Dear Future Intern,
Hard decisions aren’t between the obviously good and obviously bad. It’s the close decisions that keep us up at night, like choosing between great residencies.
But don’t worry. Wherever you go, you’ll learn to treat pneumonia and meet amazing mentors, and great fellowship and job offers will come your way when you’re done.
Here’s what you should consider as you weigh your choices. First, prioritize your loved ones. In 1988, Heide and I chose Philadelphia in part because it would be easy to visit our families in New York and because Heide fell in love with the parks, shops, and restaurants as she explored the city on my interview day. Four years later, we moved to Connecticut because we loved the seashore, downtown New Haven, and the neighborhoods where we hoped to raise our growing family. Over 30 years later, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be.
Then, consider the training. At Yale-New Haven and VA-Connecticut you’ll care for patients from all over southern New England and beyond. You’ll see the bread and butter and the exotic. We have nearly 900 faculty in the Department of Medicine, from master clinicians to gifted educators to internationally renowned investigators. Our fellowship match speaks for itself. Our graduates can handle any medical challenge they face.
But by now you’ve learned that many residencies offer superb clinical training, scholarship, and career options. So why Yale? If you’re still asking, here’s what I’ll say:
Autonomy: We’re a residency by the residents for the residents. We make all big decisions with residents at the table. In the past year, we created a new scholarship elective, tweaked inpatient structures, and ended 28-hour call because residents spoke up and helped us craft the plans. Our resident-run committees—the Executive Council, the Program Evaluation Committee, and the Welcoming Committee— are engines of bright ideas, insights, and suggestions that ensure you have a say in your own training.
Constant Improvement: We’re not perfect, but we try. Residents asked for more talks by expert faculty, so Drs. Gupta and Grant brought an all-star lineup to noon conference. Drs. McNamara and Savage did the same on the ambulatory side by developing innovative retreats and education half days. To improve resident access to fresh admissions, Drs. Advani and Krishnan created DEFINE-HM so interns could see patients as soon as they were admitted, working one-on-one with seasoned hospitalists. This year we’ve tasked Dr. Bazan to streamline procedure training. We constantly seek feedback during committee meetings, program director’s meetings, performance reviews, and the Chiefs’ pebbles program. We always ask how we can improve. Our Chiefs and APDs—Drs. Rodwin, McNamara, Gupta, Bazan, Grant, Savage, and Desruisseaux—work non-stop to make us the best program we can be.
Diversity: We recruit residents from all over the world. This year’s intern class includes trainees from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Qatar, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iran, England, India, and Brazil. Our residents come from Ivy League-type schools, state schools, new schools, and international schools. More than 30% of our interns identify as underrepresented in medicine. Whatever your ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or economic background, we welcome you. Your fresh perspectives, experiences, and talents fuel our engine.
Distinctions: The Distinctions emerged from a resident wish to gain expertise beyond their core medicine training. In response, we created five Distinctions: Quality Improvement, Patient Safety & Leadership; Clinician Educator; Global Health & Equity; Race, Bias & Advocacy in Medicine; and Investigation.
The MAC Program: In a huge program like ours, it’s easy to imagine how a new intern could feel lost. To address this concern, Dr. Seonaid Hay created the MAC (Mentor-Advisor-Coach) Program which is now directed by Dr. Cindy McNamara. When you match with us, you’ll be assigned a faculty member who will meet with you throughout your residency, serving as a coach, confidant, and friend to guide you through these three transformative years.
Graduated Autonomy: It’s a huge leap to become in intern: new place, new EMR, new home, new people, and new responsibilities. To get you started, you’ll have a resident sitting beside you at all times, helping you settle in. But before you know it, you’ll be entering orders, performing procedures, and responding to emergencies. Well before PGY2 year, you’ll be ready to lead your own teams, and as a PGY3, you’ll rotate on capstone services in the Yale and VA MICUs, and on the East Pavilion Hospital Medicine and Whitman Firms, which guarantee that you’ll be ready for independent practice.
Wellness: To be well, we’ll ensure that you’re eating, sleeping, exercising, and socializing. We’ll give you access to medical and mental health care. We’ll support you if you need time away to have a baby, recover from an illness, or care for a loved one. We created a 6+2 schedule that promises golden weekends, humane work hours, and vacations when you need them. We sponsor social events including retreats, Color Block celebrations, an Ugly Sweater Party, Arts Night, and The Ball. Residency is hard, but we’re committed to ensuring you care for yourself so you can care for others.
Community: Small towns foster community. Most of our residents can walk or bike to work and for most of those who drive, it’s a short commute. Because New Haven is small, it’s easy for residents to get together for dinner, drinks, game nights, birthday parties, and to just hang out. Residents often tell me they don’t feel like it’s work when they spend their days with friends. As our former Chair Paul Beeson once said, “To work well, a hospital must be a tightly-knit community of people who respect one another and enjoy working together.” That’s Yale. The friendships you make here will last a lifetime.
Kindness: Our beloved late faculty member Fred Kantor coined our motto, “good as any, nicer than most.” We value intelligence, clinical skills, leadership, and research accomplishments, but above all, we value kindness: the gentle smiles, the deep listening, and the encouraging words. With the many challenges we face in today’s world, you should surround yourself with people who know that kindness is essential to human flourishing.
Match Day is just nineteen days away, so now it’s up to you. You will have great residencies to choose from. As you make your final decisions, we encourage you to listen to your heart. Let yourself fall in love. Choose a place where you will thrive, join people who share your values, and set yourself up for a lifetime of discovery, learning, and healing. For many of you, we hope you’ll choose Yale, and we can’t wait to welcome you in person on June 11, our first day of orientation. Now, it’s up to the Match gods to do their work.
Enjoy your Sunday. I’ll be visiting my Mom in New Jersey today before starting a week on MICU Red, beginning tomorrow morning.
Mark
What I’m reading and listening to:
- 'The Interview': Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World
- The Texas Measles Outbreak Is Even Scarier Than It Looks By Zeynep Tufekci
- Organ Transplant System ‘in Chaos’ as Waiting Lists Are Ignored By Brian M. Rosenthal, Mark Hansen and Jeremy White
- America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness By Brian Goldstone