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INFORMATION FOR

Early Clinical Experiences

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) MD students have many opportunities for clinical experiences in the pre-clerkship curriculum. The Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE) is designed to prepare first-year health professional students from YSM’s MD and Physician Associate (PA) programs to function effectively in the clinical environment.

From mid-April of their first year to mid-December of their second year, MD students work in groups of four with a Medical Clinical Experience (MCE) tutor. The main purpose of the MCE is to prepare students to successfully complete the standardized history and physical exam assessment and to provide students opportunities to develop the skills they will need on the clerkships beginning in January of their second year.

Simulation opportunities at the Yale Center for Medical Simulation are woven into many pre-clinical courses.

Year 1: Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE)

An interprofessional curriculum for first-year medical and physician associate students.*

ILCE is designed to help first-year health professional students from YSM’s MD and Physician Associate (PA) programs begin to build a working knowledge of the clinical environment, health care organizations, and to learn to work effectively as part of the interprofessional health care team. The structure and content of the curriculum is based on the needs of our current health care and academic environment. Faculty tutors guide groups of students in interprofessional clinical experiences in a consistent health care setting. Experiences also include planned group meetings designed to teach patient- and family-centered interviewing, physical examination skills, clinical reasoning, teamwork, and factors that impact health and the health care delivery system.

Program Goal

We believe that providing outstanding care for your future patients requires learning with, from, and about other health care professional students early in your training. You will accomplish this by working together to develop your clinical skills, knowledge, and attitudes.

Learning Objectives:

During the ILCE each student will:

  • Demonstrate the ability to learn with, from, and about each other (interprofessional education) by
    • being present for all sessions
    • engaging with their team and site members
    • listening respectfully
    • contributing to each activity
    • showing integrity and humility
    • understanding roles and responsibilities of other health care professionals
  • Apply key communication skills to conduct patient- and family-centered interviewing. (Clinical skills)
  • Practice selected physical examination techniques in the clinical setting. (Clinical skills)
  • Demonstrate the basic principles of oral presentation in the clinical setting. (Clinical skills)
  • Develop clinical reasoning skills by identifying the salient parts of the history and physical and begin to consider differential diagnoses (assessed in simulation and large group workshop).

ILCE Co-Directors

ILCE Associate Director

ILCE Section Leaders

Published research about the ILCE model

The virtual 4Ms: A novel curriculum for first year health professional students during COVID-19
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2021)
Authors: Wu, B. J., Honan, L., Tinetti, M. E., Marottoli, R. A., Brissette, D. and Wilkins, K. M.

Teamwork in the time of COVID-19
BioAdvances (2021)
Authors: Takizawa, P. A., Honan, L., Brissette, D., Wu, B. J. and Wilkins, K. M.

Interprofessional education development: Not for the faint of heart
Advances in Medical Education and Practice (2017)
Authors: Fahs, D. B., Honan, L., Gonzalez-Colaso, R. and Colson, E. R.

A longitudinal study of health professional students′ attitudes towards interprofessional education at an American university
Journal of Interprofessional Care (2016)
Authors: Wong, R. L., Fahs, D. B., Talwalkar, J. S., Colson, E. R., Desai, M. M., Kayingo, G., Balanda, M., Luczak, A. G. and Rosenthal, M. S.

Readiness for interprofessional learning among healthcare professional students
International journal of medical education (2016)
Authors: Talwalkar, J. S., Fahs, D. B., Kayingo, G., Wong, R., Jeon, S. and Honan, L.

Year 2: Medical Clinical Experience (MCE)

The Medical Clinical Experience is a program for medical students which will begin at the end of the ILCE course. Students will work in groups of four with an MCE tutor once a week from mid-April of their first year to mid-December of their second year. The main purpose of the MCE is to prepare students to successfully complete the standardized history and physical exam assessment and to provide students opportunities to develop the skills they will need on the clerkships beginning in January of their second year. Students will see patients with physician tutors and develop their identities as future physicians.

From Generation to Generation

Read and view images from the December 2019 MCE reception!

Director of MCE