welfare and medical well-being of children and injury prevention. My clinical research has focused on several topics, including: the evaluation of children with head trauma; the prevention of abusive head trauma (AHT) and sudden unexpected infant death (SUID); recognition of child abuse and neglect by emergency medical service providers; the evaluation of children and adolescents after sexual ssault; the evaluation of children and adolescents who are involved in domestic minor sex trafficking; the prevention of traffic injury; and the prevention of post-traumatic stress symptoms in children with a traumatic injury. I am thrilled and humbled to serve as a longitudinal coach for Yale medical students, and value the long-term relationships that will be formed due to this program. The mentorship of students, trainees, and junior faculty is an essential daily responsibility of faculty at YSM, and this is an aspect of my career that I particularly enjoy.
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  • Vanessa Cooper, MD

    Assistant Professor; Associate Director of Diversity and Inclusion Education, Neurology

    I’m an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology, as well as the associate director of diversity education for the Neurology residency program. I’m engaged in matters of diversity including recruitment of a diverse set of residents each year and microaggression and bystander training for the residents and faculty. I’m board certified in the subspeciality of Headache Medicine and mostly treat headache patients in the outpatient setting. I became interested in the YSM Longitudinal Coaching Program because mentoring is very meaningful to me, as I have benefited greatly from excellent mentors who have been instrumental on my journey through my academic career. Through this program I look forward to helping students cultivate growth and success on their medical school journey, as well as supporting their professional development.
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  • Ferenc Czeyda-Pommersheim, MD

    Assistant Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging

    Since joining the faculty in 2018, I have become involved in medical student education at the School of Medicine through teaching workshops to small groups of students on ultrasound and cancer imaging. I have found Yale medical students to be inquisitive, motivated, and bright. My interactions with them have enriched me both personally and professionally, and have been among the highlights of my career. I want to take every opportunity to similarly enrich their growth during the time they spend with us at Yale. I know through personal experience that medical school is one of the most consequential periods of growth a person can go through. It lays the foundations of a lifetime of learning, and comes with many opportunities and triumphs, but some challenges as well. I see the Longitudinal Coaching Program as a chance to foster the growth of our students by helping them reach their full potential as physicians-in-training. I am looking to make a positive impact, both on the time our students spend at Yale, and their entire career in medicine.
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  • Robert Elder, MD

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Internal Medicine (Cardiology); Director, Adult Congenital Heart Program; Director Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program, Pediatric Cardiology

    I am a clinician-educator and a cardiologist with an interest caring for individuals who were born with congenital heart disease. As a med-peds trained physician, I care for patients across the age spectrum, and work with adults as well as children with congenital heart issues. I am a native Connecticut son, but have moved around for my medical training spending time in Pittsburgh, New York City, and Atlanta before starting my career at Yale a decade ago. Currently, I am an associate professor at Yale with a footprint both in pediatrics and internal medicine, and am the director of the Yale Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program. I am passionate about medical education at all levels. I am the fellowship director for pediatric cardiology, but I particularly enjoy working with and mentoring medical students as they discover the wonder and beauty of clinical medicine. I have been involved with the Medical Coach Experience (MCE) course for the last seven years and look forward to the opportunity to be a longitudinal “coach” and mentor students as they begin their medical journey at the Yale School of Medicine. In my free time, I enjoy travel and spending time with my two young boys, which keeps me active. I recently spent time in London for my sabbatical and love to travel when I can. In addition to English, I am fluent in Spanish and love to use my conversational skills. I am an avid reader, fitness enthusiast, NPR nerd, and lover of good quality coffee and bourbon.
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  • Ada Fenick, MD

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics); Editor, Yale Primary Care Pediatrics Curriculum; Associate Director for Pediatrics, Medical School Clerkship in Biopsychosocial Approach to Health; Medical Student Coach, Medical Education; Medical Director, School Based Health Centers, Pediatrics; Medical Director, Medical-Legal Partnership Project

    I think becoming a doctor was instilled by my parents, who, as immigrants to the US, believed that one should leave school with a real profession, and were ready to promote this in any way they could—thus I became the family band-aid placer. My pediatrician growing up was warm, friendly, and seemed kind. I was sold. I became a student at the University of Michigan—a school that, while holding a philosophy at the time different from Yale's, had a combined undergraduate-medicine program which promoted primary care as a field of practice. I chose pediatrics because I loved the medicine of it—the biochemistry, the embryology, and the clinical side as well—and because the kids are at the beginning of their precious lives, with the possibility of making an impact. And I chose primary care because I loved the continuity with families over time. I'm excited about the coaching program for similar reasons. I love all the different aspects of medicine, from the early basic science out to the electives that help you refine who you want to be. I love the idea of getting to know students at the earliest part of their medical careers. And I am excited about the chance for a continuous relationship with students over the years they are at Yale. Other things I love: My small patients—especially those aged 2 to 5—what a wonderful age to hang out with!Family—nuclear family of two grown boys and a terrific husband—all of them wonderfully nerdy—and my extended family.New Haven—my adopted city—small enough to understand, big enough to have all the things you want in a city!Knitting and a few other crafts, singing, hiking, biking, and reading fiction in my off time.
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  • Howard Forman, MD, MBA, FACR

    Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, in the Institute for Social and Policy Studies, of Economics, of Management and of Public Health (Health Policy); Director of MD/MBA Program at Yale; Director, MBA for Executives (Healthcare Focus Area); SOM; Director, Health Care Management Program; YSPH; Faculty Director of Finance; Department of Radiology; YSM

    I have been a practicing Emergency/Trauma radiologist since my arrival at Yale in 1996. I have been teaching Health Policy and Health Care Leadership to Yale undergraduates, undergraduate medical, graduate, and graduate medical students since 1998, when I also founded the MD/MBA program, a program that I continue to direct. In 2003, I co-founded the Executive MBA Program at Yale, which has now expanded beyond its health care roots. Since 2011, I have been the program director of the Health Care Management Program at the Yale School of Public Health. Additionally, since 2020, I have been the director of clinical leadership development for the Yale-New Haven Health System, providing coaching and support to many of our emerging physician leaders. This is all to say that I love teaching, mentoring, and supporting the career development of students in their pursuit of health care excellence. Through my role in the MD/MBA system, my teaching in the YSM Capstone course, and my two decades of service on the YSM admissions committee, I have been fortunate to play a small role in the educational experience and career decision making of many of our YSM alumni, while they were students. I look forward to getting to know the students I coach and helping them become the best version of themselves—encouraging scholastic excellence, while developing into the compassionate, non-judgmental, patient-centered leaders that the world needs.
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  • Brian Fuehrlein, MD, PhD

    Associate Professor of Psychiatry; Director, Psychiatric Emergency Room, VA Connecticut Healthcare System

    I was born on Long Island and raised mostly in Florida. As an only child of parents who did not graduate from college, I never had educational aspirations. In fact, I withdrew from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) during my sophomore year, to focus on my career in the grocery business, where I was a manager at Winn Dixie. I made a decision to give college another shot and throughout the next few years, I met a series of mentors who forever changed my life by leading me down a path of higher education. I eventually graduated with an associate's degree from FAU, a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida, and an MD-PhD (biomedical engineering) from the University of Florida. During my medical school clerkships, I became fascinated with the clinical care of those with substance use disorders. I went on to complete a psychiatry residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and then an addiction psychiatry fellowship here at Yale. I am now on the faculty at Yale and am the director of the psychiatric emergency room at the VA. I would not be here today without the dedication of a group of mentors who I was fortunate enough to meet. There is nothing more rewarding than to give that back to current trainees and provide guidance and mentorship. Outside of work, my wife and I have been together since we were 18 years old, and we now have three children. My wife and I recently became an Iron couple when we crossed the finish line together of the Arizona Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, 26.2-mile run) in just over 15 hours!
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  • Joanna Gibson, MD, PhD

    Associate Professor of Pathology; Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Pathology

    I started my medical training as a dual MD/PhD student at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN. After graduating in 2004, I started residency in anatomic and clinical pathology, followed by a fellowship in gastrointestinal and liver pathology, both at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. Once I finished training, in 2009, I moved back to the Mayo Clinic for my first faculty position as a GI pathologist. After two years, in August 2011, I moved to New Haven and joined the Yale faculty in the Department of Pathology, where I have been ever since. At Yale, I have an opportunity to do it all—clinical service, education, and research! For me, academic pathology has been a creative, satisfying and highly individualized career. It’s a lot of hard work and I am grateful to have supportive colleagues, collaborators, and department leaders. I am excited to be part of the Longitudinal Coaching Program. I look forward to sharing my experience with the students, and learning about the current opportunities and challenges in medical training.
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  • Yeisid Gozzo, MD

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine); Medical Director, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital NICU, Pediatrics; Director, NICU Transport Program

    I was born in Esmeralda, Cuba and immigrated to the United States as a toddler. Raised in Connecticut, I developed a real love for living in New England. From the lovely color-filled autumn trees, to the apple orchards bordered by stone fences, to winter snow and skiing. I love all things New England. I graduated with a BS in Nursing from George Mason University and worked as a Pediatric Neurology nurse for seven years before entering Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) for my medical degree. I completed my pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia and attended fellowship in Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine at Yale University. After completing my fellowship, I joined the Yale faculty in 2006, and have worked in a variety of affiliated Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) including the Hospital of St. Raphael, Waterbury Hospital, and the NICU at York Street. I served as the medical director at Waterbury Hospital for three years before taking my current post as the medical director of our York Street campus NICU. In addition to my clinical work, I have received training and education in the areas of leadership, mentorship, and coaching. I am excited about participating in a process that facilitates the actualization of individual definitions of personal and professional success. My path to and through medicine was a bit circuitous, with experience in nursing and time in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. I had two small children when I entered medical school and delivered my last son at the end of my fourth year at EVMS. I believe that my time as a mother, Marine, and nurse created a rich life experience that colors the way in which I practice medicine and approach life. The Frost poem, “The Road Not Taken,” has always resonated for me due to the non-conventional path that led me to where I am today. I can’t wait to see what roads you will take. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost
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  • Alex Koral, MD, BS

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology)

    I am a pediatric gastroenterologist with an interest in eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases. I enjoy working with children and find their passion for life invigorating. Similarly, I have always enjoyed working with students—their passion for learning to heal is refreshing. Some of us come into medicine as the next member in a family tree of physicians, some of us are skilled in biological sciences and want to use those skills to help, most of us are somewhere in between. Whatever our background, we come into medicine with a common goal, to help. Then when we get here, we find there are many paths one can take to achieve this goal. As I coach, I look forward to helping students figure out how they want to apply their passion to help and to heal; making sure they are learning the skills they need to become successful physicians, and getting the opportunities to apply those skills in the areas that will lead to a meaningful and fulfilling career.
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  • Stephanie Leeds, MD, MHS

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Immunology)

    I am passionate about two things in medicine: food allergy and medical education. I am lucky to serve as both a clinician and researcher in the field of food allergy, and I have recently expanded my training to serve as both a teacher and scholar in the world of medical education. I am inspired by medical educators who mentor with a holistic approach to career development, and I have a long list of medical educators who are my “go-to” people for support, advice, and help in its many forms. I look forward to supporting the next generation of physicians in their own individual journeys towards self-actualization!
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  • Andrés S Martin, MD, PhD

    Riva Ariella Ritvo Professor in the Child Study Center and Professor of Psychiatry; Medical Director, Children's Psychiatric Inpatient Service at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital; Director, Standardized Patient Program, Teaching and Learning Center; Director of Medical Studies, Yale Child Study Center, Child Study Center

    Longitudinal coaching, redefined. “Coaching” sounds to me a lot like “mentoring.” That is convenient, as I have no experience as a coach (not even for T-ball), but do have a career-long academic interest and interpersonal commitment to mentorship. I don’t exaggerate when saying that mentorship has been the favorite part of my 25-plus years at Yale. In turn, “longitudinal” sounds a lot like “development”; apt as well, given that my career as a child psychiatrist has been all about maximizing individuals' developmental potentials. How fortunate I am then, to get to work as a developmental mentor, a developmentor, a longitudinal coach. Let’s get this party started.
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  • Mahan Mathur, MD

    Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging; Vice Chair for Education, Radiology & Biomedical Imaging

    I am a fellowship-trained expert in abdominal and pelvic imaging and currently serve as both the vice chair of education and as the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) director of medical student education in Radiology. In my role at YSM, I oversee the Radiology curriculum, ensuring its successful implementation across all levels of training. My passion for mentoring and teaching has been a driving force throughout my career. As a former associate program director for the Diagnostic Radiology Residency, I successfully mentored several classes of residents, guiding them to successful graduation. Additionally, I have had the privilege of mentoring numerous other residents and fellows on various educational and research projects at Yale. These efforts have been recognized through multiple Department Teacher and Mentor of the Year awards over the last decade. As the inaugural chief of the Body Imaging Division, I also gained experience in mentoring faculty members and collaborating with department and hospital leadership to optimize clinical workflow and promote work-life balance. At the undergraduate level, I actively participate in the Yale Medical Professions Outreach Shadowing Program, where I mentor undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine. Personally, Yale holds a special place in my heart. I completed my residency training at Yale from 2008 to 2012 and have been a faculty member since 2013. My wife, who works in the Department of General Internal Medicine, and I met here, and our children were born at Yale New Haven Hospital. Given the profound impact this institution has had on our lives, I am eager to give back by guiding the physicians of tomorrow.
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  • Caroline Nelson, MD, FAAD

