To the YSM Community:
In the Yale School of Medicine Strategic Plan finalized in January 2026, we articulated the goal “In the spirit of promoting curiosity and critical inquiry, increase opportunities to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue on controversial [or evolving] topics in medicine.” As knowledge advances, our understanding of issues in science and medicine invariably changes. As scientists and physicians, we are required to reexamine our assumptions regularly and ask questions and test hypotheses in an unbiased manner. To advance knowledge and practice, we must feel comfortable questioning dogma and wrestling with difficult problems together. That is a lot to ask of human beings.
In April, the report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education recommended that “Yale undertake a multi-pronged series of initiatives and experiments, with the goal of enhancing open and critical debate on campus.” President McInnis, in her acceptance of the committee’s report, committed “to begin with self-study on the breadth of scholarly methodologies and perspectives,” and “to begin to work with departments and schools across campus to explore the committee’s recommendation to ‘undertake a multi-pronged series of initiatives and experiments, with the goal of enhancing open and critical debate on campus…’” The YSM strategic goal aligns with this commitment. I write here to share some of the initiatives we will be pursuing over the coming months.
First, in the YSM Strategic Plan, we also pledged to “increase meaningful opportunities for bidirectional communication,” including reorganizing “listening sessions” as “focus groups.” We learned from the strategic planning process itself the value of bringing together faculty, staff, students, and community members to consider a specific topic. During the late summer and early fall we will convene a series of focus groups on the topic of “open minds,” to review the breadth of methodologies and opportunities for scholarly debate across YSM and to consider how we can enhance critical inquiry across all our missions. Please look out for an announcement providing information about how to sign up for a focus group.
Last spring, a group of students met with Deputy Deans Jessica Illuzzi, MD, MS, and Darin Latimore, MD, to discuss strategies to foster difficult conversations within the classroom setting. The students made several recommendations. They suggested that faculty who teach in small groups and lead panel discussions would benefit from training in facilitating dialogue on challenging topics. Students expressed the desire to develop their own skills in engaging in open-minded inquiry with respect and curiosity about other perspectives. The students also recommended the development of opportunities outside of the curriculum in which faculty could role model and students could practice participating in critical inquiry, evaluating evidence, and discussing evolving topics in medicine.
In follow-up, the Offices of Medical Education and Collaborative Excellence hosted a two-day Intergroup Dialogue Faculty Immersion Workshop in July, designed for faculty and others who facilitate small-group discussions in which there is a diversity of opinion and perspectives on a topic. Starting this fall, small-group sessions in courses will include more opportunities for students to develop skills in reflective listening and respectful dialogue. In addition, through the student-led Perspectives in Medicine series and a newly created series on Evolving Topics in Medicine, we will bring together panels of expert researchers, clinicians, and scholars, who hold different views on questions in science and medicine. The latter series will be organized by Michael Strambler, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and director of child wellbeing and education research at The Consultation Center at Yale in the Department of Psychiatry.
Another initiative, our ongoing Perspectives in Inclusion series, continues this fall. We have invited Jeffrey S. Flier, MD, former dean of Harvard Medical School, to give a presentation on "Open Inquiry" on Oct. 26. Dr. Flier currently chairs the board of the Heterodox Academy and recently chaired the Harvard Medical School Open Inquiry Working Group. We will send a campuswide invitation in the coming weeks.
The Yale System fosters curiosity and critical inquiry as the underpinning of discovery and the highest expression of caring. It is only fitting that we come together as a school to examine our own culture of curiosity and methods of inquiry. Together we will wonder and perhaps find wonder.
Sincerely,
Nancy J. Brown, MD
Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine
C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine