To the YSM Community:
As we advance the Yale School of Medicine mission, over the last few months, we have operated in a time of complexity and uncertainty. To move forward, we have responded rapidly to specific developments. As patterns begin to emerge, choosing our way forward will require increased communication and interaction, creating a supportive environment where ideas can triumph over fears, and developing creative and innovative new strategies. Below I outline three approaches we will take in the coming months.
Communication
During our recent annual town halls, we have discussed the principles behind our value-driven financial contingency planning, plans to support faculty during gaps, our commitment to maintaining our community and culture in which all can thrive, support from the Office of International Students and Scholars, and our commitment to the primacy of the physician-patient relationship. In a school-wide town hall, President McInnis and Scott Strobel spoke in depth about their work advocating for universities and academia. These have been rich and moving conversations.
Because the town hall venue lends itself to open dialogue, we will continue departmental town halls on a rotating basis throughout the year. This will supplement our usual means of communication.
Support and Reflection
Over the last few months, we have communicated about pragmatic support such as gap funding, OISS meetings, etc., but it is important that we support each other emotionally. Some face disruptions in career development or visa status. Our teams are working overtime to respond to stop-work orders, requests for information, optimizing communications, financial modeling, and ensuring care for patients. This intense focus can be depleting. We need to pause to celebrate the good you are doing. Our Communications team has stepped up efforts to amplify your discoveries, clinical excellence, achievements, and milestones. I ask that you join in sharing those stories. We need to reenergize to enable creative thinking. Thus, we are introducing some new opportunities to reset and shift perspective.
Beginning in May, and throughout the summer, we have invited volunteers to offer “pop-up” music around the campus from time to time. We hope these interludes bring people together spontaneously and offer a time for community.
In a reprise of the Stress and Resilience Town Halls provided during the COVID-19 pandemic, our generous colleagues in Psychiatry are once again offering this opportunity. Beginning this May, these will provide a safe and supportive environment to discuss stresses experienced by members of our community and to build strategies to promote resilience. For more information, click here.
Strategic Planning
Lastly, during uncertainty one thing is certain. Two years from now, we will not be working in the same way that we did two years ago or even ten years ago. There is much that can be improved in how we support research, patient care, and education. Whenever there is disruption, there is opportunity. With our shared mission and the excellence of our people, Yale School of Medicine is uniquely poised to shape the future. We must do so with intention.
For this reason, as I mentioned in Beyond Sterling Hall on March 20, over the next several months, we will refresh our strategic goals. As a first step in this work, we are asking everyone to reflect on where we are today in a survey below. This survey will then inform a series of focus groups and our town halls as we ask fundamental questions: What differentiates us? What are the things we should be doing in the future to maximize our impact? What are we doing now that we can do better? What are we doing that we should no longer be doing? With whom should we partner? How do we do leverage innovation and creativity to work more efficiently?
Please take a moment to consider our path and to complete the initial survey found here. We ask that you complete the survey by May 26 (Memorial Day).
As we do this work together, we will not only survive but also thrive.
Sincerely,
Nancy J. Brown, MD
Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine
C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine