As part of our “Meet Yale Internal Medicine” series, today we are featuring Sarah Hull, MD, MBE, assistant professor of clinical medicine (cardiovascular medicine).
After seeing a schematic diagram of the heart for the first time at a young age, Sarah C. Hull, MD, MBE, was amazed. “At that moment, I can’t say I knew for sure that I wanted to be a cardiologist,” explained Hull. “But I had already thought about going into medicine because I loved science. The heart and the circulatory system just made so much intuitive sense to me. It was so logical and elegant.”
Hull went on to graduate magna cum laude from Harvard University with an undergraduate degree in Biochemical Sciences. She accepted an offer to attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, but she deferred matriculation for a year in order to embrace her passion for teaching and moved to France to teach English.
After a year abroad, Hull came back to the Northeast and settled in Philadelphia for medical school and residency. When deciding on a location for her fellowship, she felt that at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) her expertise and scholarly focus in bioethics and medical education would be respected.
“Bioethics in medicine is so important from a humanistic perspective, which often seems undervalued in medicine,” said Hull. “But at Yale, I felt like my interests would be valued.”
At YSM, Hull has found her niche. As a fellow, she became involved with the cardiology course for medical students. After joining the faculty, she became one of the co-directors of the cardiology course, now part of the integrated Homeostasis Master Course.
Additionally, Hull followed her passions of bioethics and cardiology and teaches a quarterly conference series for cardiology fellows.
I think that stepping back to think about ethical questions - just because we can do it, should we do it? – is equally important. There are a lot of complex questions in medicine.
Dr. Sarah Hull
“It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day demands of fellowship. It is busy. Clinical work is important and often urgent,” explained Hull. “I think that stepping back to think about ethical questions - just because we can do it, should we do it? – is equally important. There are a lot of complex questions in medicine.”
Through this conference series, Hull provides the fellows a safe place to discuss such topics as personal responsibility, social determinants of health, humanity, and even the current political climate.
Not only does Hull help to educate the next generation of physicians, she also has a heavy patient load and aims to counsel them on the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
“Lifestyle counseling is a huge part of what I discuss with my patients,” Hull said. “There is a false dichotomy that you either have a healthy lifestyle and you never need medicine, or you take medication and don’t have to worry about your lifestyle. It is both. Sometimes you need a combination approach.”
Hull’s passion for her patients, her medical students, and fellows is palpable. She is thankful for her mentors and her mother who believed in her along the way, a lesson that she shares with the students that she teaches.
“I'm here because of a lot of hard work on my part, but also because of the work that people put into me,” acknowledges Hull. “I want to give that back in some way.”