Capstone Course
A reminder to all students anticipating graduating in 2024, the Capstone course begins February 26th at 9:00 am in Hope 110 and will be in person. Attendance at Capstone sessions is mandatory. You should anticipate needing to be in New Haven during the course which ends March 22. The Capstone course is designed to provide a review of important topics prior to starting your internship. It includes common scenarios in the simulation center as well as boot camps in the various specialties.
If you have any questions about the Capstone course please contact the course directors, Dr. Barry J. Wu and Dr. Oluwatosin Adeyemo or the course coordinator, A Gould.
2024 MD Thesis Process
Dear MD students in the Class of 2024,
Congratulations on being less than six months away from graduation! As we head into the next few months, plans for writing and submitting your MD thesis should be well underway. To support you in this process, we are writing with important reminders and updates regarding the 2024 thesis process for MD students.
As you know, the MD thesis is the culmination of four or five years of self-directed learning and critical thinking and is the cornerstone of the Yale system of medical education. It is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Yale’s Doctor of Medicine degree. The Class of 2024 Thesis Timeline was distributed in July 2023 and, for your reference, is included at the end of this message. Your mentor confirmed that you are on track to complete this graduation requirement, and it is time to review the expectations and logistics for the next few months. The most updated instructions for thesis preparation can be found on the YSM intranet.
Your roles and responsibilities are to produce a scholarly work that conveys the impactful research you’ve conducted and allows assessment of your proficiency in YSM’s research-related educational program objectives. Therefore, the thesis should be prepared in accordance with YSM requirements and deadlines. Your mentor and Department will review your thesis using the competency-based MD Thesis Evaluation Form in the Medtrics platform. At the time of YSM approval, the results of these assessments will be provided to you in order that the review process fulfills its goal of providing meaningful feedback to students.
Important reminders and updates:
- Departmental Thesis Chairs: Thesis review is coordinated by the Thesis Chair of the department in which your mentor holds their primary appointment. If not already done, your Thesis Chair will be contacting you within the next few weeks to provide department-specific information for uploading your thesis. For your reference, the 2023-2024 Thesis Chairs are listed here.
- Required Thesis Components: As a graduation requirement, the thesis is an original scholarly achievement with specified components, minimum length, and formatting. As such, it is your responsibility to ensure that their thesis adheres to the length and content requirements summarized here.
- Thesis Writing and Editing: Students are responsible for developing a writing plan with their advisor. If not already done, you and your mentor should agree upon the date by which the first draft will be completed (typically, between 12/22/23-01/02/24). Once your mentor has provided feedback, the thesis should be edited accordingly and returned to them so that it can be approved for submission by January 19, 2024.
- Reusing Material from your Previously Published Manuscripts: OSR does not prohibit students from using portions of their previously published work in their thesis as long as the material is properly attributed/cited, and any necessary permissions have been obtained. To avoid copyright infringement, students should ensure that reuse is allowed under the copyright agreement that they signed at the time of publication, obtain any necessary permissions, and properly attribute the work. For more information, students may watch OSR’s recent copyright session (here), follow guidance provided by OSR and Yale University, and contact Kayla Del Biondo (kayla.delbiondo@yale.edu). The easiest way to avoid concerns surrounding the reuse of your previously published work may be to modify previously published text, figures, and tables.
- Thesis Submission: Students will be provided with a department specific upload link through which they should submit their thesis that their mentor has approved no later than January 19, 2024.
- Departmental Thesis Approval: All submitted theses are expected to adhere to page length and formatting requirements and be suitable for review by faculty external to the research project. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this external review process should be completed within 4-5 weeks. Students should expect to receive notification of departmental approval on or before March 1, 2024.
- OSR Thesis Approval: OSR will provide formal YSM approval, results of assessments, written feedback, and instructions for uploading the thesis to the Yale Medicine Digital Thesis Library via ProQuest by March 22, 2024.
- Thesis Extensions: Students who anticipate difficulty with fulfilling these requirements should work with their mentor and, if needed, OSR faculty to develop a plan for thesis completion. New this year, requests for extensions are to be formally requested using this Thesis Deadline Extension Request Form, which must be signed by the student’s Academic Advisor (not mentor!), and Department Thesis Chair, and then submitted to OSR via email. Extensions will be provided in 2-week blocks. Progress towards thesis completion will be tracked and supported by OSR faculty in these cases. For students granted an extension, the last possible thesis submission date is March 22, 2024.
- Remediation: In the very unlikely circumstance that the review process identifies critical deficiencies related to minimum requirements or competencies, OSR will contact you to begin a process of remediation so that the thesis can be submitted by March 22, 2024, and you can stay on track to graduate. If you do not hear from OSR, you can assume your thesis is progressing through the approval process as planned.
We recognize that questions may arise during the next month. Please reach out with any questions, no matter how small. Additionally, Dr. Herzog will be offering 20-minute Thesis Check-in Sessions on December 15, 2023, from 1-5pm via zoom. Students wishing to sign up for a check-in, or request an alternate timeslot, should contact OSR at osr.med@yale.edu.
2024 MD-MHS Thesis Process
Dear MD-MHS students in the Class of 2024,
Congratulations on being less than six months away from graduation! As we head into the next few months, plans for writing your thesis and presenting to your three person MD-MHS committee should be well underway. To support you during this time, we are writing with important reminders and updates regarding the 2024 MD-MHS thesis process.