    Assistant Professor of Dermatology; Director of Inpatient Dermatology, Dermatology; Director of Grand Rounds, Dermatology

    I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology. After completing a dermatology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, I completed a complex medical dermatology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute of Harvard Medical School. I am passionate about improving the quality of life for hospitalized patients with skin diseases, often by using skin signs of systemic disease to guide diagnosis and management. In my current role as Director of Inpatient Dermatology at Yale New Haven Hospital, I greatly enjoy teaching medical students and residents on the consult service. I also lead Dermatology Grand Rounds and the Inpatient Dermatology Resident Curriculum. In 2022, I was honored to receive the first Oscar Colegio Excellence in Dermatology Resident Teaching Award. Medical school is a time of tremendous intellectual and emotional growth. As a longitudinal coach and physician-mother, I aim to help medical students reach their full potential to become skilled and empathetic physicians while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
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  • Farzana Pashankar, MD, MRCP, MBBS

    Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology/Oncology); Fellowship Director, Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Program; Director, Solid Tumor Program, Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Program; Children's Oncology Group Site PI, Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Program

    I am a pediatric hematologist oncologist specializing in care of children with sickle cell disease and solid tumors. I did medical school and residency at University of Pune, India. I then trained in the United Kingdom receiving an MRCP. After completion of pediatric training in the UK, I pursued a hematology oncology fellowship at British Columbia Children’s Hospital and University of Iowa. I joined the faculty at Yale in 2005, and am a professor in the Department of Pediatrics. I am a clinician educator and have focused my career on patient care and clinical research, with a special interest in designing clinical trials for children with solid tumors, particularly germ cell and rare tumors. I am the clinical research team leader for Pediatrics at Smilow Cancer Center. Nationally, I am very involved in the Children’s Oncology Group, and am chair and vice-chair of international trials in germ cell tumors. I also very much enjoy teaching medical students, residents, and fellows and have received several teaching awards. I am the director of the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Fellowship Program, and training and mentoring the next generation is very important to me. I am very excited to be a coach for medical students, and to mentor and guide them as they embark on their medical journey.
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  • Pamela Petersen-Crair, MS, MD, MPH

    Assistant Professor of Psychiatry; Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry

    I have been interested in medical student education ever since I was a first-year medical student and found myself studying students’ experiences in the anatomy lab for my master’s thesis. As a consult-liaison psychiatrist, I had the pleasure of working with medical students rotating on our service while we saw patients together on the medical floors. Working with medical students on these teams always has been a highlight—watching the students build their skills and develop their professional identities. Their enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge has been inspiring. Now I have the privilege of working with students in a different capacity as the associate clerkship director for Psychiatry, which has continued to fuel my passion for medical student education. One of the aspects I love about medicine is the long-term relationships with both colleagues and patients, so I am thrilled to work with medical students longitudinally in the coaching program as they navigate their way through medical school and find their passions in medicine. In medical education, I have a special interest in professionalism and feedback. While away from work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two adult sons, in addition to running, gardening, hiking, and backpacking, especially in California.
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  • Christopher Sankey, MD, FACP, SFHM

    Associate Professor of Internal Medicine (General Medicine); Associate Professor of Medicine, General Internal Medicine; Director, Program in Hospital Medicine, General Internal Medicine; Co-Firm Chief, Hospital Medicine Firm, General Internal Medicine; Core Faculty, Quality Improvement and Physician Leadership Distinction Pathway, Residency Programs; Faculty Director, Hospital Medicine Elective Rotation, Residency Programs

    I got into coaching more than ten years into practice as a clinician-educator in internal medicine. In addition to seeing an increasing frequency of physicians grappling with the challenges of wellness and the impostor phenomenon, I saw the need to help guide learners through an increasingly complex clinical learning environment. For me, coaching is low-stakes, learner-centric, and rooted in relationships. I see coaching as an essential tool to celebrate the diversity of all medical leaners. As a medical student, I wish I had received more advice regarding the expected plasticity and fluidity of medical careers. I presumed everything was set in stone and that the decisions I made in medical school (and subsequently) were irrevocable. It is pervasive that as students, we assume that everyone around us has everything figured out. As such, we often do not understand that the uncertainty many of us experience in career decisions is normal. In medicine (the career, not the specialty), we all evolve, grow, and change, and this is developmentally appropriate—it is not a defect! Diverse learners follow diverse trajectories, and as a coach I enjoy helping learners reflect on, process, and navigate the journey.
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