Early Clinical Experiences

The Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE) is designed to prepare first-year health professional students from Yale School of Medicine’s MD and Physician Associate (PA) programs to function effectively in the clinical environment. The structure and content of the curriculum is based on the needs of our current health care and academic environment. Faculty coaches guide groups of students in interprofessional clinical experiences in a consistent health care setting. The ILCE Clinical Experiences are designed to help students 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. 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.

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.

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).