As you know, the MD-MHS Thesis is the culmination of five years of self-directed learning and critical thinking and is the cornerstone of the Yale system of medical education. It is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Yale’s combined Doctor of Medicine-Master of Health Science degree and is required for the MD degree as well. The Class of 2024 MD-MHS Thesis Timeline was distributed in July 2023 and, for your reference, is included at the end of this message. Your mentor has confirmed that you are on track to complete this graduation requirement and it is time to review the expectations and logistics for the next few months. The most updated instructions for thesis preparation can be found on the YSM intranet.
Your roles and responsibilities are to produce a scholarly work that conveys the impactful research you’ve conducted and allows assessment of your proficiency in YSM’s research-related educational program objectives. Therefore, the thesis should be prepared in accordance with YSM requirements and deadlines and presented in oral form to your three-person MHS committee. Your advisor and committee members will review your thesis using the competency-based Thesis Evaluation Form in the Medtrics platform. At the time of YSM approval, the results of these assessments will be provided to you in order that the review process fulfills its goal of providing meaningful feedback to students.
Important reminders and updates:
- MD-MHS Thesis Review: The MD-MHS Thesis review will be coordinated by OSR. It is your responsibility to complete the thesis and schedule a meeting with your three-person committee.
- Required Thesis Components: As a graduation requirement, the thesis is an original scholarly achievement with specified components, minimum length, and formatting. As such, it is your responsibility to ensure that their thesis adheres to the length and content requirements summarized here.
- Thesis Writing and Editing: Students are responsible for developing a writing plan with their MD-MHS advisor. If not already done, you and your committee should agree upon the date by which the thesis draft will be provided. The recommended date by which students should provide a thesis draft is December 22, 2023.
- Three Person MD-MHS Committee Meeting: Students are responsible for scheduling their three- person MHS committee meeting. This meeting should occur after committee members have received the thesis, but before the January 19, 2024, deadline, in order that feedback can be incorporated into the thesis before it is submitted. The date and location (building/room if in person, zoom link if virtual) of this meeting should be provided to OSR via email at mhs.osr@yale.edu.
- Thesis Submission: Students should upload their approved thesis to Yale Box using the MD-MHS thesis upload link (Upload MD-MHS Thesis here) no later than January 19, 2024.
- Confirmation of Completion of Other MD-MHS Requirements: Students will also need to complete, and submit, a form that attests that they’ve met all graduation requirements. More information on that form will be sent in the coming weeks.
- MD-MHS Thesis Approval from OSR: OSR will provide formal YSM approval, results of assessments, written feedback, and instructions for uploading the thesis to the Yale Medicine Digital Thesis Library via ProQuest by March 1, 2024.
- MD-MHS Thesis Extensions: Students who anticipate difficulty with fulfilling these requirements should work with their mentor and, if needed, OSR faculty to develop a plan for thesis completion. New this year, requests for extensions are to be formally requested using this Thesis Deadline Extension Request Form, which must be signed by the student’s Academic Advisor (not mentor!), and Department Thesis Chair, and then submitted to OSR via email. Extensions will be provided in 2-week blocks. Progress towards thesis completion will be tracked and supported by OSR faculty in these cases. For students granted an extension, the last possible thesis submission date is March 22, 2024. Students who do not submit the MD-MHS thesis will not be eligible to graduate with either the MHS or the MD in May 2024.
- Remediation: In the very unlikely circumstance that the review process identifies critical deficiencies related to minimum requirements or competencies, OSR will contact you to begin a process of remediation so that your thesis can be approved in time for you to graduate. If you do not hear from OSR, you can assume your thesis is progressing through the approval process as planned.
- Reusing Material from your Previously Published Manuscripts: OSR does not prohibit students from using portions of their previously published work in their thesis as long as the material is properly attributed/cited, and any necessary permissions have been obtained. To avoid copyright infringement, students should ensure that reuse is allowed under the copyright agreement that they signed at the time of publication, obtain any necessary permissions, and properly attribute the work. For more information, students may watch OSR’s recent copyright session (here), follow guidance provided by OSR and Yale University, and contact Kayla Del Biondo (kayla.delbiondo@yale.edu). The easiest way to avoid concerns surrounding the reuse of your previously published work may be to modify previously published text, figures, and tables.
We recognize that questions may arise over the next month. Please feel free to contact OSR with questions, no matter how small. Additionally, Dr. Herzog will be offering 20-minute Thesis Check-in Sessions on December 15, 2023, from 1-5pm via Zoom. Students wishing to sign up for a check-in, or request an alternate timeslot, should contact OSR at osr.med@yale.edu.
Locations to Join Zoom Meetings and Online Residency Interviews
The Cushing Whitney Medical Library has three privacy booths on the E-Level in the study space near the Technology Support Service Center, that are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. We have received positive feedback about these being a useful resource!
Additionally, two rooms in the Admissions Office on the second floor of Harkness D are available for you to use for interviews or other important calls. These rooms, ESHD 210A and ESHD 210B, are available to reserve in the RRS reservation system. After you reserve the room online, you will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your email. Although this email will say “confirmation” on the top, the room is not confirmed until you receive a second email that says “web confirmed.” Please note: the second floor only is accessible Monday-Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, so rooms should only be booked during these times.