Clinical Skills Development
MD-PhD students who have maintained clinical skills during research time by participating in clinical longitudinal electives generally do well when re-entering the clinical setting. It is vital that MD-PhD students have choices to accommodate their clinical interests, complicated schedules, and research commitments. For more information or guidance, students should contact Dr. Tamar Taddei, Associate Director for MD-PhD Program Clinical Education.
Clinical Reasoning Workshops
Clinical reasoning workshops are intended for MD-PhD students currently in the lab. These workshops take place every month during the regular school year and are moderated by a Yale faculty member who guides students through a clinical case scenario. Sessions begin with a chief complaint and are followed by a thorough discussion of the differential, relevant diagnostic tests, and approach to treatment/management, as well as any basic science and clinical research findings that might pertain to the case.
Haven Free Clinic
HAVEN is a student-run free clinic in partnership with the Fair Haven Community Health Center (FHCHC) and Yale University. HAVEN provides primary care, reproductive healthcare, social services, and health education for uninsured members of the Fair Haven community. Students can get involved with HAVEN as early as their first semester at Yale.
HAVEN Free Clinic is open on Saturdays from 9am to noon and is located at: Fair Haven Community Health Center, 374 Grand Avenue in New Haven. For more information, please contact MD-PhD student Alanna Kaplan.
Patient Navigator Program
The Patient Navigator Program was started 2 years ago with the conviction that medical students need to have an opportunity to understand, in a concrete way, the context in which medical care is delivered and the circumstances outside the clinic that actually determine patients’ health. Students work throughout the year with just one or two patients to help identify and address social and economic barriers to health, like housing and food insecurity (e.g., patients can’t control diabetes if they don’t have access to healthy foods or a living situation that allows them to regularly take medications). Students typically perform home visits and work with patients within their communities, as well as helping patients to navigate the medical system. Our hope is that students will gain tools that they carry with them and continue to build upon throughout their medical careers. The Patient Navigator program is currently working with patients from three different clinics—the Primary Care Center, Connecticut Mental Health Center, and the Refugee Clinic (in collaboration with the Refugee Navigator Program).
Please contact Drew Daniels, Matt Meizlish or Lorenzo Sewanan for more information
Primary Care Experience at The VA
MD-PhD students have had the opportunity to engage in a longitudinal rotation in the Center of Excellence in Primary Care Education at the VA for a one-year period. Interested students should contact the Clerkship Coordinator, (203) 688-4545.
This option is subject to preceptor availability at the VA.
Wednesday Evening Clinic (WEC)
Wednesday Evening Clinic (WEC) is a longitudinal primary care clinic for up to 15 Yale Medical Students in Yale's Primary Care Center (a resident clinic during the daytime). Participation in WEC provides an opportunity for MD-PhD students to follow their own patients and complete the Primary Care Clerkship during their research years.
Responsibilities include seeing 1-3 patients/night, discussing the patients with an attending, and writing notes. Students will also present at pre-clinic conferences, and take turns bringing dinner. Work for the clinic is mostly completed during the evening on Wednesdays but follow-up on studies may occur throughout the week. Providers also may participate in the care of their patients outside of the clinic (i.e. scrub in on their surgeries). At WEC, students are able to follow their own cohort of patients over the course of many months.
There is a minimum commitment of 1 calendar year (many MD-PhDs stay a few years). Students are required to attend at least 38 of 50 clinic sessions. Students may start at any point during the year. Completion of the integrated Biopsychosocial Approach to Health (BAH) is required. Completion of Wednesday Evening Clinic (WEC) now fulfills the requirements for the clinical portion of the primary care component of the BAH clerkship.
For more information, please contact MD-PhD student Lee Ying.
Yale Adult/Pediatric Refugee Clinics
In collaboration with Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS), the Yale Adult Refugee Clinic and Pediatric Refugee Clinic provide healthcare to newly arrived refugees. For more information, please contact MD-PhD students Shivani Bhatt or Christina Lin.